4182 - Jacoby, Max

Jacoby, Max Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe). Early 1970s. Vintage gelatin silver print on Agfa paper. 40 x 26.1 cm. Photographer's stamp on the reverse. Installed during the postwar reconstruction of Berlin’s famous KaDeWe department store in the 1950s, the distinctive square clock above its main entrance became a familiar West Berlin landmark and a symbol of the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle). For decades, it served as a popular meeting place, giving rise to the familiar phrase “Let’s meet under the clock at KaDeWe.” The clock was eventually removed during a major renovation in the mid-1990s to make way for today’s modern glass facade. – Corners bumped, minimal edge wear, and slight buckling along the edges; otherwise in very good condition. Lit.: Angelika Gause, ed., Der Fotograf Max Jacoby: Bilder der 60er und 70er Jahre, Koblenz: Görres, 2003.