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Log cabins and houses are more than historical curiosities. Throughout the nineteenth century, they were symbols of American frontier ingenuity. Their images were used in political campaigns and on commercial products to represent trustworthiness and quality. When new building techniques were developed, however, they became representatives of the primitive past that were best left behind. Now log dwellings are making a comeback for urbanites trying to get back to the land. In 1979, the staff o...

Originally published as a serial between 1844 and 1846, The Pencil of Nature was the first book to be illustrated entirely with photographs. Early enthusiast William Henry Fox Talbot hoped to spur public interest in photography but was forced to cease publication after just six installments. In its time, the serial was not a commercial success; however, more than 165 years later, it is recognized as a major contribution to the history of photography. Indeed, it has been said that the importance...

Andrew David Lytle produced thousands of photographic images in the sixty years during which he lived in Baton Rouge and operated Lytle Studio. His heirs, alas, reportedly shattered his glass-plate negatives by dropping them down a dry well soon after his death, not realizing their value. Andrew D. Lytle's Baton Rouge preserves some of the only images that remain, a vintage treasure for contemporary viewers. These 120 photographs give entrée into life in Louisiana's capital city from the 1860...

Elton John's truly remarkable collection of international modernist photography stems from personal passion: since 1991, he has amassed more than two thousand photographs, which include key figures from Europe and America alongside many of the foremost photographers from Japan, Eastern Europe and Latin America. This book draws together the finest works from 1920 to 1950, a period that is widely considered to be photography's 'coming of age', a time of great experimentation and innovation when ar...

Photography became a dominant medium in cultural life starting in the late nineteenth century. As it happened, viewers increasingly used their reactions to photographs to comment on and debate public issues as vital as war, national identity, and citizenship.   Cara A. Finnegan analyzes a wealth of newspaper and magazine articles, letters to the editor, trial testimony, books, and speeches produced by viewers in response to specific photos they encountered in public. From the portrait of a you...

This collection of rare and vintage postcards offers a unique look at a vanished China and its storied capital. Comprising 355 black-and-white and hand-tinted Beijing photography postcards that span the period from the last years of Imperial China to the Japanese invasion of 1937, it is a treasure trove for buffs of Beijing history, collectors, Sinophiles, and anyone fascinated by people and cultures from times past. Readers will enjoy the wide selection of images showing different aspects of th...

From the perspective of 60 years on Eric Newby looks back with characteristic humour to his young self and his days on board 'Moshulu' and pays tribute, with his photographs, to these magnificent ships and their crews. No one with a love of the sea or a sense of the past could fail to be moved and excited by them.

African photography has emerged as a significant focus of research and scholarship over the last twenty years, the result of a growing interest in postcolonial societies and cultures and a turn towards visual evidence across the humanities and social sciences. At the same time, many rich and fascinating photographic collections have come to light. This volume explores the complex theoretical and practical issues involved in the study of African photographic archives, based on case studies drawn...

The first photograph in Ireland was taken in 1839 by Belfast engraver Francis Beatty. Taking this event as his starting point, and ending with Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photographs in 1939, photo-historian W.A. Maguire traces the history of photography in the nine counties of Ulster. The book introduces the innovative and often colourful professional photographers who practised this evolving art-form in the north. Outstanding amateurs such as the 5th Earl Annesley are covered, as are the t...

Since Magnum was founded in 1947, its members have been on hand to bear witness on the front line of world history. From Robert Capa's stark photograph of a Loyalist soldier being shot in the head during the Spanish Civil War to Eve Arnold's astonishingly intimate portraits of well-known faces - from Joan Crawford to Malcolm X - Magnum has changed how we perceive our political leaders, social crises, and the communities next door. Magnum's photographers are some of the most talented, brave, and...

Featuring over one hundred of Jessamine Spear Johnson's photographs, this volume is the first publication to showcase her work in detail. Essays and captions by granddaughter Tempe Javitz, along with an intro by historian Mary Murphy, situate Johnson's life and career in relation to broader shifts in ranching, tourism, and photography.