Joseph Kornweiss was born in Russia in 1877. He arrived in America in 1893. Within 6 years of his arrival, he had established a photography business. He produced silver gelatin prints - portraits mostly. He operated his business out of at least 3 different locations up until 1932, all in NYC - 155 Rivington St, 26 Canal St, and 1609 Pitkin Ave.

His brother Abraham was also involved in the business for some time, as is evidenced by several recovered photographs that feature the "Kornweiss Bro's" logo. During the early 1900s, the Kornweiss Brothers were successful. Their families became wealthy selling beautiful portraits, which at the time, were a luxury item. Their wealth was swept away in the Great Depression.

Joseph had a son Alexander, who worked in the photography business in the mid 1900s. From Alexander's retirement in the 70s until the late 1990s, Kornweiss Photography would lie dormant. Alexander's son Peter, though not a photographer by career, revived the business in his retirement circa 2000. Kornweiss Photography continued through the 2000s to generate digital fine art photography and prints.

Now, 127 years after its original founding, Kornweiss Photography has a home on the web. The purpose of this website is to keep this historic business alive, and to serve as a beacon for the many families who seek connection with their ancestors pictured in Kornweiss Photography prints all over the world. Please contact me any time with stories, prints, information, or questions, and enjoy the gallery.

-Steve | May, 2020