NEW YORK.- Swann Galleries, Inc. will hold an auction of Photographic Literature & Important Photohgraphs Tuesday, May 22. Among the works of Photographic Literature to be auctioned at Swann Galleries on Tuesday May 22 at 10:30 a.m. is a rare copy of Peter Henry Emerson and T.F. Goodall's classic Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, with 40 original platinum print photographs of the picturesque lakes and marshlands of Norfolk, England, 1886. Emerson was an avid early champion of photography as an art form, and he demonstrated its potential masterfully in this groundbreaking work, which was his first book (estimate: $75,000 to $100,000).
The auction also features a copy of Emerson's last book, Marsh Leaves, illustrated with 16 photogravures after his atmospheric and proto-modernist photographs, deluxe edition, one of 50 copies on Japanese vellum, London, 1895 ($8,000 to $12,000).
Other early photographic literature highlights are G.B. Duchenne de Boulogne's very rare pictorial study of how the human face portrays emotions, Mecanisme de la Physionomie Humaine ou Analyse Electro-Physiologique de L'Expression des Passions, with 20 photographs, Paris, 1862 ($15,000 to $25,000); Camera Work Number 9, with 10 photogravures after White, Steichen and Watson-Schütze, and Number 10, with 12 images after Käsebier, Abbott, Outamaro, and others, both New York, 1905 ($4,000 to $6,000 and $3,000 to $4,500 respectively); and the richly illustrated Italia Imperiale, known as the best Italian propaganda photobook from the fascist era, Milan, 1937 ($9,000 to $12,000).
There are also classics such as Alexey Brodovitch's Ballet, first edition, New York, 1945 ($2,500 to $3,500); David Heath's A Dialogue with Solitude, first edition, signed and inscribed by Heath, New York, 1965 ($2,000 to $3,000); Robert Frank's The Lines of My Hand, first edition, in the original shipping box, Tokyo, 1972 ($4,000 to $5,000); and Lee Friedlander: Photographs, deluxe edition, one of 150 copies issued with two photographs, New York, 1978 ($9,000 to $12,000).
Among many Japanese titles are Ken Domon and Shomei Tomatsu's Hiroshima Nagasaki, Document 1961, first edition, 1961 ($5,500 to $7,500); Takuma Nakahira's Kitarubeki Kotoba no Tameni [For a Language to Come], first edition, Tokyo, 1970 ($2,500 to $3,500); Nobuyoshi Araki's self-published Okinawa (Sequel: Sentimental Journey), first edition, one of 1,000 copies, Tokyo, 1971 ($3,000 to $4,000); Daido Moriyama's Sashin yo Sayonara [Goodbye Photography, Dear], first edition, Tokyo, 1972 ($4,000 to $6,000); and Ikko Narahara's Portici di Luce--Piazza San Marco, 1-5, five volumes, special edition, one of 300 copies, Tokyo, 1978 ($2,000 to $3,000).
The afternoon session of Important Photographs, which begins at 2:30 p.m., features an album containing 48 scarce photographs of Hawaii, with august portraits of royal figures, 1870 ($7,000 to $10,000); and a select assortment of approximately 200 photographs--many of which are tintypes--depicting working people. These "Occupational" portraits from the 1860s to 1890s are from the collection of Ken Heyman, and several of them appeared in the 2002 book Working Stiffs by Michael Carlebach ($20,000 to $30,000 for the group). Important Civil War lots deaccessioned from the Chrysler Museum will also be on the block.
The intersection of art and science is represented by an archive of 26 "stop motion" photographs by Harold Edgerton from the 1930s, which includes his well-known Milk Drop Coronet, signed and inscribed by Edgerton. This group contains many images of golf swings, as well as a Typed Letter Signed by the legendary golfer, Bobby Jones ($25,000 to $35,000). An assortment of photographic works from the early 20th century includes Edward Weston's alluring Maud Allan and Century Plant, silver print, 1916, formerly in the collection of, and signed on the back by, Dody Weston Thompson, protégée and daughter-in-law of Edward Weston ($8,000 to $12,000); Tina Modotti's Untitled (Protest rally), silver print, circa 1928 ($10,000 to $15,000); Imogen Cunningham's recognizable Triangles, silver print, 1928, printed 1950s-1960s ($9,000 to $12,000); Margaret Bourke-White's Docked Ship, warm-toned silver print, circa 1933 ($7,000 to $10,000); and several works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, including Cordoba, silver print, signed by the artist twice--on recto and on verso, 1933, printed 1950s-1960s ($15,000 to $25,000).
Among mid-century highlights are Roy DeCarava's portrait of artist Bob Blackburn at a protest, silver print, with DeCarava's name, address, phone number and original price ($10) on mount verso, 1949 ($7,000 to $10,000); Josef Sudek's Still life (in the darkroom), pigment print, 1952 ($15,000 to $25,000); Ruth Bernhard's Classic Torso, 1952, printed 1970s ($7,000 to $10,000); and Bill Brandt's Elbow and hip, silver print, 1950s ($6,000 to $9,000).
Contemporary images include Diane Arbus's A Naked Man Being a Woman, N.Y.C., silver print printed by Neil Selkirk, with Doon Arbus's signature and notations, 1968, printed 1972 ($10,000 to $15,000); an explicit Untitled image from Larry Clark's Tulsa series, silver print, early 1970s, gifted by Clark to the collector in the early 1970s ($6,000 to $9,000); Irving Penn's masterful Collapse, platinum-palladium print, 1980, printed 1981 ($25,000 to $35,000); Robert Mapplethorpe's "Larry" [man with tattoo and 3 fingers], silver print, 1981 ($7,000 to $10,000); Horst P. Horst's American Nude II, NY, platinum-palladium print, 1982 ($10,000 to $15,000); Herb Ritts's portrait of one of his favorite subjects, Madonna, True Blue, silver print, 1986 ($15,000 to $25,000); Sally Mann's Holding Virginia, silver print, 1989 ($8,000 to $12,000); Nan Goldin's Joey Dressed for Wigstock, NYC, cibachrome print, 1991 ($7,000 to $10,000); Bernd and Hilla Becher's Plant for Styrofoam Production, Wesseling near Cologne, silver print, 1997 ($7,000 to $10,000); and William Wegman's Man Ray Portfolio, with 10 photographs of his beloved dog, Man Ray, silver and dye transfer prints, 1982 ($12,000 to $18,000).
There are fine portfolios such as Brett Weston's Fifteen Photographs, silver prints, one of 50 copies, 1961 ($15,000 to $25,000); Inge Morath, with 15 original photographs, silver prints, 1975, Eliot Porter's Intimate Landscapes, containing 10 beautiful dye transfer prints, one of 250 copies, New York, 1979, and Ernst Haas's The Creation, with 10 vivid dye transfer prints, one of 300 copies, New York, 1981 ($6,000 to $9,000 each).
The morning session of the auction, offering 205 lots of Photographic Literature, will start at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 22. The afternoon session of approximately 280 lots will begin at 2:30 p.m.
The items will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries Wednesday, May 16 to Friday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Monday, May 21, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On view during the exhibition will be a video preview with a discussion of sale highlights by the specialist. The video preview may also be viewed online at www.swanngalleries.com.
A two-volume illustrated catalogue, with information on bidding by mail or fax, is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, or online at www.swanngalleries.com.