Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Fri, 14 May 1999 14:00:14 -0400 (EDT)
On Fri, 14 May 1999, Richard Knoppow wrote:
> Another interesting book with obscure and arcane material in it is
> _Photographic Amusements_
> I no longer remember the original author, it may have been E.J.Wall. This
> went through many editions from the early 1930's to the early fifties. In
> the US it was published by the American Photographic Book Publishing
> Company, Boston.
> ----
Actually, my earliest Photographic Amusements is 1914 (can't lay hands on
it this minute), though first printing was I think 1898 (I resisted an
1898 edition for $100 last month). There were at least 8 editions, each
had many printings. My latest is 1938, which had by that time some "names"
in the "portfolio" section, including Brugiere, & company.. There were
more editions after that, which, alas I don't (yet) own.
Which is to say, the material, far from being "obscure and arcane" is the
very stuff of "crooked photography" since day one. The book was VERY
widely owned and known .... I don't think I've ever been to a
Photographica Fair that didn't have at least one. And a friend FROM THIS
VERY LIST actually gifted me with one was deaccessioned, if you could
believe, from the Hackensack Library! (Let's hear it for Hackensack!!!
That's NEW JERSEY, folks.)
Yes, of course I'm bragging. You would too. The book is a treasure. The
one true classic of photography that has NOT gone out of date. Like I say,
those "tricks" are classics. (That's where I got the one about do your
dust-on memorial portrait with the deceases's ashes.) Guess I shouldn't
say this, drives up the price even more. It is my assumption that
Mortensen studied it well, and I show some evidence, part of what's taking
me so long with this %^&*&^%$, er, excuse me *wonderful* Issue #3.
(PS. I suspect the shade of Edward Weston crept in during the night and
hid two or three of them I don't see at this moment.)
Judy
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 21:39:33