Of the countless portrait studios in the first half of the 20th century, hardly any work has been kept safe. Luckily the archive of photo studio Merkelbach is an exception to this.

From all over the Netherlands and from overseas, customers would visit the studio: not only families and loved ones, but also stars and prominent people from politics and science. These photographs became a specimen of the socio-cultural life in the Netherlands of the last century.

The book ‘Fotostudio Merkelbach’ (Photo studio Merkelbach) presents a unique collection for the first time. Besides that, it tells the story of the legendary photographic studio and the photographers Jacob Merkelbach, Mies Merkelbach and Bobby Rosenboom. No book is the same. Each cover has its own unique photo.