EDWARD WESTON

New York: E. Weyhe, 1932. First Edition. Hardcover. Limited to 550 copies signed by Edward Weston. This was Edward Weston's first book, and is probably the first publication of a California photographer with a truly modern aesthetic. Includes a Foreword by Charles Sheeler, Appreciation by Lincoln Steffens, Prophecy by Arthur Millier, and Estimate by Jean Charlot, with A Statement by Edward Weston. Quarto: unpaginated, with 39 photographs by Edward Weston, as well as a frontispiece portrait of Edward Weston by Brett Weston. In the original one-quarter printed white paper over glossy black paper binding. Light foxing to the half-title and the final blank leaf, with some very mild toning along the spine. An especially nice example, housed in the publisher's slipcase.

"In his daybook for October 24, 1932, Edward Weston (1886-1958) wrote that 'for these last three months I have 'lived' this book, literally.' His complete preoccupation was selecting 39 photographs from hundreds made in the 1920s and 30s, mostly with his 8 x 10-inch view camera. These images reflected his redefined aesthetic of photography. During this period Weston transformed himself into a 'realist', taking detailed, finely-focused photographs of shells, trees, vegetables, rocks, and many other objects, along with portraits. His work represented the beginning of photography's acceptance as a modern art. Merle Armitage, who designed this book and was a modern art devotee, wrote that Weston's first concern was with 'manifestations of basic form'" (Alan Jutzi, Zamorano Select 115).