The Online Photographer: Bill's Wonderful Portraits

I'm reluctant to talk about a book until I've finished it, and I haven't finished reading this one.

It's not long, but it's dense. And rewards thought.

However, this is definitely my "Book of the Year" for 2020–21. It's never going to be a mainstream book, because there are only 250 copies in existence. Although there could possibly be a reprint someday.

By way of a disclaimer I'll remind you that I used to be a portrait photographer and have always liked portraits. And I mean always—I got in trouble at age six for clipping portraits of the Presidents out of my parents' back issues of National Geographic to make a "collection."

The premise is very simple: a doctor collected old portraits to hang in his office. As a labor of love, he has self-published a book in which he presents 111 of them. On the page facing each, he tells you everything he could find out about each portrait. Some of what he found out is remarkable. The essays are sometimes no more than a description of the photograph, because nothing is known about it. But Bill is an excellent writer, and his words draw you not just into the photograph, but into the life of the person depicted. Many of the subjects are anonymous (some are not). Same for the photographers. But all are informed by the same collector's eye and each one is lovely and fascinating (to various proportions) in its way.

"With a whimsical look at lives known, cultural and historical circumstances, and the ever-changing aesthetics of portraiture, the lives and characters of the sitters and photographers are imagined, and the question of the revelation of their characters explored."

The book is Eleventyone Portraits 1841 to 1950, by William Cowan, who I'm pleased to say appears to be a TOP reader.

A labor of love...but what labor! Everything about the book is beautiful. It's been professionally edited and professionally designed, so it fooled me at first into thinking it was the product of an established publishing house. It's not; but it doesn't have any of the awkward telltales typical of many self-published books.

Now I've finally decided it's not actually a book to "read." It's a book for delectation. I'm going to continue to engage with it as I have over this past year: taking it to hand, leafing through a handful of portraits at a time, reading or re-reading an essay or two, and putting it aside again. The copy Bill sent me last year is so much the worse for wear (I've dropped it, and crushed a corner, and marred the cover) that I had to ask him for a second one! But now I want to send the second one to a museum curator I know while it's still pristine, so I'm going to need a third.

Bill and I will be working together on an interview to publish here. And I guess sooner or later I might have the temerity to attempt a review. I thought you might like a heads up, in case you want to have your own copy in hand. Check the website; if it looks like you might enjoy it, I think you will.

Mike

[UPDATE: As of mid-day Monday, Bill had sold about 70 books, approximately a third of all he had. —MJ]

Book o' the Week:

Andy Warhol: Polaroids 1958–1987. "Carrying a Polaroid camera from the late 1950s until his death in 1987, [Andy Warhol] amassed a huge collection of instant pictures of friends, lovers, patrons, the famous, the obscure, the scenic, the fashionable, and himself...this book features hundreds of these instant photos." Any book with Grace Jones on the cover has to be cool.

The above is a link to Amazon from TOP. Here's Andy Warhol: Polaroids 1958–1987 at The Book Depository. The following logo is also a link:

Original contents copyright 2020 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. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Featured Comments from:

Maris Rusis: "I have Bill Cowan's book and it is glorious in style and scholarship. And yes, it is both dense and moving. A few pages at a time is all I can traverse. All those beautiful and interesting people are now gone. I find this poignancy and sense of loss passes into sadness very quickly. Bill quoted me on page 21 and sent me his book by way of compliment. Much thanks to Bill Cowan."