Jim Heimann:
Collector

Jim Heimann is a lifelong collector, but he doesn’t just collect visual culture - he rescues overlooked histories, giving forgotten design, photography, and ephemera a second life.

Sparked by the stories that he heard from his parents during dinners while he was a kid, his curiosity and passion about history of Los Angeles history starting in the early 1900s set him on his path of collecting and researching everything that he comes across. He is now known as the authority on Los Angeles. He is a walking vault of information and an amazing story teller.

This film contains the story of the ascension of Leroy Grannis, a surf photographer who became very famous in his late stages of his life, partly as a result of Jim’s efforts.
Jim is the Executive Editor of Taschen America, a high-end book publisher mostly covering art, photography, architecture, and culture.