Böhm, O. (Osvaldo)

Carlo Naya, a lawyer and well-traveled amateur photographer, established a commercial studio in Venice around 1860. For more than two decades, he and his staff provided architectural views, scenes of daily life, and images of the artistic treasures in Venice and Veneto for scholars, residents, tourists, and for export. Following his death in 1882, the firm continued to revise and renew its catalogue (sometimes called the Naya Archive) to supply the photographic market. In 1920, Osvaldo Böhm (an art critic, photographer, and publisher from Padua) purchased the Naya Archive and opened a photography business in Venice, continuing the work of Naya and his associates. The firm O. Böhm Fotografo-Editore remained active at least until the late 1980s. Its store of images is known as the Archivio Naya-Böhm, or the Naya-Böhm Archive.

From the guide to the Osvaldo Böhm collection of Venetian art and architecture, 1860-ca. 1988, (Fine Arts Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)