Exclusive Book Offer

Today I'm happy to be able to offer a fine deal on a great photography book, just for you. Keith F. Davis's An American Century of Photography: From Dry Plate to Digital is the best single-volume history of 20th-century American photography, in my opinion. It covers the century-plus from the mid-1880s (when American photography really came into its own) to the late 1990s.

It first came out in 1995 to widespread praise, and quickly sold out. Rather than just run off another batch, the 1999 Second Edition was revised extensively and increased in size more than 50%, with many illustrations added, and a larger press run was made. For a book of this type the production values are top notch in every way: a solid binding, very good paper, and excellent reproduction quality.

The original publication price was $95, more than fair for such a hefty slab of book with production values of such high standards. I've seen a lot less book sell for $100 and more over the years. As it's gotten further from its publication date, the book was discounted to $65, which is the lowest it has ever sold for until right this minute.

But after 17 years, well established as a success, the book is now ending its run. The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, is clearing out the remaining inventory, and has offered exclusively to TOP (that's where you are now, The Online Photographer) the opportunity to sell hardcover copies of An American Century of Photography for one month for half price, only $32.50. A small amount of the proceeds go to support TOP. The books are new and pristine and will be shipped from the Museum.

To cut to the chase, here's how to order: Go to the Nelson-Atkins Museum Bookstore page for the book, add it to your cart, and, on the left where it says "Promotional Code," enter 19333 to get 50% off.

The shipping cost of $15.95 then seems high proportionate to the cost of the book, but as you'll see, it's a great big book—588 pages on premium paper stock, almost two inches thick, and 7.8 pounds. Not cheap to ship.

That's why, unfortunately, we can only ship to the USA for now. We're going to work on international shipping and I'll update you if there's movement on that front.

There are enough books available that everyone who wants one should be able to get one. There might even be enough copies to last for the 30 days of the sale. However, the number of copies available is limited—and when they're gone, that's it.

About the book
The classic scholarly photography book was traditionally organized as a written essay of generous length, often with smaller illustrations interspersed, followed by a section of "plates," or full-sized illustrations. This was because, in earlier eras of printing, the printing of illustrations often required a different process and sometimes different paper. But it proved to be a robust and sensible organizing principle for photo books. An American Century is essentially four such books in one: "A Reluctant Modernism, 1885–1915," "Abstraction and Realism, 1915–1940," "From Public to Private Concerns, 1940–1965," and "The Image Transformed, 1965–Present." Each written section is followed by a generous selection of pictures, presented in oversize format, one to a page (no running over the gutter), each with an appropriate border of white space.

One result is that you can fully enjoy the book just as a picture book, even without reading a word. The Nelson-Atkins is the home of the Hallmark Photographic Collection, formerly one of the earliest and largest corporate photography collections in the world. Keith Davis is not only one of the finest authors in the U.S. writing about photography today—he's a gifted curator with a great eye. (You might remember that we featured his book The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker in 2012 (now out of print and selling for $195 and up), and more recently his Multitude, Solitude: The Photographs of Dave Heath was our Book of the Year for 2015.) He told me that in selecting the illustrations for this book, he tried to leaven familiar masterworks with a generous assortment of lesser-known pictures that might be new to readers of the book. The effect is just right—you "land" every few pages on a familiar "friend," so to speak, but there's a rich lode of astutely chosen less familiar works as well, to add discovery and surprise to the mix.

You'll probably digest it as pictures-only at first, and it's pretty enjoyable that way.

'Tis a great whacking slab of a tome, big and heavy, 9.8 x 12.2 inches

But I hope you won't overlook the text. It took Keith six years of research and writing—and that's with the kind of help that a major museum curator can call upon. I'm finding the book physically somewhat demanding to read—the combination of the large, heavy size of the book and the small type is tough to handle—I have an antique book stand that's helping. But the text is fascinating, a fine panoramic overview with lots of thoughtful (and thought-provoking) touches. I'll give you a sample a few days from now.

A book stand is helping

Enough for now. I hope you'll like this—it's a work on its subject that is unlikely to be surpassed until the history of the past 21 years has settled a lot more. A core title for a the educational and reference shelves of your library, and a book that's rich enough and deep enough to repay whatever level of attention you care to give it. I think you will like.

Again, to order, go to the book page, add it to your cart, and enter 19333 in the "Promotional Code" box to get half off. This sale will go till March 15th or until the last of the books are gone.

A big thanks to Keith and all the fine people who are involved in this at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.

Mike

UPDATE Mon. 1:30: The Museum Store is getting a large number of orders. They'd like me to announce that shipping won't begin until Thursday of this week (the books have to be retrieved), and "Orders will be processed in the order received." —M. the Ed.]

Original contents copyright 2016 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Roberto Alonso Lago: "Very nice Mike. You've been teasing us about this until I'm chomping at the bit, only to casually mention today that only US orders can be fulfilled. Argh! If you suffer any back pains today, it's me and my voodoo doll. :-) "

Mike replies: LOL! Ouch.

They're going to work on it, really. It might not be till later in the week, but I will alert you as soon as possible.

Steve G: "My order was in by 8:20 am Pacific time. As a side note, that book stand looks nifty. Are they available or is that a one-off or a garage sale find, etc?"

Mike replies: That one's an antique—family heirloom—but here's something very similar, a little smaller but close in size, for not very much money. If that doesn't suit, search for "cookbook holder" or "Bible stand" to find alternatives. Quite useful actually.

Michel: "PHEW! Despite all your assurances to the contrary I was afraid the book would be gone in no time. I fully intended to come by TOP at or near 11 a.m. but I forgot. When I remembered I just scrolled until I saw the link, clicked and purchased. Now I can go back and read the post and find out what this book is about  ;-)  Thank you Mike."

hugh crawford: "I have not heard of the book but Charles Sheeler's photograph of the Ford plant on the cover is pretty canny. If you needed to pick a single photograph to illustrate the intersections (yeah, I know) of art and commerce, of painting and photography, of the precise inflection point of the transformation to an industrial culture, and a foreshadowing of Bernd and Hilla Becher and the whole Dusseldorf School, Charles Sheeler's River Rouge photo would be a pretty good choice. Or it could illustrate the obliteration of nature and its replacement by suburbs and the rise of the charcoal briquette. It's one of my favorite photographs."

Mark Sampson: "I just showed this post to my wife (the photo conservator/historian in our house) and she said 'let's get it!' So we have."

Mike replies: Sounds like a nice household.

Malcolm Leader: "I can't thank you enough. I saw this book in the '90s but was really too poor at the time to justify buying and I've regretted it ever since. I admit, I basically forgot about it until now. Can't wait to look through this at length. Thank you again."

Frank Greenagel: "I purchased the first edition when it came out in 1995 and your description is entirely accurate—excellent paper, printing and binding. I especially appreciated the many fresh images there, and hope/expect the new edition will have more."

Comments

[Manfred Winter]

I would love to order this book right now, but I live in Thailand and I fear that stock will be gone before any international shipping arrangements have been made. Should I order it and have it sent through a freight consolidator / forwarder? Please give me a hint!

[Hugh Smith]

Thank you very much, Mike.
Done and Done.

mi dos pesos (less discount)

[Thomas Burleson]

Fantastic! Can't wait to see what else comes from the magic bookstore.

[Robin Dreyer]

I guess this will make a fine companion to my copy of Davis's "Origins of American Photography: From the Daguerreotype to the Dryplate, 1839-1885"

[Hendrik]

International Visitors,
please move on, nothing to see here, nothing at all!

The question wether this would ship internationally came up three times in the introductory post last week, but no indication we need not mark the start time in our agendas or in any way be bothered.

[I'm sorry Hendrik. I'm working with the Museum and there is a lot of back-and-forth that goes on—they have to coordinate with several departments and a number of different people. It's not all up to me. I'm hoping they'll be able to work out international shipping but today is Presidents Day in the US, a holiday for some, and many people are not at work. I probably should have waited till tomorrow to start the sale but I promised today so I went ahead today.

I'll let you know just as soon as I have an update on this. --Mike]

[Darren Gust]

Unfortunately, as far as I can make out, there no options for shipping to Canada.

[Michael Perini]

Mike,
Thank You.
You are fulfilling the role of Trusted Book Dealer, and providing discounts to boot.
One of the best parts of TOP.
m

[Carlos L. Esguerra]

Just sent in my order. Thanks for making this possible.

[Jim Simmons]

Please do determine shipping costs to foreign lands!

[Joao Matos]

Looks awesome! Many thanks Mike!

[Daniel]

Before calling them do you know if the shipping cost for ordering two to four at one time and Shipped to a single address? Doing so would allow me to order some to donate to our local Library and some friends.

[Andreas]

Please add international shipping! Please! Please! Pl....

[Ken Bennett]

Done. I've been waiting to see the results of all this pre-announcement hype :) and this is perfect. Thanks.

[Nick]

NOW you tell me!?
Nick from not the USA...

[We're going to work on it, really. --Mike]

[AdamR]

Is there an option for us Kansas City folks to arrange for local pick up and save on the shipping cost?

[Tom Bell]

I'm a done as well but the wrong Dartmoor

Wet and on the wrong side of the pond ....but its a yes from me ....if and when available

Thanks

Tom

[John Camp]

Got mine.
How did you arrange this? How did you know the books were there?

[Joe Holmes]

Ordered the book of course, etc. etc., but that book stand!

I'm with Steve G -- now that I was reminded of such things, I want one (your linked one looks great, Mike).

Each of my biggest, heaviest photo books can take turns in the thing, like old folks on a cruise ship with too few deck chairs.

[Alex Mercado]

Thank you for deal, Mike!

I haven't purchased a fine photography book in a really long time, and this tome looks like a beauty. I placed my order without hesitation.

Thanks again!

[Bahi]

Excellent choice. I hope you get international shipping sorted but I'd completely understand it if you couldn't—it's hard enough to sort out domestic delivery on something like this.

[Michael H]

You know you have a lot of readers outside the U.S.A. ... I was all set to go and then discovered that they don't mail to Canada? It would be great if those of us outside the U.S. could get a shot at these as well.

[Dave Raboin]

Thank you Mike. I ordered mine within minutes of the sale opening. Even if the content is terrible (I suspect the opposite), this book will make my bookshelf look a lot smarter. Thanks to TOP, I'm accumulating an impressive photo library.

[Finn T.]

This photography book addict from denmark is just waiting...!
Thanks for a great TOP. I've spent many hours over the years in here. Keep going, Mike :-)
Best regards

[Jamie Pillers]

Recipe for reading this tome: one La-Z-Boy recliner chair, one reading lamp, one large lap pillow to support this tome at reading level, a quiet time of day, and a large container of your favorite beverage. I'm ready... bring it on! :-)

[David Cope]

Great book offer! Pity about the international shipping, but hopefully something can be worked out.

If it's difficult for the Museum to ship internationally, perhaps some kind soul in the states within the TOP community could take delivery on behalf of international buyers until they can arrange shipping themselves at a later date.

[Christopher Lane]

I was right! Boy, maybe I've been reading T.O.P. too long. Nah. Best wishes as always.

[Fred]

Thanks for letting us know about the availability of this photography book.

Unfortunately, there is a security problem with the Nelson-Atkins Museum website account required to order the book. Unbelievably, they are so clueless about privacy that they insecurely e-mail the password and the personally identifiable information that you are required to submit to create their "account."

So a warning - do not use any password that if widely disclosed would compromise your other accounts! Make sure to use a throw away password that you don't care about and is unrelated to passwords you use to secure your bank account, etc. You'll have to decide for yourself if any resulting risk to your credit card used for the purchase resulting from their disclosing your password, etc. is sufficient to avoid ordering.

And please write or call the Nelson-Atkins Museum to complain about their password disclosure negligence.

[Dave]

Promo code doesn't work on multiple copies?

[Andrea]

International shipping would really be nice, thanks for the effort and do let us know if you'll manage to organise something for us foreigners!

[Ilkka]

To me it sounds a bit silly that this has been seriously talked about for weeks, if not months. How difficult it would be to at the very least offer DHL or similar shipping, at cost, to overseas orders. Sure, cheapest possible shipping would be nice, but somebody might well be willing to pay a bit (a lot) more just to get it. It is election time in USA and everybody feels very patriotic, but the world does not end at USA borders.

[Michael Shaw]

I'm one of the ones who went to work determined to hit your site at 1100 and buy ACoP, but work had other ideas. So I bought it tonight when I got home. Thanks for this, Mike. You let us know about it,kept us up to speed on the sale,and provided the link and discount to boot. Appreciate all you do at TOP World HQ!

[Gene Forsythe]

Ok, I'm going to order a copy....BUT...PLEASE, PLEASE post several more photos of that book stand ! I can build one for my 92 year old Mom from a couple good photos, but the one with the book you posted doesn't show enough detail for me to work with.

Thanks,

Gene

[Michel]

Hum...

Bit of a letdown, Mike!

Ain't just Americans in the world, and American photography ain't the acme of it all...

[Bryce Lee]

Suspect given international postage rates, said book could cost well over US$75.00 to ship to Canada (and even more elsewhere) Believe anything over a certain weight requires special documentation as well; something to do with the terrorist fear as I recall.
I for one shall not be purchasing same, too many hard cover publcations on hand as it is.

However Mike I would still like to contribute
to your coffers in spite of a 70¢ Canadian dollar. As you may recall sent money to your old address in Wisconsin; might you be able to send me your current New York State address, under seperate cover?

[Dennis Ng]

:-( ... :-( ... :-( ...

Should be fair not posting until you sort that out ... Sorry my shouting. Where is my voodoo doll?

:-( ... :-( ... :-( ...

[Joseph Brunjes]

Ordered a copy. Looks like a great book for the price. It will also double as a free weight for exercise and a press for my fiber prints.

[Ernest Zarate]

Done! Thank you, Mike. You've taken the time to seek out a real treasure - something that I could not have easily done, given the reality of my day-to-day job.

I look forward to adding this to the other history of photography tomes I have. Authors such as Jonathan Green, John Szarkowski and Susan Songtag (and others) have all informed my understanding of this dynamic medium.

This looks to be a rich addition - and at a terrific price. Again, thank you, Mike!

[David Bostedo]

So I told myself reading your prior posts on this, that if it was a book I was interested in, and under $50, I'd get one.

Done and done! Thanks!!

[Al Jaugelis]

I'm in Canada, ordered one and both my Canadian address and order were accepted. But shipping cost was USD 65.00 though. Ouch!

[Manfred Winter]

No International shipping, someone is working on it, but that takes time, and the Museum reports lots of orders. How likely will it be that there are still books available once all the people involved will eventually agree on International Shipping?

[William Lewis]

I pray, very seriously, that there will still be copies left on my payday this Friday. I doubt it, as that's not how my life works (see the recent Panasonic 25mm disappointment) but still I'll give it a shot then.

[Kev Ford]

For those desperate non-US purchasers there are always parcel forwarding services, I can't speak from personal experience but friends have used them successfully in the past.

[Nick Rains]

Another Nick-not-from-the-USA would like to be informed if it's possible.

[Harrison Cronbi]

I'd like to register a vote for an international shipping option. Please. Thank you.

[Manfred Winter]

Just placed my order with International Shipping (Thailand) and it was seemingly accepted! Fingers crossed! (65$ shipping ain't cheap, but somehow I did not expect it cheaper.)

[Keith I]

Glad I didn't miss out! Order has been placed.

[Pieter]

Mike, can we do a TOP bulk European order? Once landed in the EU it will be fairly cheap to distribute. I for one would be happy to do this, and even willing to do the admin to make this a reality. Anyone else interested?

[Zack S]

I really need to get a book stand also. Last year I got a copy of the Tashen book called Peter Beard and I will only read it when I read it is to hold it in my lap in a V formation. The book is well worth owning and has 706 pages and weighs 11 pounds! I store it on a desk laying flat as I am afraid that if put it upright on a book shelf that it will rip loose of the binding. The book is like none other in my collection and is a work of art it self. You can look at some sample pages here:
http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Beard-Nejma/dp/3836530880/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455633220&sr=8-1&keywords=peter+beard+taschen

[John Ironside]

This Brit has ordered for delivery to his US-resident daughter, who will bring it over if space and weight allows on her visit in June. Failing that, I'll have to collect it on my eclipse-hunting trip in 2017.

[Jeff]

Hugh Crawford might also like the jacket cover of the first edition (I'm fortunate to own both volumes): William A. Fraser's A Wet Night: Columbus Circle, ca. 1897-98, provides an Impressionistic intersection of painting and photography, pushing the boundaries of the (photo) technology of the times, while uncharacteristically large compared to prints of the day from Stieglitz and others.

[hugh crawford]

I mean to paste this link about the briquette reference

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/magazine/who-made-that-charcoal-briquette.html?_r=0

and this about the Ford River Rouge Plant

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_River_Rouge_Complex

Lest anyone think I just make this stuff up.

[Dennis]

One of the things I love about this blog: I'm on the fence about ordering this book. But I'm likely to order a book by Peter Beard now that I've done a little digging after reading Zack S' comment.

I'll sometimes revisit a post a couple times over the course of a few days to see if any new comments have been added.

[Bill Pearce]

Mike,

Please allow me to gush a bit, something I don't often do, except with my gf in private.

At first, I looked at this and thought Oh, from the Nelson Atkins! How nice. Has been a fine museum for as long as I can remember (form the fifties) and even better after the recent addition that both gave them wonderful new galleries and didn't create an architectural disaster like many additions. Now they can show photography on a nearly constant basis.
Then I look closer, and realize that I have seen the book in person when I viewed the exhibit. I wanted to have it so much, but just didn't have the scratch.

Wonderful book, wonderful exhibit, wonderful museum.

[NancyP]

Thank you very much for TWO things. One, this book. Two, now I know that the Nelson-Atkins museum, a mere 4.5 hours away on highway I-70, has a great photography collection.

[Peter Williams]

US$84.50 shipping to Australia, plus the US$32.50 book = US$117.00
Convert to AU$ = AU$163.51

I don't understand how The Book Depository can offer free worldwide shipping on big heavy books at bargain prices, but everyone else wants a fortune to post anything.

PS. The web shop for the book still only shows local US shipping, no international option, so even though they've emailed me a shipping price, I can't order online.

For future offers I think we need to be alerted up front that the deal will not be applicable/practical for overseas readers (where that is the case). I understand you live in the US, but the web is world wide and I'm sure you have readers from all over the globe.