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bionicear · ‎05-07-2018

Can't remember where I got these. I can't find much on them. The most prominent Dr. Schnitzer I can find was also known as Conrado and was a photographer. I'm hoping someone here can help shed some light on these and if they're worth trying to sell. Thanks in advance.

imagine.ink · ‎05-09-2018

To me, the bookplates appear a little too whimsical and modern to date to Dr. Kurt Schnitzer (1908-1972), unless they were from the later part of his life.

He was a doctor in his native country of Austria before he became a photographer after emigrating to the Dominican Republic and one of the bookplates does allude to medicine. Also, he wore glasses, like the male figure in the same bookplate.

You could try asking Lew Jaffe, who writes the blog, "Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie." He has always been very helpful with bookplate questions.

http://bookplatejunkie.blogspot.com/

argon38 · ‎05-10-2018

@imagine.ink wrote:
Also, he wore glasses, like the male figure in the same bookplate.

It does look very like him:

argon38 · ‎05-10-2018

According to this site, the one on the left (Egyptian) is the work of Uriel Birnbaum, while the one on the right (woman in tub) is the work of Peter Eng:

https://medspace.mc.duke.edu/catalog?f[subject_sim][]=Schnitzer%2C+Kurt

I believe these are the artists in question. Both were Austrian, and both were Jewish. Uriel Birnbaum (1894-1956):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriel_Birnbaum

Peter Eng (1892-1938 [?or after]):

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Eng

Unfortunately the duke.edu site doesn't definitively identify Dr Schnitzer, but it's worth noting that "Conrado" was also Austrian and Jewish.

The site also states "Publisher: College of L. Ginsberg" in relation to the Egyptian-style bookplate. That may provide a further clue, but I'm not sure what it means.

argon38 · ‎05-10-2018

Aha... just found this in the 1967 Yearbook of the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers, p. 80 (ignore the line about Seattle Public Library, that's just the next entry on the page):

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fOZLAQAAIAAJ&q=%22peter+eng%22+%22kurt+schnitzer%22&dq=%22peter+...

bionicear · ‎05-11-2018

Thank you very much Argon and Imagine. Your research skills far exceed mine.

bionicear · ‎05-11-2018

The Santa Ana connection would make sense. I live in Orange County and these were found in a book I picked up somewhere locally. Once again, thank you for the information.