[1] It was the first privately owned picture agency in the United States, and introduced numerous new techniques in photography and illustrated journalism.
[5] Safranski was a graphic designer and editor for the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung (BIZ), which was part of the Ullstein publishing house.
William Randolph Hearst, a powerful media mogul of the day, who was intrigued by European advances in photography and printing.
[7] Mayer then brought the idea to the experimental editorial department of Henry Luce, the largest publisher of the day, with periodicals such as Time and Fortune.
Forced by the Nazis to sell his business, he brought negatives, and connections to European photographers with him to the United States.
[3] Kornfeld was a literary agent back in his native Germany where he had a talent for bringing together authors and editors.
[citation needed] Although Life was the agency's most high-profile client, Black Star also served other periodicals, newspapers, advertisers and publishers.
[10][11][12] Noted Black Star photographers include Robert Capa, Andreas Feininger, Germaine Krull, Philippe Halsman, Martin Munkácsi, Kurt Severin, W. Eugene Smith, Marion Post-Wolcott, Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Skippy Adelman, Charles Moore, James Nachtwey, Lee Lockwood, Mario Giacomelli and Spider Martin.
In 2003, Black Star's archive of 292,000 prints, created by more than 6,000 photographers was acquired by Jimmy Pattison, a Canadian businessperson.
The company claims to have captured more photographic images for more annual reports than any other photo agency or service.