Catalogue Raisonné

A catalogue raisonné (RAY-zon-ay), for those of you who might not know the term, is a book that shows the full range of an artist's work in sequence. Technically, a true catalogue raisonné has to meet a number of scholarly conditions regarding completeness, with notes on condition, provenance, and location of the works, among other things, and it needs to address any questions of attribution. Because not all of this pertains to a mechanical printmaking medium like photography, the term is perhaps not strictly applicable.

Still, the splendid new Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs published by Little, Brown is the closest thing we've gotten yet to a catalogue raisonné for Adams. It might not cover every negative he ever made, but it certainly contains all of his major work, divided into five periods beginning in 1916 and continuing through the 1960s. There are things here even I didn't know, and I thought I'd seen everything.

It's not a large-scale book (and not expensive, either—a mere $26.40 if you buy it through the link, making it very good value for money until the price goes up), but the pictures are large enough to enjoy. The reproduction, consistently very fine although not quite matching the best, will not stand in the way of anyone's enjoyment either.

Useful as an introduction to Adams for those who don't know his work very well, or as a handy single-volume  survey of all of his work in chronological periods for those who are diehard fans. For anyone with a general interest in great photography: warmly recommended. For lovers of landscape and nature photography or fans of large format: essential. For Christmas and Hanukkah: you could do a lot worse!

_____________________

Mike

Comments

[Nick]

Thanks for the tip Mike. I often looked at a suitable Adams book on Amazon, but there are so much I couldn't make up my mind and always ended up buying something else. I ordered this one now though!

Can I also say I thoroughly enjoy your recent posts of 4x5 scans! You will let us know when they are available as prints wont you?

Kind Regards, Nick

[Andre Moreau]

Hello Mike,

For those who might be interested in a catalogue raisonné, there's even a software to put together one's own.

http://www.encyclia.com/en/encyclia-k/index.htm

Looking forward to more scans from your archive.

[John]

Just ordered the Adams book, which reminds me of the time I was visiting the photo book section at Kroch's & Brentano's in Chicago. I had carried Adams's "Yosemite and the Range of Light" and Brett Weston's "Photographs From Five Decades" books to the checkout counter. The fellow, who I think managed the store's second floor, reached underneath the counter and set the same two books that I had chosen next to mine. He then showed me that the two copies he had brought out were autographed by their respective authors, explaining that someone who had got them as a gift had returned them, and he had saved them for someone he thought deserved them. I now have autographed books by Adams and Weston.

[Blork]

FWIW, the pronunciation would be better represented as "ray-zon-AY." Some emphasis on the first syllable, a big drop on the second, and most emphasis on the third. (And the AY should be clipped, not dragged on as AYYYYY.) ;-)