MATHEW BRADY: His Life and Photographs

CobbleHill/Dutton, 1994. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. As New/New. B&W era photos throughout. CONDITION: What makes this "AS NEW?" - a "ding" top front board edge. UNREAD 1994 CobbleHill/Dutton hardcover (grey boards) and dust jacket, first edition, first printing. B&W era photos throughout. CONTENT: Mathew Brady, photographer of the rich and famous of his time, is primarily remembered today for his visionary decision to create a photographic record of the Civil War. Sullivan skillfully recounts details of Brady's life and times, interweaving a history of the development of photography in the nineteenth century. Images created by Brady and his staff photographers still play important roles todaythe portraits of Lincoln on the penny and the five-dollar bill were drawn from Brady's photographs. In addition, Ken Burns relied heavily on Brady's photographs for the television series The Civil War. Sullivan's text is notable not only for its historical relevance, but also for the analogies the author draws between events of Brady's time and events of our own; for example, he refers to the Civil War as the world's first living room war because of Brady's photographsa characteristic sometimes attributed to television coverage of Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. Brady's ability to cope with the changes in his profession, and to use them to his advantage, is also well presented. Scattered throughout are clear reproductions of many of Brady's photographs, including portraits, as well as pictures of the Civil War.