1. ADAMS, Ansel. Ansel Adams: Images, 1923-1974, Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1974. Hardcover (gold-stamped black and gray cloth), 14 ¼ x 17 ¼ inches, 128 pages, duotone illustrations, dustjacket, in original slipcase, with ephemera. Signed.
This largescale book includes an introduction by Adams, a foreword by Wallace Stegner, and many high-quality illustrations. A full-page sheet pasted in between the frontispiece and title page indicates that this copy is from a “special edition prepared for Time-Life Books subscribers with the signature of the photographer,” signed by Adams in ink. Laid into this copy are two pieces of ephemera on Adams books and posters published by the New York Graphic Society. The front and rear hinges have been reinforced by thin strips of archival paper but show no signs of separating; the slipcase has minor wear at a few corners and a few spots. $500
2. ADAMS, Ansel. Yosemite and the Range of Light, Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1979. Hardcover (tan cloth and leather spine and printed label), 12 ¼ x 15 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 116 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Deluxe edition, with clamshell box, signed.
An oversize, well-printed book of some of Adams’ classic landscapes from Yosemite National Park. With a foreword by Adams and an introduction by author/conservationist Paul Brooks. This edition was issued with an original photograph, which is not included here. Limited to 250 numbered copies, signed by Adams. Fine condition, in the original shipping cardboard box. $750
3. ADAMS, Robert. Interiors 1973-1974, Tucson: Nazraeli Press, 2006. Hardcover folder (yellow-stamped green cloth), 14 ½ x 11 ½ inches, 27 loose plates, 24 duotone illustrations, original box. Signed and numbered special edition, with ephemera.
This is a group of pictures Adams made in Denver in the early 1970s, rediscovered and published here for the first time. All quiet, square-format images, they “offer new insight into the photographer’s way of seeing and thinking about the human condition.” Of the one thousand copies printed, 100 were numbered (this is 5/100), signed by Adams, and presented in a clamshell box. Additionally, this copy has the 2005 Nazraeli Press catalog in which the book was offered. Mint condition, with the original opened shrink wrap laid in. $500
4. ANDERSON, A. J. The Artistic Side of Photography in Theory and Practice, London: Stanley Paul & Co., 1910. Hardcover (gold and brown-stamped brown cloth), 9 ½ x 6 ¼ inches, 360 pages, 12 photogravure and 12 halftone illustrations.
A well-received book that was published simultaneously in New York, Toronto, and London. Anderson thoroughly covers creative photography and its technical side. He includes chapters on exposure, development, printing, composition, Japonisme, landscape, portraiture, architecture, and other topics. The rich photogravures are all by leading pictorialists: Alvin Langdon Coburn,
F. Holland Day, Baron Adolf De Meyer, Frank Eugene, Gertrude Käsebier, George H. Seeley, Edward Steichen, and Alfred Stieglitz. In 1913 Anderson reissued the text with fewer illustrations in a slightly smaller format as The ABC of Arttistic Photography. Anderson, an English author, is pictured in the gravure frontispiece by Coburn as a well-dressed gentleman. Light wear and spotting to the covers. $1,000
5. ARBUS, Diane. Diane Arbus, Millerton, New York: Aperture, 1972. Hardcover (paper over boards), 11 ¼ x 9 ½ inches, halftone illustrations, unpaginated. First printing.
This book is one of the most important twentieth-century monographs on a photographer and Aperture has kept it in print nearly continuously over the last forty years. Edited and designed by Doon Arbus and Marvin Israel, it is an understated masterpiece. It features fifteen pages of quotations by Arbus and virtually all of her iconic square-format images of the unusual individuals she sought out and encountered on the street, including the highly-recognizable pair of twin girls on the cover. The first printing is distinguished by the presence of the image “Two Girls in Identical Raincoats,” which was replaced by a different picture in all subsequent printings. In unusually nice condition, with miniscule edgewear, in a dustjacket with a little rubbing and a tiny tear. $1,000
6. AVEDON, Richard. Photographs, 1947-1977, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1978. Hardcover (paper over boards), 14 ¼ x 10 ¾ inches, unpaginated, 162 halftone illustrations, clear glassine jacket with printing. Signed.
This book, with an essay by Harold Brodkey, was published in conjunction with a retrospective of Avedon portrait and fashion photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This copy boldly signed by the photographer on the front free endpaper. Previous owner’s blindstamp in the front free endpaper, in a lightly rubbed jacket. $500
7. AVEDON, Richard. Richard Avedon: Made in France, San Francisco: Fraenkel Gallery, 2001. Hardcover (black-stamped cream cloth spine and heavy boards), 15 x 11 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 26 halftone illustrations.
Issued without a dustjacket, this book is an inventive, oversize compendium of photographs that appeared in Harper’s Bazaar between 1955 and 1959. Each is reproduced with its original surrounding mount and back, which has illuminating typed labels, wet stamps, and handwritten notes. Though printed in an edition of 5,000 copies, it quickly went out of print and up in price. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $500
8. BALTZ, Lewis. The New Industrial Parks Near Irvine, California (Das Neue Industriegelände in der Nähe von Irvine, Kalifornien), New York: Leo Castelli/Castelli Graphics, 1974. Hardcover (black-printed gray cloth), 10 ¾ x 11 ¾ inches, 108 pages, 51 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Blatz’s first and most iconic book, appearing a year before his work was included in the defining Eastman House show and catalog The New Topographics. Other than captions and basic publishing info, the book is devoid of text, reflecting the stark nature of the photographs. Baltz photographed new suburban architecture that didn’t reveal it purpose and that is usually seen frontally, creating people-less, formalist images of black-and-white rectangles. Tiny scuffs to bottom edge, spotting to top edge of pages, in dustjacket with mild rubbing, wrinkles, and one short tear. $1,000
9. BALTZ, Lewis. Park City, Albuquerque, New Mexico: Artspace and Castelli Graphics, New York, 1980. Hardcover (black-stamped brown cloth), 10 ¾ x 11 ¼ inches, 246 pages, 102 halftone illustrations, dustjacket, with ephemera.
Baltz’s assessment of the wholesale construction of a development of new homes outside of Salt Lake City. He reveals a wasteland that once it was covered with residential and commercial buildings only “increased the sense of starkness and desolation.” A key body of work and book from the “New Topographics” movement. Gus Blaisdell provides the essay “Skeptical Landscapes.” Printed in an edition of 3,000 copies. Laid into this copy is a small, folded poster announcing the book and a 1981 show of the work at Casetlli Photographs, New York. Back corner of the lower spine very lightly bumped. $500
10. BALTZ, Lewis. Candlestick Point, Tokyo: Gallery Min, 1989. Hardcover (gray-stamped black cloth with label), 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches, unpaginated, 72 duotone and 12 color halftone illustrations, slipcase. Special edition, signed, with ephemera.
Comprises Baltz’s typical deadpan assessment of an undeveloped, trash-strewn, section of San Francisco, later turned into a park. Full-page, well reproduced images, including three gatefolds. Afterword, in both Japanese and English, by Gus Blaisdell. At some point after the original publication, Distributed Art Publishers obtained 45 copies of the book from Baltz and issued it as this limited, collector’s edition. They inserted a letterpress-printed page before the title page and had the photographer sign and number them; this one is 22/45. Laid into this copy is a prospectus. Near fine condition. $1,000
11. BAUMGARTEN, Lothar. Carbon, Los Angeles: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1991. Hardcover (gray and yellow-stamped gray cloth), 12 ¼ x 15 ¼ inches, 144 pages, duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
This large volume reveals Baumgarten’s fascination with railroads. He turns his large-format camera on cars, tracks, bridges, stations, and other related subjects throughout the United States. His well-seen images were richly rendered by Meridian Printing, in an edition of 1,750 copies. The booklet inserted in the rear features text by the photographer and Michael Oppitz. This copy of the book and booklet signed, in pencil, by Baumgarten. Near fine condition. $1,250
12. BEARD, Peter. Longing for Darkness: Kamante’s Tales from Out of Africa, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 12 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket. Signed.
This journal-like book, combines photographs by Beard and Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) with the stories of Dinesen’s lead servant, Kamante, along with his fanciful drawings. It comprises Kamante’s version of Blixen’s classic book Out of Africa, told in a personal and enlightening manner. Beard idolized Dinesen to the point of buying land next to her estate outside of Nairobi, Kenya, and befriending Kamante. Demonstrating how well connected Beard was, he got Jacqueline (Kennedy) Onassis to write an afterword for the book. This copy with drawings and an inscription by Beard. Previous owner’s inscription, mild edgewear, and chipping and tears to dustjacket. $500
13. BEARD, Peter. Peter Beard: The Last Word from Paradise, New York: International Center of Photography, 1977. Single folded sheet, 58 x 42 inches, halftone illustrations.
This large-scale piece accompanied a solo show that Beard presented at ICP. Printed on quality newsprint, one side features eight double-page spreads from Beard’s diaries and a text by Nelson Doubleday. The flip side is an homage to Beard’s great cause of the survival of African elephants; it presents largescale images of elephant carcasses and herds, all aerial shots. Laid out by the talented graphic designer Marvin Israel, it is a rare early Peter Beard item. Mild stains to one corner. $1,000
14. BEARD, Peter. Diary, Japan: Libro Port Publishing, 1993. Hardcover (black-stamped white paper over boards), 12 x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, color halftone illustrations, dustjacket and belly band, with ephemera.
The book is filled with full-bleed color photographs by Beard of his richly collaged diary pages. While they feature his distinctive handwriting, there is an overabundance of visual material, such as newspaper clippings and photographs, plus three-dimensional objects placed on the pages before he photographed them. Includes two short essays and an artist’s chronology, in Japanese. The copyright page states, “Catalogue for show ‘Diary,’ From a Dead Man’s Wallet: Confessions of a Bookmaker.” Laid into this copy are a few pieces of ephemera from the publisher. Fine condition. $500
15. BEATON, Cecil. The Book of Beauty, London: Duckworth, 1930. Hardcover (gold-stamped white and pink cloth), 11 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches, 124 pages, 27 collotype illustrations, with ephemera.
This is Beaton’s first book, discussing many prominent beautiful English and American women, with both drawings of them and rich reproductions after photographs. Among those included are Anna May Wong, Lillian Gish, Lady Diana Cooper, and Beaton’s own two sisters, Nancy and Baba. Beaton presents the attractive young women in modernist dress and settings. The fanciful cover features gold polka dots and a pink spine. Laid into this copy are about a dozen magazine clippings of other beauties, at least one of them represented in the book. Minor rubbing to covers, with a previous owner’s bookplate. $750
16. BELL, Larry, and Guy De Cointet. Animated Discourse, Venice, California: Sure Co., 1975. Hardcover, 5 x 15 inches, 145 pages, halftone illustrations. Signed.
This is a spectacular conceptual artist’s book, representing a collaboration between two California artists who were known for their paintings, sculpture, and other non-photographic work. Each page features a grid of photographic reproductions of people running through Bell’s Venice studio. Inserted in the rear is a folded sheet measuring 1 x 59 inches that reproduces 29 images and serves as the key to “reading” the pages. Each image stands for a letter of the alphabet, a space, and punctuation. The cover sports metallic silver cloth and the book is signed by both Bell and De Cointet. Gus Foster, the publisher, informed me that only about 100 copies of this book were finished; though he had sheets for one thousand copies printed, the binder lost most of them. Very light rubbing and scratching to covers. $1,500
17. BLOSSFELDT, Karl. Urformen der Kunst: Photographische Pflanzenbilder, Berlin: Verlag Ernst Wasmuth, 1929 (second edition). Hardcover (gold-stamped turquoise cloth), 12 ½ x 10 inches, 260 pages, 120 screen-gravure illustrations.
Art Forms in Nature was Blossfeldt’s great contribution to Germany’s New Objectivity. His close-up images of plants, sometimes presented in pairs and triptychs, make them look muscular and almost machine-made. Like the first edition, the plates, in rich gravure, are backed by blank pages. Introduction by Karl Nierendorf. Text in German. Covers worn and missing a small piece at bottom of spine. $500
18. BOURKE-WHITE, Margaret. Eyes on Russia, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1931. Hardcover (black-stamped tan cloth), 11 ¼ x 8 inches, 136 pages, 40 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
This is Bourke-White’s first and most significant book, produced when she was only twenty-five years old. She both wrote the text and provided the images, primarily of male and female workers and the dynamic architecture of Soviet industry. The dustjacket quotes her as saying, “Things are happening in Russia, and happening with staggering speed. I could not afford to miss any of it. I wanted to make the pictures of this astonishing development, because, whatever the outcome, whether success or failure, the plan is so gigantic, so unprece-dented in all history, that I felt that these photographic records might have some historical value. I saw the five-year plan as a great scenic drama being unrolled before the eyes of the world.” Two pages stained from laid in newsprint article titled “Russians See Hope in a Change of Policy.” The cloth is particularly bright, due to the presence of the rare dustjacket, which is worn and missing pieces. $2,000
19. BOURKE-WHITE, Margaret. Eyes on Russia, another copy, signed.
This copy is inscribed to an individual, “in remembrance of one of my [illegible] photographing days in the open iron mines.” This probably refers to Bourke-White’s 1936 visit to the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota. Pasted onto a preliminary blank page is a portrait of the photographer, cut from the original dustjacket, the rest of which is missing. Front hinge separating, covers lightly browned, with faint ring mark. $2,000
20. BRADY, Mathew B. Illustrations of Longfellow’s Courtship of Miles Standish by John W. Ehninger, New York: Rudd & Carleton, 1859. Hardcover (gold-stamped green leather), 9 ¾ x 12 inches, 50 pages, 8 mounted salt prints, gilt edges.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s short narrative poem about Mayflower pilgrims in early Colonial days. Brady’s images are after illustrations by Ehninger, not made from life. They show Miles Standish speaking to, leading, and otherwise interacting with fellow settlers and Native Americans, and, finally, at the wedding procession with his Purtian bride, Priscilla. Known as “Mr. Lincoln’s cameraman,” Mathew Brady (1823-1896) operated portrait studios in New York and Washington, D.C., beginning in the 1840s. He is best known for his photographic record of the Civil War during the 1860s and his portraits of famous public figures such as Lincoln, P. T. Barnum, and Walt Whitman. This title is an early example of a photographically illustrated book, published only twenty years after the announcement of the daguerreotype. Previous owner’s inscription, endpapers rubbed, and covers worn along edges. $500
21. BRANDT, Bill. Perspective of Nudes, New York: Amphoto, 1961. Hardcover (red-stamped paper over boards), 11 x 9 ½ inches, 106 pages, 90 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
Preface by Lawrence Durrell and introduction by Chapman Mortimer. Brandt’s most revered book, with quality, gravure plates. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that has a few tears, is chipped and missing a small piece from the back. $1,500
22. BRODOVITCH, Alexey. Ballet, New York: J. J. Augustin, 1945. Hardcover, 9 x 11 ¼ inches, 144 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
This is Brodovitch’s groundbreaking and influential book of photographs of various dance companies performing. The impressionistic images, some gritty, some soft, bleed off the pages and into one another on two-page spreads. A delicate book, due to the absence of a spine board and its thin dustjacket, which is often missing from the spine (not the case here). Dustjacket lightly soiled and edgeworn, missing the inside flaps and small pieces at spine. $5,000
23. BROWN, Arthur. Tennyson’s Brook, Illustrated by Arthur Brown with Photographic Views, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England: Arthur Brown, 1879. Folder (gold-stamped green cloth), 10 ½ x 8 ¼ inches, 13 mounted woodburytypes.
The photographer explains in a printed sheet that he decided to publish this portfolio after Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote him in thanks after receiving a set of prints that illustrated his thirteen-verse poem The Brook. Brown made the photographs along the Skelton Beck stream at Saltburn-by-the-Sea in Yorkshire. The images are rich, idyllic, and usually unpeopled. Tennyson’s verse, written from the stream’s viewpoint, ends, “And out again I curve and flow/To join the brimming river/For men may come and men may go/ But I go on forever.” The 4-x-3-inch prints are mounted on stiff printed boards. Mild wear to cover edges and tips. $500
24. BURKE, Bill. I Want to Take Picture, Atlanta: Nexus Press, 1987. Hardcover (laminated paper over boards), 15 ¼ x 11 ½ inches, unpaginated, duotone and color halftone illustrations. With signed ephemera.
Burke’s influential artist’s book, based on his travels in Southeast Asia. He presents documentary pictures of such subjects as Bangkok sex clubs and Khmer Rouge soldiers, sometimes collaged with colorful ephemera like beer bottle labels. He provides captions and running texts on events such as suffering a broken neck in a serious car accident, all handwritten to give the book the feeling of a diary (in the vein of Peter Beard). Included in both Roth and Parr/Badger. Laid into this copy is a brochure for a 1987 show of the same title and an exhibition announcement for an unrelated exhibition, signed by Burke. Near fine condition. $750
25. CALLAHAN, Harry. Photographs: Harry Callahan, Santa Barbara, California: El Mochuelo Gallery, 1964. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 13 ¼ x 11 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 126 halftone illustrations, in original slipcase.
There are five sections of plates; Eleanor and Barbara (wife and daughter); signs, windows, and other urban details; people on the street; miscellaneous pictures; and landscapes. Includes a statement by Callahan and a bibliography of exactly one hundred entries. Published without a dustjacket in an edition of 1,500, this is still the most desirable book on Callahan. Near fine condition, with endpapers glue stained (as normal). $1,000
26. CAPONIGRO, Paul. Paul Caponigro: On Prior Lane: A Firefly’s Light, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 2008. Hardcover (gray cloth and paper over boards with printed label on spine), 9 ¼ x 7 ¼ inches, 68 pages, 24 tritone illustrations. Signed.
Features classic straightforward images by Caponigro, mostly landscapes and including his famous “Running White Deer” (1967) as a gatefold. They are all high-quality reproductions and two of them are tipped-in. The text, printed in elegant letterpress, comprises an interview by Lumiere Press operator Michael Torosian and an introduction by him. This is another example of the press’ nicely designed and produced books, printed in a number edition of 225. This copy signed by Caponigro (called for only in the slip-cased edition of 26). Fine condition. $600
27. CARTIER-BRESSON, Henri. The Decisive Moment, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1952. Hardcover (paper over boards), 14 ½ x 10 ¾ inches, unpaginated, 126 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket, original booklet.
Cartier-Bresson’s most influential book, comprising pictures from the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. They are printed large and in high-quality gravure. Henri Matisse provided the cover design (seen on both the paper boards and dustjacket) specifically for the book. Light wear to covers, rear hinge loose, in dustjacket that is missing small pieces. $1,500
28. CHAPPELL, Walter. Logue and Glyphs: 1943-1949, New Orleans: Glyph Press, 1951. Hardcover (batik cloth over boards), 12 ½ x 9 ½ inches, 48 pages, unillustrated. With signed ephemera.
This early Chappell item, made when he was only twenty-six years old, comprises poems by him. According to a 1992 handwritten letter from Chappell, the book “was printed at night in a print shop on Royal Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, where I worked for a period during the two years I lived there after the war, while mostly painting, before my serious turn to photography in 1954.” Printed in an edition of only 50 copies; WorldCat locates a single copy, at the University of Notre Dame Library. An extremely rare Chappell piece (including the letter), for the completist. Stains and light wear to covers, which are separating from the body text. $1,000
29. CLARK, Larry. Tulsa, New York: Lustrum Press, 1971. Softcover, 12 x 9 inches, 64 pages, 50 halftone illustrations. Signed.
Clark’s first book, a searing personal document of drug culture in Oklahoma around 1970. The photographer states, “I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1943. When I was sixteen I started shooting amphetamine. I shot with my friends every day for three years and then left town, but I’ve been back through the years. Once the needle goes in it never comes out.” He presents sex, gun violence, and, most shockingly, a very pregnant woman shooting up, in an image beautified by glowing natural light. Some of the portraits are accompanied by the simple caption “Dead.” The second book published by Lustrum Press, run by Ralph Gibson. This copy inscribed to fellow photographer and bad boy Ramon Muxter. Some pages loose and covers worn. $750
30. CLARK, Larry. Teenage Lust, New York: Larry Clark, 1983. Softcover, 8 ½ x 9 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations. Signed.
Commencing with the touching image on the cover of a nude teenage couple in the backseat of a car, the photographer revels in the sexual escapades of young people, indoors and out. Clark declares the book an autobiography and includes childhood and youthful images of himself, such as with his parents and musician Jimmy Reed, and as an adult, doing drugs and other mis-adventures. He owns up to his criminal activities by including newspaper clippings and a police report. The book ends with a long, rambling autobiographical text by the photographer. This copy inscribed to fellow bad boy Ramon Muxter and dated a year after the publication, making it an important association copy. Scratches, folds, rubbing, and other marks to the covers. $750
31. CLARK, Larry. Larry Clark 1992, New York: Thea Westreich, and Gisela Capitain, Köln, 1992. Softcover, 10 ¾ x 8 ¼ inches, 336 pages, halftone illustrations.
A thick book, without text and featuring bleed halftones of primarily adolescent boys, with guns, nooses, and in various stages of undress. Though designated in an edition of one thousand copies, about half of them were inadvertently destroyed. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $750
32. CLARK, Larry. Teenage Lust, Tokyo: Taka Ishii Gallery, 1997. Softcover, 11 ½ x 8 ¾ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
Originally self-published by Clark in 1983 (see entry above) and 1987, this is the third incarnation of Teenage Lust and the only Japanese edition. This edition, of 1,000 copies, has about ten extra pictures and Clark’s 23-page autobiographical text printed in Japanese. Fine condition. $500
33. CLARK, Larry. Punk Picasso, New York: AKA Editions, 2003. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 496 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color), in original cardboard sleeve. Signed.
This two-inch thick book continues Clark’s autobiographical publishing streak. It features reproductions of records, baseball cards, newspaper clippings, letters, and images from his projects such as Tulsa, Teenage Lust, and Kids. The book’s title was coined by David Denby, who referred to Clark as a “punk Picasso” in a review of the photographer’s 2001 film, Bully. Printed in a numbered edition of 1,000, it includes a folded sheet of three color pictures of his nineteen-year old girlfriend, and is signed and dated 2003 by Clark. Mint condition. $750
34. EGGLESTON, William. William Eggleston’s Guide, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1976. Hardcover (gold-stamped leatherette with mounted reproduction), 9 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 112 pages, 94 color halftone illustrations. Signed.
The influential book accompanying Eggleston’s 1976 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, which was considered to be the coming out of color photography for the art world (even though it was not the first show of color photographs at the museum, as is often misstated). Sporting the look of a children’s book, it features green pages for John Szarkowski’s introductory essay and Eggleston’s now famous tricycle picture on the cover. This copy inscribed and dated 1996 on the title page by Eggleston. Near fine condition. $1,000
35. EVANS, Walker. American Photographs, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1938. Hardcover (black cloth with printed label on spine), 9 x 8 inches, 204 pages, 87 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Evans’ masterpiece and one of the most important photography books of the twentieth century. The first of two sections references the photographic medium by beginning with pictures of two photographers’ studios. It then proceeds to emphasize people, such as visitors to Coney Island, tenant farmers, children, and workers. The second section, nearly bereft of people, reads like a catalog of vernacular architecture, one of Evans’ dearest subjects, with the buildings often approached in his formal, frontal manner. Lincoln Kirstein provides the afterword for what was the “catalog” of the first one-man show of photographs at the Museum of Modern Art, printed in an edition of 5,000. Minor wear to the tips and top and bottom of spine, water damage to the top of the back cover and wrinkling to the pages in the second half of the book; the dustjacket is missing small pieces at the tips and top and bottom of darkened spine and blackened along top of the back, but professional conservation of the jacket makes it look better than it sounds here. $500
36. EVANS, Walker. James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1941. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 8 ½ x 6 inches, 472 pages, 31 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
This was a defining book for Evans, Agee, and the Great Depression. The writer and photographer were originally commissioned by Fortune to document poor Southern sharecroppers, but the magazine never ran the project. Published a few years later as this book, it received good reviews but sold only about 600 copies, as the general public wished to forget about the previous decade’s economic woes. Agee’s extensive text is often in the hard-to-read stream-of-consciousness mode. Evans’ photographs, on the other hand, are sharp and searing. Notably, his portfolio of images is placed even before the title page, signifying its importance beyond merely illustrating the text. The pictures essay three main families, each group introduced by a portrait of the husband/father. Includes the poignant portrait of Allie Mae Burroughs, tight-lipped, modestly dressed, and backed by raw clapboard siding. The cloth is rubbed and lightly worn at the tips and top and bottom of spine, while the dustjacket is faded on the spine, with a three-inch split, chipped, and missing small portions at the top and bottom of spine, with owner’s inscription and signature on the front free-end paper. $2,500
37. EVANS, Walker. Many Are Called, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966. Hardcover (white-stamped black cloth), 8 ¾ x 7 ¼ inches, 178 pages, 89 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Evans’ coherent set of subway photographs made surreptitiously between 1938 and 1941, with Helen Levitt often accompanying him. James Agee, who famously collaborated with Evans on their book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, wrote the introduction used here in 1940, but died a decade before this book came out. Evans’ intimate pictures, completely devoid of captions, show his unsuspecting subjects sitting directly across the aisle from him, neatly framed by windows and bits of signage. Erratum slip pasted in. The cloth has some minor scuffing to the back, the dustjacket is edgeworn, torn, and taped. $750
38. FRANK, Robert. The Americans, New York: Grossman, 1969. Hardcover (gold-stamped black cloth), 7 ½ x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, 89 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Frank’s monumental classic, considered by many to be the most influential book of photographs from the twentieth century, with an introduction by Jack Kerouac. This is the second American edition, coming ten years after the Grove Press first. It is designated the “revised and enlarged edition” on the front flap and “An Aperture Book” on the title page. The major change is the “Continuation” at the end, in which Frank added film strips from his first four movies: “Pull My Daisy,” “The Sin of Jesus,” “O.K. End Here,” and “Me and My Brother.” Previous owner’s stamp on front paste-down, faint wear to lower cloth edges and tips, in a lightly browned dustjacket with a few tiny tears and wrinkles. $750
39. FRANK, Robert. The Lines of My Hand, Tokyo: Yugensha/ Kazuhiko Motomura, 1972. Hardcover (white-stamped black cloth), 13 ¾ x 10 ¼ inches, 120 pages, halftone illustrations, slipcase and pamphlet.
The deluxe first edition of this important book, issued without a dustjacket in a slipcase with a mounted reproduction (one of two: here “Platte River, Tennessee”). It is Frank’s “autobiography,” beginning with images of deceased friends and his son and daughter. Then, he arranges pictures from his known bodies of work in rough chronological order; they commence in his native Switzerland, move through Peru, Paris, London, Spain, and include a number of images made in the mid-1950s that do not show up in The Americans. After his 1958 bus pictures, which represented, at the time, his last photography project, Frank includes stills from his first four films, his new focus. Deeply aware of the book as a retrospective project and involved in its layout and sequencing, he begins and ends it with references to the publisher, mentioning Mr. Motomura’s first visit and reproducing a later note to him. Limited edition of 1,000. Includes the 30-page pamphlet with the Japanese translation. Near fine condition, with the slipcase covering separating a little on the inside. $4,500
40. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. Self Portrait, New City, New York: Haywire Press, 1970. Softcover, 8 ½ x 9 ¼ inches, 88 pages, 43 duotone illustrations. Signed.
Friedlander’s first solo book, published by his own Haywire Press, only in soft and perhaps his signature publication. Includes many of his now classic self- portraits, like the one where his shadow falls on the back of a woman, implying stalking, and his hair is rendered spikey by the subject’s fur collar. In his brief introduction, Friedlander claims that he did not make the pictures as a project, instead finding them among his other work. “They began as straight portraits but soon I was finding myself at times in the landscape of my photography.
I might call myself an intruder.” A modestly sized book that packed great punch. This copy signed by Friedlander. Light rubbing to covers, with tiny wear to the top and bottom of spine. $750
41. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. The American Monument, New York: Eakins Press Foundation, 1976. Hardcover (black and gold-stamped turquoise cloth), 12 x 17 inches, 170 pages, 213 halftone illustrations.
As a book, equal in standing to his earlier and much smaller Self Portrait. This project, published in the year of the country’s Bicentennial, reveals Friedlander as a patriot, humorist, and cataloger. He pictures statues, plaques, and other monuments large and small, some still highly revered and others overlooked. Some images receive full-page treatment, while others are ganged in groups of up to nine, suggesting a catalog or inventory of the subjects. Printed without a dustjacket in an edition of 2,000 copies, with an afterword by Leslie George Katz. The book is actually loose bound, with three screw posts, that allow individual sheets to be removed (for framing?). Minor scuffing to covers. $1,250
42. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. Lee Friedlander: Photographs, New City, New York: Haywire Press, 1978. Hardcover (silver-stamped blue cloth), 10 ¾ x 11 ½ inches, 106 pages, 137 duotone illustrations. Signed.
This catalog for a show at the Hudson River Museum, in Yonkers, New York, was issued without a dustjacket and contains very little text—only acknowledgements and a quotation by Marcel Proust. The reproductions cover work from the early 1960s to mid-1970s; still lifes, landscapes, party pictures, and images that appeared in Friedlander’s previous books Self Portrait and The American Monument. This copy signed by Friedlander. Light rubbing to cloth and spine ink. $500
43. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. Flowers and Trees, New City, New York: Haywire Press, 1981. Hardcover (black-stamped purple cloth, with internal spiral binding), 15 x 12 inches, 88 pages, 40 tritone illustrations. Signed.
An elegant, oversize production, issued without a dustjacket. Features Friedlander’s attractive and sometimes challenging images, all dating from the 1970s. The minimal text is in letterpress and the inside covers sport a dark green cloth that compliments the outside purple. This copy signed by Friedlander. Near mint condition, in opened shrink wrap. $1,250
44. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. Lee Friedlander: Portraits, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1985. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 10 ¼ x 11 inches, 96 pages, 73 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
An array of previously little-known portraits by the great street photographer, spanning thirty years. Primarily seen in each subject’s personal space are such individuals as musician Count Basie, artist Jim Dine, curator John Szarkowski, collector Arnold Crane, photographers Helen Levitt and Walker Evans, and the photographer’s children and wife. British painter R. B. Kitaj provides an insightful foreword and himself is pictured with a nude woman draped over his knees, pubis up. This copy signed by Friedlander. Mint condition, in opened shrink wrap. $500
45. FRITH, Francis. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hyperion: A Romance, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1868. Hardcover (gold and black-stamped brown leather), 9 ½ x 7 ½ inches, 272 pages, 24 mounted albumen prints, gilt edges.
One of Longfellow’s earliest works (first published in 1839—the year photography was invented), Hyperion is a prose romance that follows an American traveling in Germany. Frith himself describes his “long and delightful journey” making the photographs for the book. His albumen prints, measuring about 5 x 6 ½ inches, show landscapes and city scenes shot along the Rhine River, in Switzerland, and the Tyrol. They depict bridges, cemeteries, castles, mills, cloisters, market places, and even a glacier. Francis Frith (1822-1898) was a top nineteenth-century English photographer, who ran Europe’s largest photographic printing business for decades. He was most renowned for his mammoth-plate images of Egypt, made in the late 1850s. See: Goldschmidt and Naef, The Truthful Lens, for a slightly earlier edition of Hyperion. This one has an attractive binding, which shows minimal wear to the edges and tips, with one free endpaper (attractive marbled paper) detached. $750
46. GOSSAGE, John. Here, Rochester, Minnesota: Rochester Art Center, 2010. Unbound (as issued), 22 ¼ x 12 ½ inches, 80 newsprint pages, bellyband, in original plastic sleeve. Signed, with original photograph.
This “catalog” accompanied an exhibition at the art center of photographs it commissioned Gossage to take in Rochester. After an introduction by curator Kris Douglas, come 72 largescale, full-page halftones of typical street images by Gossage, showing yards, telephone poles, houses, and people, in both detail and from afar. Indicative of the inclusive nature of the project, the entire guts of this catalog was inserted in an issue of the city’s daily paper, the Post-Bulletin. This copy is from the special limited edition of only 15 that includes a mounted silver print (measuring 8 x 6 ½ inches), signed and numbered 11/15. The image is of a small clapboard house with a picket fence and American flag that Gossage shot from the driver’s seat of a car, suggesting a surveillance photograph. Both the cover page and the photograph are signed. Mint condition. $1,500
47. GOWIN, Emmet. Photographs, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. Hardcover (gold and blind-stamped black cloth), 10 ¼ x 9 ½ inches, 102 pages, duotone illustrations, with ephemera. Signed.
Gowin’s first monograph, containing his most appreciated body of work, depicting his wife, Edith, and other family members, richly reproduced. Features short quotations by Frederick Sommer and James Agee, and a brief afterword by the photographer. This copy inscribed “with a handshake” and dated 1981. Laid in is a hand-written letter from Gowin, indicating that 2,000 hardcovers were issued. Near fine condition, in dustjacket, with tiny edgewear. $650
48. GOWIN, Emmet. Petra: In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon, New York: Pace/McGill Gallery, 1986. Softcover, 14 x 11 inches, 40 pages, 14 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
This elegant, oversize publication chronicles the ancient capital of a pre-Islamic Arab culture that flourished from the fourth century B.C. to the sixth century A.D. Subsequently lost to the outside world until 1812, it was photographed by Gowin between 1982 and 1985. With a large-format camera and a keen eye, he examines the passageways, rock formations, tombs, and palaces of the “city of rose-red stone.” Features an introduction by Gowin, an historical essay by anthropology professor Phillip C. Hammond, and a dustjacket with a tipped-on reproduction. A hard-to-find title, this copy is discretely signed by Gowin after his text. Faint scuff to front cover, in opened shrink wrap. $650
49. GRIFFITHS, Philip Jones. Vietnam Inc., New York: Macmillan, 1971. Softcover, 11 x 8 inches, 224 pages, halftone illustrations.
This is Griffiths’ searing examination of the effects of the Vietnamese conflict on both soldiers and civilians. As a major Magnum photographer, he worked in the country between 1966 and 1970, capturing images of roundups of the enemy, drug use, prostitution, urban decadence, the destruction of villages, and the wounded and dead. Griffiths made clear in his text that he felt the United States was arrogantly attempting to impose its own values on Vietnam, pointing out that the southeast Asian country had chosen communist politicians in its first election, in 1946. This is one of the few books publishing during the war that made a case against both the conflict and war in general. Light rubbing, scuffs, and edgewear to covers. $500
50. HEATH, David. A Dialogue with Solitude, Culpepper, Virginia: Community Press, 1965. Hardcover, 11 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches, 100 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
According to the front flap, the book is “a paean to life—tragic, comic, and lyrical. It begins with a photographic prologue that sets the theme: the solitude of the individual. Photographs of lovers pursue the theme, suggesting that even this relationship may not be enough to alter the essential loneliness of the soul. A series of photographs taken in Korea shows the frustration, hardship, and ennui of Army life. A group of Negro portraits and another group exploring the bewilderments of youth further reveal the undeniable and haunting aspects of alienation. In seeking to probe the meaning of the world around him and his relation to it, Dave Heath has transmuted into photographic images his intense feeling and concern for the world. He concurs with W. B. Yeats’ assertion that creative expression is the social act of the solitary man.” A groundbreaking and influential book in American photography. This copy boldly signed on the title page by Heath. Light shelf wear, in a dustjacket that is lightly rubbed, creased, and with one short tear. $1,500
51. HEATH, David. Extempore: Reflections & Ruminations on Art & Personal History, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 1988. Hardcover (brown cloth with printed label and black-stamped gray paper over boards), 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 36 pages, 1 halftone illustration and 2 gelatin silver prints, with ephemera. Signed.
Edited by Michael Torosian, this is one of the Lumiere Press’ elegant books on classic photographers. The text is printed in letterpress and the tipped-in silver prints are from copy negatives. It features an interview with Heath about his life and work. Numbered edition of only 150 copies. Laid in is the prospectus and an order form, equally well designed. This copy inscribed by Heath. Fine condition, in original plastic sleeve. $500
52. HOPPE, E. O. The Book of Fair Women, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1922. Hardcover (gold-stamped vellum spine and textured paper over boards), 12 ½ x 9 ½ inches, unpaginated, 32 screen-gravure illustrations.
This is an elegant book, with letterpress typography, of elegant women, rendered in rich, tipped-in gravure plates. Hoppé provides studio portraits of beautiful women from about twenty countries, including the United States, Cuba, Chile, England, France, Poland, Sweden, Russia, China, Japan, and India. His subjects are expertly dressed, coiffed, posed, and lit. Richard King essays “Beauty,” “Charm,” and “Beautiful Women the World Over.” The periodical American Photography reviewed the book, claiming that the photographer “has the painter’s eye for arrangements of tone which translate well into designs on a flat surface. His versatility is immense; he has no stock poses. As if by intuition, he grasps the character of this subject.” (Copy of review laid in). Issued in an edition of only five hundred numbered copies (this one 322/500). Light stains to edges of spine and light wear to tips. $500
53. HOSOE, Eikoh. Man and Woman, Tokyo: Camera Art, 1961. Hardcover (paper over boards), 9 ½ x 7 ¼ inches, 60 pages, 32 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket and slipcase. Signature laid in.
This is one of Hosoe’s most elegant books, small in scale and richly printed in gravure. The images, primarily of nude women, frequently bleed off the page and appear somewhat abstracted. Text in Japanese. Lacking the English translation booklet. Laid into this copy is a 1998 letter signed by Hosoe. Near fine condition, in original printed slipcase. $1,250
54. HOSOE, Eikoh. Killed by Roses, Tokyo: Shueisha, 1963. Hardcover (printed cloth), 16 ¾ x 11 inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, acetate jacket and cardboard box. Signed.
This is one of Hosoe’s most elaborate books, over-sized, richly printed, and featuring some gatefolds. His collaborator was the author Yukio Michima, who is the subject of most of the pictures, rendered surrealistically and with strong graphic impact. Issued in an edition of 1,500 numbered copies (this one 586), signed by both Michima and Hosoe. Near fine condition, except for light scuffs to a few pages, in worn (as usual) box. $4,000
55. HOSOE, Eikoh. Embrace, Tokyo: Shashin Hyoronsha Publishing, 1971. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 14 ¼ x 10 ½ inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket, slipcase, and bellyband. With signed ephemera.
Similar in subject matter and treatment to Man and Woman, but much larger in scale and more consistently abstract in its imagery. Arms, legs, breasts, and other body parts graze, caress, and embrace one another, in a tour-de-force of human fleshiness. Laid into this copy is a 1988 letter signed by Hosoe. Near fine condition, in original slipcase that is lightly rubbed. $2,000
56. HOSOE, Eikoh. Kamaitachi, New York: Aperture, 2005. Hardcover (printed cloth), 15 x 12 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 34 tri-tone illustrations, glassine dustjacket, box.
Another oversize and deluxe publication illustrated by Hosoe, first published in 1969. This one was a collaboration with the dancer Tatsumi Hijikata, who performed a series of “happenings” in the Japanese countryside, invoking the aura of the Kamaitachi, legendary Japanese tricksters. The book features 34 gatefold bleed images, hidden by dense blue pages. Issued in a signed, numbered edition of 500 in Japan and 500 in the U.S., in a Pop-Art-designed clamshell box. Mint condition, in original plastic sleeve. $750
57. JONES, Nathaniel P. Daniel S. Durrie, A History of Madison, the Capital of Wisconsin; Including the Four Lake Country, Madison: Daniel S. Durrie, 1874. Hardcover (copper-stamped blue cloth), 9 x 6 inches, 420 pages, 19 mounted albumen prints.
Durrie, the librarian of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, covers the pre-history of Madison, its incorporation in 1856, its designation as state capital, and various other milestones. In the 1870 census, four years before the book was published, Madison’s population was 857 people, while today it is home to about 235,000. Among Jones’ subjects is Roseline Peck, the first woman settler, who arrived in 1837 with her husband. Most of the tipped-in albumen prints measure about 3 x 3 inches and are probably halves of stereo pairs. They show Main Street (from two different corners), Vilas House, Park Hotel, Hospital for the Insane, Grace and Congregational Churches, the U.S. Court House, and the Capitol building. Also noteworthy are views of Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, as downtown Madison is on an isthmus between the two bodies of water. Nathaniel P. Jones specialized in stereographs during the 1870s and was active from 1855 to about the turn of the twentieth century. Among the museums that own work by him is the Amon Carter Museum (Fort Worth, Texas). Binding a little loose, covers worn, and missing small piece at bottom of spine. $750
58. KERTESZ, André. Day of Paris, New York: J. J. Augustin, 1945. Hardcover (black-stamped gray cloth), 148 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
This is Kertész’s personal and quiet ode to the city he called home for many years. He essays its people, cafés, shops, parks, and streets during three parts of the day: morning, afternoon, and night. One corner bumped and tiny wear to top of spine, tape remnants to endpapers, tear and foxing to half title page, in dustjacket that is worn and rubbed. $1,500
59. KLEIN, William. Tokyo, New York: Crown, 1964. Hardcover (white and red-stamped black cloth), 14 x 10 ¼ inches, 184 pages, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
According to the inside flap, this is a “book of magnificent photographs. Here is Tokyo. Not Tokyo for the tourist or Tokyo for travel posters, but everyday Tokyo in all its contradictions, discords, beauty, and appeal.” Tiny wear to tips and bottom of spine, in dustjacket that is wrinkled, scuffed, chipped, and with a 2-inch tear. $1,000
60. KOUDELKA, Josef. Gypsies, Millerton, New York: Aperture, 1975. Hardcover (blind and silver-stamped brown cloth), 11 x 12 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, dustjacket. First printing.
Koudelka’s first and still most revered book. He made most of the images in East Slovakian gypsy settlements in the early 1960s. Short texts by John Szarkowski and Czech photo historian Anna Fárová. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that is rubbed and with tiny edgewear. $500
61. KOUDELKA, Josef. Limestone, Paris: Lhoist, 2001. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 9 x 12 inches, 36 halftone illustrations, box.
The result of Koudelka being commissioned by the French limestone mining company Groupe Lhoist. Working in both Europe and the United States, he presents landscapes, mines, and machinery of the industry. The book is one continuous accordion binding, with largescale panoramic images, a rich and elaborate production. Introduction by board chairman Jean-Pierre Berghmans and captions by plant managers. Trilingual text in French, German, and English. Produced in a numbered edition of 2,000, this is #259. With the original cardboard box. Near fine condition. $1,500
62. LEVITT, Helen. James Agee, A Way of Seeing, New York: Viking Press, 1965. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 7 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches, 80 pages, 50 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket, with ephemera. Signed.
The outstanding collaboration between Levitt and author James Agee, published a decade after his death. Levitt’s lyrical photographs, presented in rich gravure, picture primarily poor children in Harlem and include some of her most revered images. Agee declared in his text that the project was a “major poetic work” and “an uninsistent but irrefutable manifesto of a way of seeing.” Laid into this copy is the New York Times obituary for Levitt, dated March 30, 2009, on original newsprint. Additionally, this copy signed by Levitt on the title page. Near fine condition. $1,500
63. LOCK & WHITFIELD. Men of Mark: A Gallery of Contemporary Portraits, London: Sampson Low, Martson, Searle, and Rivington, 1876 and 1877. Hardcover (gold-stamped black and maroon leather and cloth), 10 ½ x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, 72 mounted woodburytypes.
This volume contains the first and second series of seven, showing English and European men who were distinguished in government, religion, science, literature, art, law, medicine, and the military. Thompson Cooper provides brief biographical notes on each subject. Among the impressive array of eminent Victorians are His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (first series frontispiece), Victor Hugo, Gustave Dore, and Jules Verne. The portraits were taken expressly for the publication and are presented as oval woodburytypes, each 4 ½ x 3 ½ inches, in a printed border. Samuel Lock and George Whitfield ran a London portrait studio from 1856 to 1894, and are most remembered for their contributions to Men of Mark. See: George Eastman House, Imagining Paradise. Occasional foxing, wear to cover edges and tips. $750
64. LYON, Danny. The Bikeriders, New York: MacMillan, 1968. Softcover, 9 ¼ x 6 ½ inches, 94 pages, halftone illustrations.
Lyon’s first and most important book. Working in the personal documentary mode, he became a member of the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club and photographed its activities as an insider. He shows its members riding, racing, partying, and burying one of its own. Includes substantial statements by over a dozen individuals, like Cockroach, Funny Sonny, and Zipco. Indicative of the meager number of creative photography books being issued at the time, the publisher suggested its classification for booksellers on the back cover as “Adventure.” Minor edgewear. $500
65. LYON, Danny. Conversations with the Dead, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971. Hardcover (black-stamped white and gray cloth), 8 ½ x 11 ¼ inches, 196 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
In 1967 Lyon gained nearly unfettered access to the inside of Texas penitentiaries, an unimaginable feat today. He proceeded to befriend many inmates and captured them working in fields, eating, showering, and being strip searched. The final section features the compassionate letters and drawing of Billy McCune, inmate #122054. This copy boldly signed on the title page. Small sticker marks to front pastedown, otherwise in near fine condition (unusual in this shape, in hardcover, and signed). $1,000
66. MANDEL, Mike. The Baseball-Photographer Trading Cards, Mike Mandel, 1975. Box (3 x 3 x 11 inches), complete with 36 unopened packs of ten cards each (3 ½ x 2 ½ inches) and gum. Signed.
Undoubtedly Mandel’s most wide-ranging and uproarious project, these cards lampoon the newfound fame of artistic photographers during the 1970s. Each features a casual portrait of the shooter (or occasional curator), with “statistics” on the back, such as height, weight, favorite photographer, and favorite camera. Mandel photographed a total of 134 individuals, including himself. It is unknown how many boxes he issued, but this one is signed and dated 1992 (the year I bought it directly from Mandel). There was only one printing of the cards. Near fine condition. $5,000
67. MANDEL, Mike, and Larry Sultan. Evidence, Santa Cruz: Clatworthy Colorvues, 1977. Hardcover (gold-stamped blue cloth), 9 ¼ x 10 inches, 72 pages, 59 halftone illustrations, with ephemera.
Sultan and Mandel’s renowned selection of documentary photographs that are variously mysterious and entertaining. Robert F. Forth provides the afterword “The Circumstantial and the Evident.” A year later the Center for Creative Photography (University of Arizona, Tucson) traveled an exhibition of the material. Laid into this copy is an original Newsweek review of the show when it appeared at Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum, written by Douglas Davis, who calls it a “baffling” exhibition. In Parr and Badger II. Near fine condition. $750
68. MEATYARD, Ralph Eugene. Father Louie: Photographs of Thomas Merton by Ralph Eugene Meatyard, New York: Timken, 1991. Hardcover (gold-stamped green cloth), 10 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches, 108 pages, duotone illustrations, slipcase. Special edition, with original photograph.
Thomas Merton was a poet, social activist, Trappist Monk, and a close friend of Meatyard’s. The pictures show him reading, socializing, and posing in rural Kentucky, some with Meatyard’s telltale blurring and most made in the few years before Merton died in 1968. Includes an essay by Guy Davenport about the relationship of the subject and photographer, correspondence between the two, and a eulogy by Meatyard. This copy is from the numbered edition of 125, signed by Davenport and with a gelatin silver photograph, printed posthumously from the original negative by Meatyard’s son Christopher. Near fine condition. $500
69. MEISELAS, Susan. Nicaragua: June 1978–July 1979, London: Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, 1981. Hardcover (white-stamped black cloth), 9 ¾ x 11 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 71 color halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
Magnum photographer Meiselas’ important chronicle of the Nicaraguan revolution in the late 1970s. She photographed the Somoza regime, the insurrection, and the final offensive. Includes interviews with principle figures and a chronology of the country beginning with its founding in 1524. This copy signed and dated 2001 by Meiselas. Near fine condition. $500
70. MERTIN, Roger. Plastic Love Dream, Davis: University of California, Memorial Union Art Gallery, 1969. Box (plastic with label), 4 x 4 ½ x 1 ¼ inches, 7 inserts. Signed.
This is a rare and unusual exhibition “catalog” created by curator Fred R. Parker, who was partial to such productions. “Plastic Love Dream” was Mertin’s earliest successful body of work, depicting female nudes outdoors, with mirrors, and under plastic. The inserts include halftone illustrations, biographical information, text from an interview, and an essay by Eastman House curator Robert Sobieszek. This and a few other interesting catalogs by Parker are pictured in the 2006 book The Collectible Moment (Norton Simon Museum, page 43). This copy bears the signatures of both Mertin and Parker (neither called for in the edition). Near fine condition. $750
71. MISRACH, Richard. [a photographic book], San Francisco: Grapestake Gallery, 1979. Softcover, 12 x 9 ¾ inches, 58 pages, 56 halftone illustrations. Signed.
This is the desirable early monograph of Misrach’s important series of split-toned photographs of the desert, taken at night. This copy signed and dated 1983. Light rubbing to covers and one corner lightly bumped. $1,250
72. MORINAGA, Jun. River, Its Shadow of Shadows, Tokyo: Yugensha, 1978. Hardcover (white-stamped brown cloth), 12 x 10 ¾ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
Apparently Morinaga’s only book, it is a tour-de-force of design. His images, made in the 1960s, are gritty impressions of polluted water, sort of like demonic Minor White pictures. They are printed in high-contrast tones and often presented as gatefolds. Morinaga assisted W. Eugene Smith when the great photojournalist was in Japan working on his “Minamata” project, and Smith contributes some text to the book. Issued by the same concern that published two important Japanese books by Robert Frank. Fine condition, in original slipcase (printed paper over boards) and original plain cardboard box. $750
73. MUYBRIDGE, Eadweard. J. D. B. Stillman, The Horse in Motion: As Shown in Instantaneous Photography, Boston: James R. Osgood, 1882. Hardcover (black and gold-stamped brown cloth), 12 ¼ x 10 inches, 342 pages, 107 illustrations.
This massive compendium was the first publication on Muybridge’s images of animal locomotion. It was executed by Leland Stanford, a horse owner and former governor of California. He begins his preface by stating, “I have for a long time entertained the opinion that the accepted theory of the relative positions of the feet of horses in rapid motion was erroneous. I also believed that the camera could be utilized to demonstrate that fact, and by instantaneous pictures show the actual position of the limbs at each instant of the stride. Under this conviction I employed Mr. Muybridge, a very skillful photographer, to institute a series of experiments to that end.” However, the publisher had difficulty reproducing Muybridge’s work, so hand-rendered images after his photographs represent the majority of the illustrations herein. There are beautiful chromolithographs of horse muscles, silhouettes after Muybridge, drawings after Muybridge, and three collotypes of the photographer’s setup at Stanford’s private racing track. Solid binding, but wear to the edges and tips. $500
74. NARES, George S. Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1878. Hardcovers (gold and black-stamped green cloth), 2 volumes, 9 x 6 inches, 396 pages (each), 6 mounted woodburytypes.
Captain Nares’ account of the North Pole expedition of two English ships during the season of 1875-1876. In the preface he admits that they did not reach their goal and indicates that the photographs were made by paymaster
F. Mitchell and engineer George White. The rich, full-page woodburytypes depict the ships ominously ensconced in snow and ice, at Floeberg Beach, Cape Beechey, and Discovery Bay (with pitched tents), and serenely afloat in Cape Prescott. Only one crew member appears in one photograph, standing on a floeberg and peering up at largescale “pressed-up rubble ice.” In addition to the photographic illustrations are woodcuts, diagrams, and fold-out maps. Mounts of each frontispiece browned (due to tissue guard, but seemingly not affecting the prints), some loose signatures, and covers worn. Two volume set: $1,250
75. NEGRE, Charles. André Jammes, Charles Nègre Photographe, 1820-1880, Paris: André Jammes, 1963. Softcover (printed paper with mounted reproduction), 13 x 16 ½ inches, 42 pages, 31 collotype (?) illustrations, original acetate dustjacket.
This is an early monograph on a photographer, unusually largescale, and elaborately produced. All of the high-quality reproductions are tipped in and one (of an architectural detail) is a fold-out that measures a whopping 28 x 13 inches. Other images show landscapes, monuments, and example of Nègre’s important series of Parisian street vendors, mostly from the 1850s and printed from paper negatives. After studying painting with Ingres and Delaroche, Charles Nègre (1820-1880) became a prominent French photographer during the middle of the nineteenth century. He studied and experimented with photogravure and was known for producing particularly large salt prints, measuring up to 20 x 30 inches. Written by one of the earliest collectors of photographs, with all text in French, in an edition of only 300 copies. Light foxing and minor wrinkles to covers. $750
76. OUTERBRIDGE, Paul, Jr. Elaine Dines and Graham Howe, Paul Outerbridge: A Singular Aesthetic: Photographs and Drawings, 1921-1941: A Catalogue Raisonné, Santa Barbara, California: Arabesque Books, 1981. Hardcover (tan cloth with mounted reproduction and mat, and black-stamped mounted label on spine), 12 ¼ x 9 ½ inches, 240 pages, 564 halftone illustrations (some in color), printed acetate jacket, with ephemera.
An ambitious project, this is one of the few catalog raisonnés for a photographer. It includes an introduction by Dines, Howe, and Bernard Barryte, a 1940 essay by Outerbridge on the color carbro process, a selected bibliography, and, most importantly, every image by him known at the time. Featured are his modernist ink drawings, delicate platinum prints, and color nude and advertising images. The challenging cover image shows a nude woman wearing only a mask and gloves with metal fingertips. Laid into this copy is a prospectus for this limited edition of 1,500 copies. Fine condition, in a rubbed jacket. $500
77. PARKEHARRISON, Robert. The Architect’s Brother, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Twin Palms, 2000. Hardcover (black-stamped black cloth with mounted reproduction), 13 ¾ x 11 ¼ inches, unpaginated, full-color illustrations, slipcase. Signed.
This book includes selections from seven of ParkeHarrison’s earliest successful series, dating from 1993 to 2000 ; “The Architect’s Brother,” “Cardboard Sky,” “Witnessland,” “Exhausted Globe,” “Industrial Land,” “Promisedland,” and “Earth Elegies.” These highly fabricated images generally show the photographer himself (?) interacting with nature and primitively made mechanical devices. They suggest, in varying degrees, fantasy, dreams, experi-mentation, and Armageddon. Printed in an edition of 4,000 copies, 150 of which were numbered, signed, and slip cased (this one 125/150). Fine condition, in opened shrink wrap. $500
78. PARKER, Fred R. Attitudes: Photography in the 1970’s, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1979. Softcover with plastic spiral binding, 11 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, sheet of 20 color slides and pieces of original art, with ephemera. Signed.
This is an elaborate catalog for a large show at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art—something of a West Coast answer to John Szarkowski’s “Mirrors and Windows” book and exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, of the previous year. The original items are a screen print by Keith A. Smith (signed), an offset lithograph by Todd Walker (signed), an offset lithograph by Alex Sweetman (signed and numbered), and a piece by Robert Heinecken. The latter is a unique page extracted from a popular magazine (Vogue, in this case) over which Heinecken printed (on both sides) the grizzly image of a Vietnamese soldier holding two severed human heads. Laid into this copy is a 1982 typed and signed letter from curator Fred R. Parker. Printed in an edition of 1,000 copies, all of which were numbered and signed by Parker; this one is #827. The fragile covers have minor wear along the edges and a spot on the back. $650
79. PARKS, Gordon. Harlem: Gordon Parks, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 1997. Hardcover (tan cloth and black-stamped gray paper over boards, with paper label on spine), 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 54 pages, 4 duotone illustrations and gelatin silver print, with ephemera.
One of the Lumiere Press’ “Homage” series, issued without a dustjacket, nicely designed and printed in letterpress. It focuses on two of Parks’ Life magazine photo essays; one on a Harlem gang leader (1948) and the other a Harlem family (1968). Publisher Michael Torosian interviews the photographer, who discusses the evolution and production of the essays and his interaction with the subjects. The high-quality illustrations are tipped in, as is the frontispiece self-portrait, a silver print made from a copy negative. This copy is numbered 105/200, in the limited edition. Laid in is a prospectus and order form for the book. Fine condition, in original plastic sleeve. $500
80. ROTH, Andrew. The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century, New York: PPP Editions, 2001. Hardcover (gray-stamped gray cloth), 12 x 9 ¾ inches, 308 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket.
An important scholarly study of the subject, handsomely designed and printed. It begins with The North American Indian (volume one, 1907) by Edward S. Curtis and ends with David LaChapelle’s LaChapelle Land (1996). Among the other photographers represented are Edward Weston, Walker Evans, William Eggleston, Larry Clark, and Susan Meiselas. Features essays by Richard Benson, Jeffrey Fraenkel, Daido Moriyama, and others. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $500
81. RUSCHA, Edward. Various Small Fires and Milk, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1964 (second edition, 1970). Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, unpaginated, 16 halftone illustrations.
The fires include a candle, a cigarette, a gas stove burner, and others, all rendered in yellow duotone. However, the sole glass of milk, at the end, is seen in straight black and white. Near fine condition, in glassine that is chipped, browned, and missing a tiny piece on the spine. $500
82. RUSCHA, Edward. Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1966 (second printing). Softcover, 7 ¼ x 5 ¾ inches, unpaginated accordion-style pages, halftone illustrations, original silver slipcase. Signed.
As the title describes, on both sides of the street, printed bottom to bottom. Ruscha’s most influential book, spawning hundreds of take-offs, which he gleefully embraced (rather than trying to suppress through legal action). This copy signed by Ruscha. Spine slightly wrinkled and light wear to two inches along bottom of slipcase. $2,500
83. RUSCHA, Edward. Royal Road Test, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1967 (third edition, 1971). Softcover (spiral bound), 9 ½ x 6 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
Collaborating with Mason Williams and Patrick Blackwell, Ruscha documents the results of tossing a Royal typewriter from a car traveling at 90 miles-per-hour. Most of the images are close-ups of mangled pieces of the contraption along the side of a highway in Nevada. Perhaps they should perform an updated version with a laptop computer. Previous owner’s wet stamp (photographer Betty Hahn), tiny edgewear and scuffing to covers. $500
84. RUSCHA, Edward. Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1968 (second edition, 1976). Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, unpaginated, 10 color halftones.
Contains Ruscha’s typically mundane snapshots of private swimming pools, presumably in Los Angeles, finished off by an image of a broken drinking glass that apparently had water in it, presented on a blue background. Near fine condition. $500
85. RUSCHA, Edward. Real Estate Opportunities, 1970. Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, 48 pages, 25 halftone illustrations. Signed.
Here we have Ruscha as real estate agent, turning his camera on empty urban and rural lots of property, each sporting a “For Sale” sign. They were all in the Los Angeles area and are identified by street address. This copy signed by Ruscha. Fine condition, in glassine with browned spine, one chip, and two tears. $1,500
86. RUSCHA, Edward. Edward Ruscha (Ed-werd Rew-shay) Young Artist, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1972. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 4 ½ x 3 ¾ inches, 436 pages, halftone illustrations. Business card of the curator (signed) and artist laid in; book signed by Ruscha.
This little publication, issued without a dustjacket, accompanied an exhibition at the museum of Ruscha’s prints, drawings, and books, his first major retrospective. Co-designed by museum curator Edward A. Foster and Ruscha, it mimics the format of the Big Little children’s books of the mid-twentieth century. Like them, it consists entirely of newsprint pages and has a thick spine. It reproduces images of the artist, works of art, lists of words chosen by Ruscha, and a checklist. About 150 of its pages are intentionally blank. Printed in an edition of 2,000 copies. Unknown to most, both business cards must be present for this item to be complete, as here. This copy signed by Ruscha, with Foster’s signed card laid in. Free endpapers are beginning to separate (as usual), cover lightly rubbed. $500
87. SANDER, August. August Sander: Menschen Ohne Maske, Luzern and Frankfurt: Verlag C. J. Bucher, 1971. Hardcover (black paper over boards), 12 x 9 inches, 314 pages, 234 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
An extensive selection of Sander’s portraits of German types such as farmers, politicians, musicians, and artists. Introduction by Golo Mann and biographical text by the photographer’s son, Gunther. Text in German. Tiny edgewear, in dustjacket that is torn and worn. $500
88. SANDER, August. Rheinlandschaften: Photographien, 1929-1946, Munich, Germany: Schirmer, Mosel, 1975. Hardcover (white paper over boards), 12 ¾ x 10 ¾ inches, 140 pages, 40 duotone and 21 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
This oversize book features Sander’s German landscapes. Among the subjects are Westerwald, Löwenburg, and the Rhine River. The quality plates end with a set of views of Wolkenburg, made in all four seasons. German text by Wolfgang Kemp. Near fine, in dustjacket that is lightly sunned. $500
89. SANDER, August. August Sander: Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts: Portraitphotographien, 1892-1952, Munich, Germany: Schirmer, 1980. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 11 ½ x 9 ¼ inches, 560 pages, 431 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket, slipcase. Inscribed by the photographer’s grandson.
This thick volume is one of the most comprehensive collections of Sander’s German portrait work, with over four hundred high quality gravure repro-ductions. They are grouped in the following sections: archetypes, farmers, rural characters, small-town folk, athletes, workers, craftsmen, manufacturers, technicians, mothers and children, families, society ladies, students, scholars, officials, doctors, lawyers, judges, soldiers, aristocrats, clergymen, teachers, businessmen, politicians, artists, writers, actors, architects, painters and sculptors, composers, musicians, circus performers, itinerants, servants, traveling salesmen, handicapped children, and, lastly, Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. Major text, in German, by Ulrich Keller. This copy with a full-page, playful inscription from Gerd Sander, August’s grandson, dated in the year of publication. Near fine condition. $500
90. SINSABAUGH, Art. 6 Mid-American Chants by Sherwood Anderson/11 Midwest Photographs by Art Sinsabaugh, Highlands, North Carolina: Nantahala Foundation, 1964. Softcover (spiral binding), 7 ¼ x 21 ½ inches, 48 page, 11 duotone illustrations.
The significant elongated-format book of panoramas by Sinsabaugh. Includes city scenes, landscapes, and ends with 24 cars of a freight train on the Midwestern plains. With a note on Anderson’s poetry by Edward Dahlberg and Frederick Eckman’s poem, “To Sherwood Anderson, in Heaven.” The detailed colophon mentions the type of wire binding and that the book was published in an edition of 1,500 copies. Cover with mild rubbing and tiny creases to corners, otherwise near fine condition, due to the presence of the original shipping carton. $1,000
91. SISKIND, Aaron. The Siskind Variations: A Quartet of Photographs and Contemplations, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 1990. Hardcover, 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 36 pages, 6 illustrations, with ephemera.
Orchestrated and edited by Michael Torosian, one of the beautifully designed books from the press’ “Homage” series. Text printed letterpress, with four reproductions of Siskind’s work and two silver-print portraits of him tipped in. Numbered edition of 190 copies. Laid into this copy are both a prospectus and an order form. Fine condition. $500
92. SMITH, Michael A. Landscapes 1975-1979: Photographs by Michael A. Smith, Revere, Pennsylvania: Lodima Press, 1981, two volumes, with ephemera. Signed.
Volume I. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth with mounted original gelatin silver print), 11 ¼ x 13 inches, 110 pages, 42 duotone illustrations, mylar dustjacket. Includes an introduction by James L. Enyeart and a statement by the photographer, printed in elegant letterpress. The highly detailed tipped-in plates were made from 8-x-10-inch negatives.
Volume II. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth with mounted reproduction), 11 ¼ x 23 ½ inches, 52 pages, 15 duotone illustrations, mylar dustjacket. Similar letterpress printing and tipped-in plates, this time made from 8-x-20-inch negatives.
Originally planned in an edition of one thousand copies, only 600 were realized. Each is signed and numbered; this set is #568. It was awarded the best photography book of the year at the Rencontres Internationales de al Photog-raphie (Arles, France). Laid in is a handwritten and signed letter from Smith, dated 1999, a prospectus for the book set, and a few other Smith items. Both books in fine condition, in original shipping box. $1,000
93. SOMMER, Frederick. The Constellations that Surround Us: The Conjunction of General Aesthetics and Poetic Logic in an Artist’s Life, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 1992. Hardcover (gray cloth with printed label on spine and printed paper over boards), 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 36 pages, 4 gelatin silver prints, with ephemera.
This elegant book features letterpress printing and four actual photographs made from copy negatives, tipped in. Among them are the frontispiece portrait of Sommer by Edward Weston. The book is a unique window into the artist’s personal history and thoughts. Editor/printer Michael Torosian interviewed Sommer and presents the artist’s reflections on formative episodes of his life and the philosophy they engendered. Printed in a limited edition, this one numbered 61/200. Laid into this copy is a prospectus and order form for the book. Fine condition. $500
94. SOTH, Alec. Sleeping by the Mississippi, Minneapolis: Alec Soth, 2003. Hardcover (gold-stamped brown cloth with mounted ink-jet print), 11 x 8 ½ inches, 60 pages, 45 color ink-jet illustrations. Signed.
This is the second maquette for what became one of the most revered photography books of the first decade of this century (see next entry). Influ-enced by his teacher Joel Sternfeld, Soth ventured up and down the route of the Mississippi River, the main artery of America’s heartbeat. Using a large format-camera, he captured solemn landscapes and everyday people. Soth hints at tales about marginal and disregarded lives, which give both consequence and dignity to their subjects, creating a contemplative book, full of quiet, lyrical, and poignant pictures. The first maquette was less elegant, being spiral bound with plastic covers. In 2004 the high-end German publisher Steidl issued the book with a slightly different set of images and format, to universal praise. This prototype has original ink-jet prints made by Soth, features the famously misspelled Mississippi on the title page, and is signed and numbered by him (two editions of total of 60 copies).
Born in 1969, Alec Soth has remained in his native Minneapolis most of his life and is now a member of the Magnum photo agency. He worked as a darkroom technician and digital specialist at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts from 1996 until he burst on the international photographic scene in 2004. In that year he exhibited at the Whitney and Sâo Paulo Biennials. This maquette and the Steidl edition are included in The Photobook: A History, Volume II (Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, Phaidon, 2006). Fine condition, obtained directly from the photographer. $6,500
95. SOTH, Alec. Sleeping by the Mississippi, Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2004. Hardcover (black-stamped pictorial cloth), 11 x 11 ½ inches, unpaginated, 47 color halftone illustrations. First edition, signed.
This is Soth’s tremendously successful breakout book, issued without a dustjacket. Photographed in the straightforward aesthetic of his mentor Joel Sternfeld, Soth essays the ordinary people, humble interiors, and the backwater landscape along the Mississippi River, which appears only peripherally in some of the images. With essays by Minnesota author Patricia Hampl and Texas curator Anne W. Tucker. A handsome book that has been reprinted twice (with different covers and the second edition mistakenly indicating it’s a first). One of the best-known images pictures a man in a flight suit holding two model airplanes; it also appeared on the cover of the book’s second edition and the poster for the 2004 Whitney Biennial. This copy signed by Soth on the title page. Fine condition. $1,250
96. SOTH, Alec. The Last Days of W., St. Paul, Minnesota: Little Brown Mushroom, 2008. Softcover, 16 ½ x 12 inches, 48 pages, color halftone illustrations. With placemat with original photograph, signed.
Self-published on quality newsprint, this selection of images presents Soth’s take on the American psyche in the final year of George W. Bush’s tenure as President of the United States. About half of the pictures were made in Soth’s native Minnesota and further his interest in everyday people and vernacular architecture. The newsprint is signed and dated. However, this one is from the special edition with placemats, each of which features a digital print of an image of a mockup of the President’s Oval Office desk. This copy is numbered 100/100 and signed by Soth. Fine condition. $500
97. STEINERT, Otto. Subjektive Fotografie: A Collection of Modern European Photography, Bonn, Germany: Brüder Auer Verlag, 1952. Hardcover (gold-stamped cream cloth), 12 x 9 inches, 116 pages, 100 halftone illustrations.
Accompanied the first of two influential exhibitions of modern photography. Includes essays by Dr. Steinert, Franz Roh on “The Imaginative Range of Photography,” and another scholar. Among the contributing photographers are Herbert Bayer, Christer Christian (great name, huh?) Heinz Hajek-Halke, Man Ray, László Moholy-Nagy, and Steinert. All text trilingual in German, French, and English. Steinert (1915-1978) was a leading German photographer and professor in the 1950s and sixties. While his own work was technically and artistically accomplished in the tradition of the New Objectivity, he is perhaps best remembered for organizing the two exhibitions “Subjektive Fotografie” in the 1950s. Folds to caption page and first two pages. Near fine condition, with light ink loss to spine, lacking the dustjacket. $500
98. STERNFELD, Joel. American Prospects, New York: Times Books, 1987. Hardcover (blind and silver-stamped gray cloth), 10 ¼ x 12 inches, unpaginated, 54 color illustrations, with ephemera. Signed.
This important and influential book comprises Sternfeld’s look at the American landscape and urban scenes, from the 1970s to early eighties. With wit and discovery he surveys both the mundane and the exalted. The now famous image of a fireman choosing a pumpkin while a farmhouse burns in the background appears on the cover. With an introduction by critic Andy Grundberg and an afterword by curator Anne W. Tucker. Indicative of its stature, American Prospects appears in both Andrew Roth’s The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century and Parr and Badger’s The Photobook: A History. This copy is inscribed by both Sternfeld and Tucker and dated in the year of publication. In addition, an invitation to the accompanying exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is laid in, making for a fabulous package. Near fine condition. $1,500
99. STRAND, Paul. Claude Roy, La France de Profil, Lausanne, Switzerland: Éditions Clairefontaine, 1952. Softcover, 11 x 8 ¾ inches, 128 pages, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
This is French poet Claude Roy’s and Strand’s sensitive evocation of small-town and rural life in France at the middle of the twentieth century. It features photographs of people, architecture, and the landscape, richly rendered in gravure. Roy’s text sometimes reproduces his handwriting and becomes a playful graphic design element. Text in French. This book was produced in two nearly identical editions, apparently printed at the same time. One was published by La Guilde du Livre as a book club title, in a machine-numbered edition of about 10,000. The other was issued by Editions Clairefontaine and made available to the general public (not numbered). The dustjacket has light edge wear. $500
100. STRAND, Paul. Cesare Zavattini, Un Paese, Italy: Giulio Einaudi, 1955. Hardcover (red and black-stamped cream cloth), 11 ½ x 9 ¼ inches, 106 pages, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
Strand and Zabattini’s sensitive evocation of rural life in Italy. Most of the photographs are straightforward but insightful portraits, and Strand also turned his camera on a room full of new hats, a staircase, empty milk cans, tools, firewood, and fields. Rich gravure illustrations, with the famous “Lusetti Family” image on the cover. Text in Italian. Near fine, in dustjacket with a little sunning, tiny edgewear, and a few tears. $500
101. STRAND, Paul. Naomi Rosenblum, Orgeval, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 1990. Hardcover (brown cloth spine with mounted paper label and printed paper over boards), 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 36 pages, 2 halftone illustrations and 2 tipped-in copy silver prints.
This is one of the early titles in the Lumiere Press’ “Homage” series. It is beautifully printed in letterpress and features a frontispiece portrait of Strand and his image “Bird on the Edge of Space” as actual photographs. Rosenblum provides a remembrance of the photographer and Strand contributed text from his diaries at Orgeval, France. This is copy 129/200. Additionally, signed by Rosenblum and with the original prospectus and order form (letterpress printed) laid in. Fine condition, in original plastic sleeve. $500
102. SUDEK, Josef. Lubomir Linhart, Josef Sudek: Fotografie, Prague, Czechoslovakia: Státní Nakladatelství Krásné Literatury, Hudby a Uméní, 1956. Hardcover (black-stamped cream cloth), 9 ½ x 6 ¾ inches, unpaginated, 232 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket, with ephemera.
This dense book features Linhart’s text and a rich selection of images, made between 1915 and 1954 and printed in high-quality gravure, by the Czech Republic’s most famous photographer. Features his landscapes, portraits, still lifes, cityscapes, and a few fold-out panoramas. The cloth and dustjacket sport Sudek’s name nicely designed in a block of modernist type. This title was actually a book-club item, not available in stores, and printed in the surprisingly large edition of thirty thousand copies. Nonetheless, it is not common in the West and remains the most preferred book on him. Laid into this copy is an original book club slip. Bottom of spine lightly bumped, in the fragile dustjacket that is darkened, edge worn, and torn. $500
103. TILLMAN, Ulrich, and Wolfgang Vollmer. Meisterwerke der Fotokunst, Colgne, Germany: Weinend Verlag, 1985. Hardcover (gold-stamped red cloth with mounted reproduction), 8 ½ x 5 ¾ inches, 104 pages, halftone illustrations (a few in color), slipcase. Signed.
This is a sendup on collecting fine-art photographs, in which Tillman and Vollmer allegedly find unknown predecessors to iconic images. Among those spoofed are Edward Weston’s “Pepper No. 30,” Ansel Adams’ “Moonrise Over Hernandez,” and images by Cameron, Frith, Sander, Outerbridge, Kertész, Man Ray, Penn, Warhol, Mapplethorpe, and others. Includes text by the “collectors,” Friedrich Heubach, and L. Fritz Gruber, who writes on “Outranked Master-pieces.” Glassine envelope pasted in with a sliver of wood, described as an “original fragment of Klaus Peter Schnuettger-Webs’ plate camera, which he threw out of the studio window at the Bauhaus in Dessau following an argument with Herbert Bayer in 1925.” The numbered edition of 1,000 is signed by the two authors. Fabulously funny for those who know the history of photography. Bilingual text in German and English. Near fine condition, except for two scuffs to back of slipcase. $750
104. VAN DER ELSKEN, Ed. De Ontdekking Van Japan, Amsterdam: Fragment Uitgeverij, 1988. Hardcover (red and blind-stamped gray cloth), 12 x 12 inches, 176 pages, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket and booklet.
Van Der Elksen’s gritty look at Japan, reminiscent in its style and layout of William Klein’s book on Tokyo. After a one-page introduction, the images bleed off the pages and are identified in a separate section with captions. Includes the accompanying booklet Ratatouille Japonica. Text in Dutch. Van Der Elsken (1925-1990) was a leading photographer and filmmaker in the Netherlands. Working from World War II to the 1970s, he essayed European love, sex, art, music, and alternative culture. He illustrated over twenty books, including Love on the Left Bank, his first and most influential one. Light cockling to top of pages. $500
105. WEBER, Bruce. O Rio de Janeiro, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986. Softcover, 14 ½ x 11 inches, unpaginated, 130 halftone illustrations.
Weber’s oversize ode to the great Brazilian city of Rio, issued only in soft. It pictures mostly attractive young men and women, on the beach and enjoying the city’s energetic night life. Features some gatefolds and drawings by Richard Giglio. Minor edgewear and spotting to covers. $500
106. WEEGEE. Naked City, New York: Essential Books, 1945. Hardcover (blue-stamped gray cloth), 9 ½ x 6 ½ inches, 246 pages, screen-gravure illustrations. Signed.
This is Weegee’s first and most fully realized photobook, considered by many to be his masterpiece. He shows the people, street life, crime, joy, and mayhem of his New York, from Harlem to Park Avenue, in richly printed, mostly nocturnal images. The photographer also provides sectional text and captions. In his introduction, he explained that he found the time to put together the book because, “There was a sudden drop in Murders and Fires (my two best sellers, my bread and butter). I couldn’t understand that. With so many millions of people, it just wasn’t normal, but it did give me a chance to look over the pictures I had been accumulating.”
This copy is inscribed to Jane Bell Edwards, dated 1946 (the year after publication), and signed by Weegee, in ink on the title page. Most interestingly, Edwards, a Chicago amateur photographer, wrote (in pencil) extensive comments in the book. She fills nearly two previously blank pages with notes she made after a lecture Weegee gave at Chicago’s Institute of Design on July 22, 1946. She recounts him saying, “You are doing an editor a favor by showing him your pics. Don’t be afraid to go to magazines with them. It took him [Weegee] a year to crack Life. When people ask you what paper you are with, tell them anything.” He made some technical recommendations, but primarily spoke about working with subjects, the police, and editors. Edwards recounts Weegee’s comments about the cost, making, and eventual success of the book: “It has sold to date about 25,000 copies at $4.00 and the publisher and Weegee are doing nicely.” In addition, she covers a bit of the photographer’s biography and his comments about 20 specific images in the book, including “The Critic.”
The covers and pages are cockled, with small remnants of paper attached to back cover, lacking dustjacket. However, despite its condition, the marginalia (most of it after Weegee’s own words) makes this a desirable and unique item. $500
107. WEST, Larry J., and Patricia A. Abbott. Antique Photographic Jewelry: Tokens of Affection and Regard, New York: West Companies, 2005. Hardcover (printed and padded paper over boards), 12 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 256 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket, gilded edges. Signed.
This is a large-format and in-depth study of photographic jewelry, certainly authoritative. The text covers all aspect of the subject: portrait miniatures; American folk art; decorative, functional, and commemorative uses; domestic and European differences; accessories; privacy; the industry; and identification, collecting, and research. Apparently produced in a limited number of copies; this one is warmly inscribed by West. Fine condition, in opened shrink wrap. $500
108. WESTON, Brett. Merle Armitage, Brett Weston Photographs, New York: E. Weyhe, 1956. Hardcover (black cloth), 13 ¼ x 11 inches, 104 pages, 28 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
This was the first major monograph on Brett Weston, with text by the great designer Merle Armitage. It’s an oversize production, with letterpress text and largescale reproductions on heavy, glossy stock. The images are primarily landscapes from the 1950s, but “range without limit in the subject matter, from the most evanescent subtleties through every nuance to the powerful mutations of nature and the monuments of men.” This copy is signed twice, once on the dedication page and then inscribed to “my good friend Fred” (dated 1982). This was Fred W. Parker, the first director of the Friends of Photography, thus an important association copy. Previous owner’s name on flap, small stain to outer page edges, with light edgewear to cloth, in a dustjacket that has a small stain, rubbing, and edgewear. $2,500
109. WESTON, Edward. Edward Weston, New York: E. Weyhe, 1932. Hardcover (white and black paper over boards), 13 ¾ x 10 ½ inches, 90 pages, 39 halftone illustrations. Signed.
The first monograph on Edward Weston, edited and designed by the great Merle Armitage. Features largescale reproductions of the first ten years of Weston’s career. Text contributed by Armitage, Charles Sheeler, Lincoln Stefffens, Arthur Millier, Jean Charlot, and Weston himself. The edition was limited to 550 numbered copies (this one #428), all boldly signed by Weston. Light wear and rubbing to cover, lacking the slipcase. $4,000
110. WESTON, Edward. Edward Weston: Dedicated to Simplicity, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 1986. Hardcover (brown cloth spine with label and gray paper over boards), 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 24 pages, 3 tipped-in silver prints.
This was the first of the Lumiere Press’ elegant little monographs dedicated to master photographers. The silver prints are from copy negatives, one by Weston and two portraits of him. The text is letterpress printed, and the book limited to 150 numbered copies (this one #75). Includes a reminiscence by son, Cole. Fine condition. $500
111. WHITE, Minor. Mirrors Messages Manifestations, Millerton, New York: Aperture, 1969. Hardcover (blue-stamped white cloth), 12 ¼ x 12 inches, 244 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
White’s magnum opus picture book, comprising many of his sequences, such as the 1959 “Sound of One Hand Clapping.” It “is a testament, a penetrating synthesis of work and image revealing the development of sight and insight, the progression of consciousness within and without. As photographer and poet, artist, and philosopher, graced with creative power often seemingly wholly other, Minor White offers documents of his attendance to the profane and sacred, his veritable destined service to share with us realizations of the correspondences between perception and revelation, the harmonies of created and creator.” Includes the pamphlet with comments by Beaumont Newhall, Peter C. Bunnell, Barbara Morgan, Ansel Adams, and a few others. Near fine condition, in dustjacket with a few small chips. $500
112. WINOGRAND, Garry. Women are Beautiful, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 8 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, dustjacket, with ephemera.
Winogrand’s important book, which drew feminist criticism for its title and voyeuristic outlook (in some people’s eyes). The renowned social-landscape photographer captures women largely walking down the street, often through a tilted viewfinder. The book begins (on the cover) and ends with the same, now iconic, image of a woman with an ice cream cone throwing her head back in laughter. Laid into this copy is the publisher’s press release for the book, calling it “an eloquently erotic statement from one of America’s foremost photog-raphers.” Near fine condition, in lightly rubbed dustjacket with a tiny tear at top of spine. $1,000
113. WITKIN, Joel-Peter. Joel-Peter Witkin, Pasadena, California: Twelvetrees Press, 1985. Hardcover (blind-stamped black cloth), 12 x 12 inches, unpaginated, duotone illustrations, slipcase. Signed.
This was the first monograph on Witkin, printed in Switzerland in an edition of 4,000 copies. It features his earliest successful body of work, made between 1975 and 1984, and includes “Women Breastfeeding an Eel” and “Woman Masturbating on the Moon.” The Bosch-like images are variously horrific, explicit, and challenging. The artist, contrary to appearances, is methodical and deliberate in the making of his photographs, often inspired by masterpiece paintings and making preparatory drawings (two of which are reproduced here). Acknowledging the unusual nature of most of his models, he incudes an appeal to some specific types to help him make future photographs, such as pre-op transsexuals, people with tails or missing or additional limbs, and “all manner of extreme visual perversions.” The book and pictures are not for the faint hearted. This special edition copy is signed and numbered (79/100), housed in a slipcase. Absolutely fine condition, in slipcase with opened shrink wrap. $1,000
In Catalog 13, we have 113 of the more important, significant, and costly ($$$) books in my inventory. But just as you cannot judge a book by its cover, you also can’t appraise its aesthetic value by its price. I am happy to offer a discount on purchases of two or more titles.
All items are subject to prior sale. Customers known to me will be invoiced. Others add shipping ($5 for each book within the U.S.) and write your check to “Christian Peterson.” Books may be returned within ten days, with prior notice and if received in the condition sent. I am always interested in hearing about specific books, photographers, or topics that you are seeking, and also any items you may wish to sell.
Catalog 13
October 2016