Some Classic Photos

George Silk, High Above Forbes Field, 1960, from LIFE: The Classic Collection

This is an unusual bookmaking idea, although it might not appeal to everyone. Interspersed through LIFE: The Classic Collection (U.K. link) are pages that have tipped-in versions of 25 of these undoubtedly classic pictures. The tipped-in (i.e., loose) reproductions are held in place by four slit "corners" cut into the pages and protected by a tissue interleaving sheet; behind each one, the same picture is reproduced again, so that if you remove the "suitable for framing" one, your book will still be viewable with nothing missing.

As advertised, the collection does contain many of the truly great and famous shots from the magazine's long and storied history, presented as art, with generous margins and fine reproduction quality—much like a well-restored classic movie or a remastered classic record. If you've been looking at photographs for a while, there aren't likely to be too many surprises here, but most of the great hits are present and accounted for, and it's nice to have them all in one place, burnished and gleaming.

A common fate of great literature from the past is that everybody's heard of it but few people have actually read it. (Anybody read The Anatomy of Melancholy or Gargantua and Pantagruel recently?) If the same is true of anything in photography, it's probably true of the pictures from Camera Work, Alfred Stieglitz's seminal and hugely influential journal of pictorialism.

Now you can own an extensive selection of the contents of Camera Work in this Taschen "brick," a small (less than 6x8") but very thick book (U.K. link). (It's this week's "Recommended by M.J.") The reproductions won't fool you into believing you're looking at originals, but they're really quite good considering that this is 552 pages and nearly three pounds of pictures! Considering the sheer number of excellent reproductions, this book is so cheap they might as well be giving it away—you could pass them out as party favors. (I'd like to go to a party like that, now that I've mentioned it.) The best collection ever offered at anywhere near this price, this is a good addition for a basic library of photo history.

A sample spread from Taschen's Camera Work

And if you're fascinated by pictorialism and don't know much about it, TruthBeauty [sic]: Pictorialism and the Photograph as Art, 1845–1945, (Canadian link—not available in the U.K.), the catalog of an exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, is an excellent place to start. The selection of illustrations isn't copious, but it does strike me as astutely judged and tastefully chosen. The pictures are generously sized and good to look at. Plus, this book offers a perspective that we find in precious few photography books of its type, in that it includes essays and pictures from "the Czech lands," Japan, and Australia as well as America and Western Europe, so it does more than just imply international scope. Published by Canada's Douglas & McIntyre, it includes essays by Alison Nordström, J. Luca Ackerman, Ryuichi Kaneko, Gael Newton, and David Wooters. A fine and attractive new book. I would have liked to have seen the show.

________________________

Mike

Send this post to a friend

Featured Comment by Ian: "The Vancouver Art Gallery did a great job with this show! It presented some wonderful examples of pictorialism. I was struck by the beauty of this genre.

"What I found very fascinating was how the Gallery showed different samples of the same image and how the photographer would print in different ways to evoke different emotions. The printing process was quite elaborate, so I can imagine the many hours spent in the darkroom.

"I highly recommend this book if you are interested in both the history and perhaps exploring pictorialism in your own work."

Comments

[Eric Kellerman]

For Dutch readers, quite by chance I picked up a copy yesterday at de Slegte for €9.99. A bargain, though about €2 more expensive than the UK price.

[mcananeya]

Mike (or anyone else who might know),

Any sense of how the reproductions in this version of Camera Work compare to the 800 page (!) version from 1999?

Best regards,
Adam

[Ken Tanaka]

D'oh! I was just about to post a heads-up article on that Taschen Camera Work book!

Adam: The reproduction quality of Camera Work is actually very good. I have never seen the earlier edition you referenced but I have seen a few of the original prints. Note, though, that the book is actually only the size of a paperback book. But for ten bucks what do you expect?!

[George Housley]

Not to broadcast my ignorance but even as a Pgh [Pittsburgh, PA --Ed.] area native and Life reader (although I was not much of one in '60) I never saw that photo and have never been up in the Cathedral of Learning. Wonderful memories. Clemente's basket catches. Taking my little brother there in the 60's on Pgh Press' (or was that the Post Gazette?) free 'Straight A' promotional tickets- I seem to recall I was 13 or so and the lady next to us was a Mt Lebanon substitute teacher that dropped all her peanut shells on my little brother. Amazing what a photo can do aint it? but I am preaching to the choir.

George now residing in the town of Elvis' Birthplace

[Adam Isler]

Yikes! I followed the link and just wound up buying $100 worth of books (since they were all only $10 - $15). Mike, please stop recommending this stuff!!!

- Life: The Classic Collection
- Stieglitz: Camera Work (25th Anniversary Special Edtn) [Illustrated]
- Atget, Paris (Taschen 25th Anniversary Edition)
- Brassai, Paris (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editins) [Illustrated]
- Henri Cartier-Bresson (Aperture Masters of Photography)
- The Mind's Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers (HCB)
- Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (not photography related)

[Gary Nylander]

I was fortunate enough to able to have seen the Vancouver Art Gallery's show, TruthBeauty: Pictorialism and the Photographs as Art, 1845-1945 earlier this year. I found it a very beautifully produced show, with many of the late great names in photography showing their work, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz. I quite enjoyed it.

[Dale]

Mike,
I've never seen that George Silk photograph before... I think it's wonderful. Hard to say just what about it draws me, maybe the way all the people seem to be connected, how it goes from black to gray to lighter gray from bottom right corner to upper left... not sure. And what are they standing on, so high above the field? An enjoyable photo!
Dale

[Mike J.]

Dale,
Here's the caption, from Sports Illustrated's website: "When recalling the 1960 World Series, in which the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Yankees four games to three to claim their first title in 35 years, many fans bring up Chuck Thompson's radio call of the final play: baseball's first-ever series-ending home run. "There's a swing and a high fly ball going deep to left, this may do it!...Over the fence, home run, the Pirates win! Ladies and gentleman, Bill Mazeroski has just hit a one-nothing pitch over the left-field wall to win the 1960 World Series!" The classic photograph to emerge from that series wasn't even taken in the ballpark, but from atop the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, where students got a bird's-eye view of the action and George Silk got an altogether unique sports photo."

Here's a photo of the building:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CathedralCleaning.jpg

Mike J.

[Gianna]

Wow, that is very inspiring. I am just starting out. I love that someday, they can actually be turned into book format.

[Kit Stolz]

Actually, I have read "The Anatomy of Melancholy," and once knew another melancholic who also read it...some books are not for all, but very much for a certain few.