Albert Zander (1 January 1864 in Chodzież near Posen – 12 August 1897) was a German engineer, photographer and entrepreneur.Zander und Labisch. In Deutsche Fotothek. At deutschefotothek.de, retrieved 4 September 2021. He was instrumental in the emergence of German tabloid journalism.Anfänge des Boulevardjournalismus in Deutschland. (photo: Zander & Labisch: Anton von Werner in conversation with Adolph von Menzel, Berlin, 1900) In the Süddeutsche Zeitung. At sueddeutsche.de, retrieved 4 September 2021.
As an engineer, he was initially employed by the Berlin machine factory.Christine Walther: Siegertypen: zur fotografischen Vermittlung eines gesellschaftlichen Selbstbildes um 1900. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2007. , .Maschinenfabrik Flohr. At luise-berlin.de, retrieved 4 September 2021. On 26 May 1895, Zander photographed a fire that broke out on the company premises. Two of his photographs of this event were published by the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung.Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, Heft 21 (1895), .
Together with a partner, the merchant and photographer Siegmund Labisch, also from the Posen area, he founded the photo studio Zander & Labisch-Illustrations-Photographen in Berlin on 19 June 1895,Berliner Handelsregister 91 HRA 13725 +40 which developed into the first German photo agency to produce and distribute up-to-date photographs for press organs in the spirit of photo journalism.Anna Rosemann: Zander & Labisch (1895–1939) – Auf den Spuren einer bekannten Fotoagentur. In Fotogeschichte, issue 144 (2017). At fotogeschichte.info, retrieved 4 September 2021.
The photo studio developed considerably until Zander's early death: ten percent of all press photos published by the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung in 1897 came from Zander & Labisch.Bernd Weise: Fotografie in deutschen Zeitschriften, Teil: 1883–1923. (Ausstellungsserie Fotografie in Deutschland von 1850 bis heute) Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ed.), Stuttgart 1991, .
Zander died in CharlottenburgStA Charlottenburg, Sterbeurkunde Nr. 1617/1897 at the age of 33.
References
Further reading Anna Rosemann: Zander & Labisch – Auf den Spuren einer bekannten Fotoagentur. Masterarbeit zur Geschichte der Fotoagentur Zander & Labisch, Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Lehrstuhl für deutsch-jüdische Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte, Exil und Migration, February 2017