‘Buy a pencil 2 cent’, John Albok, 1936
John AlbokAmerican, 1894–1982

‘Buy a pencil 2 cent’

1936 · Photograph

Can I see it?

Unknown

Where is “‘Buy a pencil 2 cent’” now? Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Unknown.

Rijksmuseum

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.

Source
The museum

About the work

As a young man the Hungarian John Albok photographed in field hospitals and prisons during the First World War. He lost much of his family during this period, and emigrated to America in 1921. In New York Albok worked as a tailor, but photography was his passion. In his free time he wandered around the streets and recorded what came across his path. A pencil seller’s deformed hand sufficed to create a poignant image.

Rijksmuseum

Details

Accession number
RP-F-2011-48

What it shows

In the catalog

Sources

  • Rijksmuseum
  • Image: Rijksmuseum — © the artist or rights holder
All works

On view at Rijksmuseum

Museum page