Call Number:

004.008

Repository:

Science History Institute Archives

Extent:

300 negatives (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Photographs from the Papers of Gabor B. Levy, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, PA.

Date:

1947-1980s (inclusive) and 1950s (bulk)

Creator:

Levy, Gabor B., 1913-

Form:

Photograph collections, Photographs, and Photography -- Negatives

Abstract:

Negatives and print photographs of Gabor B. Levy and his family primarily documenting various aspects of family life, including vacations, gatherings, and holiday celebrations.

Gabor Bela Levy was born in Budapest, Hungary on July 16, 1913 and emigrated to the United States with his wife Friedel (nee Kotljar) in 1938. Levy initially worked as a research assistant at New York University from 1938 to 1941 before earning his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Institutum Divi Thomae, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1953. While residing in New York, the Levys welcomed two sons, Michael (b. 1939) and Stephen (b. 1942). A daughter, Margaret, was subsequently born in Cincinnati in 1947.

From 1942 to 1955, Levy worked as an analytical chemist at a Schenley Laboratories plant in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Following the closure of the Lawrenceburg plant, Levy transferred to another laboratory in New York City before leaving Schenley to work for the Photovolt Corp. in 1957. Following his retirement from Photovolt, then Bio-Science Enterprises (BSE), in 1981, Levy undertook a second career as consulting editor for International Scientific Communications, Inc. Levy died in Connecticut in July 1999.

This collection primarily consists of 1950s-era family photographs chronicling Levy's life as a husband and father. By and large, the collection lacks photographs documenting Levy's professional career as an analytical chemist and journalist, with a few exceptions: the collection includes several photographs from the ceremony where Levy received his Ph.D. in 1953, as well as photographs of a Photovolt Corp. promotional booth dating from the 1970s or 1980s.

On the whole, the photographs are organized by subject or event and capture the general activities of the Levy family, including vacations, gatherings, and holiday celebrations. Photographs of the three Levy children make up the bulk of the collection and images of home life and vacations, including visits to Washington, D.C. and Mount Rushmore, predominate. Other topics of note include photographs of the family shortly following Margaret's birth in 1947, the children dressed in Halloween costumes, and family portraits from Christmas and Easter. While not present as frequently as their children, Gabor Levy and his wife Friedel appear in many of the photographs, which provide a charming portrait of the activities of an average 1950s American family.