Trenton, NJ - The New Jersey State Museum is pleased to announce the publication of a new book, “Grant Castner: The Lost Archive.” Co-authored by the Museum’s Curator of Cultural History Nicholas P. Ciotola and photography historian Gary D. Saretzky, the book is published by Rutgers University Press under their Ceres: Rutgers Studies in History division. It presents the collective work of Grant Castner, an amateur artist whose story and photographs were the subject of a Museum exhibition in 2024. The photographs document the everyday lives of New Jerseyans and present an archive of Garden State history and culture. The book is available for purchase online, at book retailers and in the State Museum Shop.

In July 2019, State Museum staff visited a cramped and dusty storage locker in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Inside was a treasure trove of more than one thousand glass plate negatives, each one an artistic, carefully composed image of New Jersey at the turn of the twentieth century. They were created by Trenton resident Grant Castner (1863–1941), who captured a visual record of New Jersey’s social and cultural history; they are works of art in their own right. Castner’s versatility and talent for composition, light and framing illuminate his many subjects. The donation of this photographic archive to the Museum became the basis for the 2024 exhibition, Discovering Grant Castner: The Lost Archive of a New Jersey Photographer, curated by Ciotola and Saretzky.

Rutgers University Press, in a first-time partnership with the State Museum, agreed to the book project in an effort to share the historic trove of images and the stories they contain with a wider audience. The book is drawn from the research and writing for the exhibition and features all the prints used in the show. Beyond their intrinsic artistic value, the authors share the stories behind each photograph and their context to the time period. The book delves deeper into Castner’s family story, early life, and the path that led him to become a talented regional photographer. It also explores where Castner fits in the larger context of American photographers of the period.

Curator and co-author Nicholas Ciotola noted, “I will always remember the first moment that I heard the name Grant Castner.” He continued, “The phone call offering the donation of more than 1,000 glass plate negatives to the Museum has led us to a long-lost archive that transports the viewer on a visual journey into a New Jersey of days gone by. We hope readers find the book as captivating as the exhibition.” Added Museum Executive Director Margaret O’Reilly, “We are thrilled to partner with Rutgers University Press on this project which will introduce new audiences to Grant Castner’s extraordinary photographs. I congratulate co-curators/co-authors Nick Ciotola and Gary Saretzy on the realization of this volume, and extend gratitude to the NJ State Museum Foundation for project support and to Rutgers University Press for their commitment to New Jersey history and culture through this publication and others in the Ceres series.”

The New Jersey State Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:00 am to 4:45 pm; closed on all State holidays. General admission is free. The Museum Shop, operated by the New Jersey State Museum Foundation, is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. For additional information, visit statemuseum.nj.gov, like the Museum’s Facebook page (@NJStateMuseum), and follow us on X (njstatemuseum), Instagram (nj_statemuseum), Threads (nj_statemuseum) and YouTube (@newjerseystatemuseum1895.)

About the New Jersey State Museum
The New Jersey State Museum is a center for the exploration of science, history and the arts. We preserve and share stories that inspire curiosity and creativity for the enrichment of our communities. Located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, the New Jersey State Museum encompasses three buildings including a state-of-the-art Planetarium. Established in 1895, the State Museum’s collections in Archaeology/Ethnography, Cultural History, Fine Art and Natural History contain over 2 million objects, the largest museum collection in the state.

About the New Jersey State Museum Foundation
The New Jersey State Museum Foundation was founded in 1968 as a non-government, non-profit 501(c)(3) to support the Museum's collections, exhibitions, programs and research through fundraising, volunteerism and advocacy. In recent years, the Foundation has received generous support from the PNC Foundation, NJM Insurance Group, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, New Jersey Historical Commission, New Jersey Council for the Humanities, The Henry Luce Foundation and Princeton Area Community Foundation. The Foundation also operates the Museum membership program, as well as the Museum Shop, which sells merchandise related to the Museum's exhibitions, collections, and New Jersey history and culture.