Werke in vier Bänden, Band 4

by Theodor Storm

One can only imagine the amazement felt by L.J.M. Daguerre, when, in the summer of 1839, he gazed upon the first photograph ever made. An image of the view from his Paris apartment of the bustling Boulevard du Temple, it was remarkably detailed yet mysteriously vacant, save for a single man in the distance who appeared to be having his boots polished; the rest of the passersby evaded capture due to the necessarily long exposure. And thus began the world-shaking practice of photography. A New History of Photography was created after the French Ministry of Culture observed that there were no books produced in France that addressed the history of the art form. Rather than present the standard chronological survey, this book's creators chose to produce a volume that would encompass photography's historical evolution as well as its role in society.

Editor Michel Frizot writes a substantial portion of the text, along with 29 additional authors who offer a plethora of analytical information and a wide variety of points of view. Periods, social practice, contextual analysis, historical questions, influential innovations, and aesthetic turning points are explored around themes ranging from chemistry to the snapshot, ethnography to color printing, evidence to advertising, and much, much more. This ambitious book includes many images not familiar to an American audience, offering a fascinating visual smorgasbord that demonstrates the breadth of applications and interpretations that photography has seen from its very inception. Put simply, it is a book about why people take photographs and what photographs can do. At a whopping 776 pages, this weighty volume has something for everyone. --A.C. Smith

Genres: Photography, Art, History, Art and Photography, Nonfiction, Art History

776 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (1817 – 1888) was a German poet and author.

He was born in Husum ("the grey town by the grey sea") on the west coast of Schleswig of well-to-do parents. While still a student of law, he published a first volume of verse together with the brothers Tycho and Theodor Mommsen.

He worked as a lawyer in Schleswig-Holstein, but emigrated to Thuringia in 1851, leaving his mother's household, and did not return until 1864 to become a writer leaving his homeland in Denmark.

He wrote a number of stories, poems and novellas. His two most well-known works are the novellas Immensee ("Bees' Lake", 1849) and Der Schimmelreiter ("The Rider on the White Horse"), first published in April 1888 in the Deutsche Rundschau. Other published works include a volume of his poems (1852), the novella Pole Poppenspäler (1874) and the novella Aquis submersus (1877).

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out at my local library, as it was included on a list of books that had inspired the late English fashion designer Alexander McQueen and I was curious. It is a heavy tome at 775 pages, filled with a wide variety of photographs taken during the 150 years of the existence of photography, which it is easy to become absorbed in and wile away the hours.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the earliest camera obscuras through to the modern day (circa 1989), this book traces the history of photography, showing both the technological and aesthetic developments as they transformed the visual landscape. The book does a good job of relating the history behind the photos, as well as displaying the sheer beauty of the images in and of themselves.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is particularly good at describing the movement of photographic technology and how that affected content. The emphasis is definitely on early photography, and the book gets a little lost in the contemporary art section; it does not devote enough time to the complex matter of photography post-1960s.

[Michael Heath-Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive and well illustrated book on the beginnings of photography.

[Emiliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un linro che ogni amante della fotografia dovrebbe avere. Un punto di riferimento fondamentale.