Peter Beard, Collector's Edition: 965 Elephants

by Peter H. Beard (Photographer), Steven M.L. Aronson, Nejma Beard (Editor)

A stunning journey into the world of Peter Beard: Photographer, collector, diarist, and writer of books Peter Beard has fashioned his life into a work of art; the illustrated diaries he kept from a young age evolved into a serious career as an artist and earned him a central position in the international art world. He was painted by Francis Bacon, painted on by Salvador Dalí, and made diaries with Andy Warhol; he toured with Truman Capote and the Rolling Stones, created books with Jacqueline Onassis and Mick Jagger - all of whom are brought to life, literally and figuratively, in his work. As a fashion photographer, he took Vogue stars like Veruschka to Africa and brought new ones - most notably Iman - back to the U.S. with him.

His love affair with natural history and wildlife, which informs most of his work, began when he was a teenager. He had read the books of Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) and after spending time in Kenya and befriending the author, bought a piece of land near hers. It was the early 1960s and the big game hunters led safaris, with all the colonial elements Beard had read about in Out of Africa characterizing the open life and landscape, but the times were changing. Beard witnessed the dawn of Kenya's population explosion, which challenged finite resources and stressed animal populations - including the starving elephants of Tsavo, dying by the tens of thousands in a wasteland of eaten trees. So he documented what he saw - with diaries, photographs, and collages. He went against the wind in publishing unique and sometimes shocking books of these works. The corpses were laid bare; the facts were carefully written down sometimes in type, often by hand, occasionally with blood.

Limited to 250 individually numbered copies, each signed by Peter Beard

Genres: Photography, Art, Biography, Africa, Nonfiction, History, Design

616 pages, Hardcover

First published April 4, 2007

Reviews

[Pieter Verwey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most prized posession. It is exquisite.

[Duke Haney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indescribably gorgeous. An instant all-time favorite. I hesitate to pick it up, knowing I'll be lost inside it for hours I can't spare.

[david Cabrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excepcional, puedes pasar meses disfrutàndolo, y cada vez que lo abres vuelves a descubrir nuevos detalles, un mundo que deja de existir.

[Denise Huxham · Rating 5 out of 5]

o what a joy

[Babar · Rating 1 out of 5]

That bloody font, No idea who picked it made it hard to read.
Most pictures, it felt like those American psychopaths who use newspaper Pieces to send a message

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Beard is always a treat! Loved this set of books.

[Mike Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

[Giorgio Jelinek · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book for everybody who likes photo, diaries and africa. message is very strong. be carreful

[Luke Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jaw-dropping artbook. Genuinely proud that I own this and get to show it to people and pore over it whenever