The Photobook: A History Volume I - Hardcover

Badger, Gerry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714842850 ISBN 13: 9780714842851

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 2004

Synopsis

While the history of photography is a well-established canon, much less critical attention has been directed at the phenomenon of the photobook, which for many photographers is perhaps the most significant vehicle for the display of their work and the communication of their vision to a mass audience.

In the first of two volumes, both co-edited by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, The Photobook provides a comprehensive overview of the development of the photobook: from its inception at the dawn of photography in the early nineteenth century through to the radical Japanese photobooks of the 1960s and 70s, by way of the Modernist and propaganda books of the 1930s and 40s.

The selection of photographers compiled by Badger and Parr challenges the popular canon, and their survey of the history of the photobook reveals a secret web of influence and inter-relationships between photographers and photographic movements around the world. The book is divided into a series of thematic and broadly chronological chapters; each features a general introductory text that offers background information and highlights the dominant political and artistic influences on the photobook in the relevant period, followed by more detailed discussion of the individual photobooks.

The chapter texts are followed by spreads and images from over 200 books, which provide the central means of telling the history of the photobook. Assimilated diligently by Parr and Badger, these illustrations show around 200 of the most artistically and culturally important photobooks featuring the cover or jacket and a selection of spreads.

About this title

Review:

"The most important contribution to the field since modern histories of photography began to appear in the early twentieth century...This book will become the cornerstone of research and scholarship in the field for the twenty-first century."―Photo-Eye

"Outstanding."―Rebecca Wilson, Art Review

"Incredibly interesting... The reproductions instil a terrible longing to hold the real thing."―Sally O'Reilly, Time Out

"Presents an intelligently critical, highly detailed, carefully considered and illustrated account of the most significant and influential publications of this kind to date... Succinct, informative text... [The Photobook] breaks new ground, offering an object lesson on the whole evolution of the art of photography."―The Art Newspaper

"The Photobook is not just desirable but essential."―Village Voice

"Anyone with a passion for books and photography will appreciate The Photobook."―ARRAY: New York Design Magazine

"...This sumptuous collection intends to establish the genre's importance in disseminating photographic styles and trends."―The New Yorker

Synopsis:

This book provides a unique perspective on the story of photography through the particular history of the photobook. The first of two extensive volumes, it is a study of the major trends and movements that have shaped the photobook genre since the birth of photography in the early nineteenth century. It represents a valuable catalogue of rare and important photobooks. This volume covers the history of photobooks from the earliest examples of the genre from the nineteenth century, through the modernist and propaganda books of the 1930s and 40s, to the radical Japanese photobooks of the 60s and 70s. While the history of photography is a well-established canon, much less critical attention has been directed at the phenomenon of the photobook, which for many photographers is perhaps the most significant vehicle for the display of their work and the communication of their vision to a mass audience.

In the first of two volumes, both co-edited by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, The Photobook provides a comprehensive overview of the development of the photobook, from its inception at the dawn of photography in the early nineteenth century through to the radical Japanese photobooks of the 1960s and 70s, by way of the modernist and propaganda books of the 1930s and 40s. In his introduction, Badger argues that the photobook is one of the most significant photographic genres due to the extent of its distribution and level of availability, and contests the traditional notion that the history of photography is best represented by the original print. This study provides an important corrective to the traditional history of photography. The selection of photographers made by Badger and Parr challenges the popular canon, and their survey of the history of the photobook reveals a secret web of influence and interrelationships between photographers and photographic movements around the world.

The book is divided into a series of thematic and broadly chronological chapters, each featuring a general introductory text providing background information and highlighting the dominant political and artistic influences on the photobook in the period, followed by more detailed discussion of the individual photobooks. The chapter texts are followed by spreads and images from over 200 books, which provide the central means of telling the history of the photobook. Chosen by Parr and Badger, these illustrations show around 200 of the most artistically and culturally important photobooks in three dimensions, with the cover or jacket and a selection of spreads from the book shown. Volume One also features an illuminating and provocative introduction, 'The Photobook: Between the Film and the Novel' by Badger, which is accompanied by a preface written by Parr.

About this edition

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0714842850
• ISBN 13: 9780714842851
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Parr Martin