PLACES: AARON SISKIND PHOTOGRAPHS

New York City, NY: Light Gallery/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Light Gallery/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 112 pages. Landmark collection of photographs. One of the most important art photography books of the 20th century. The First Hardcover Edition. Should not be confused with the Softcover Edition. Both editions were published in a total print run of 7500 copies. Should also not be confused with copies signed on a tipped-in page ("first front endpaper") . The First Edition is now scarce. An austerely elegant production by Malcolm Grear Designers: Oversize-volume format. Pale gray cloth boards with metallic-silver titles embossed on cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Aaron Siskind. Essay by Thomas B. Hess. Printed in duotone on Warren Cameo Dull Paper in the United States to the highest standards. The reproduction quality is exemplary in every respect. In pictorial DJ with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents "Places: Aaron Siskind Photographs". The sequel to his seminal "Aaron Siskind: Photographs", further showcasing his productive dialogue with Abstract Expressionism and thereby making his body of work among the most influential in the history of both photography and art. At the time, Siskind was the only photographer whose work was considered a "must-see" by artists (who otherwise did not take photography seriously) . The places where these photographs were taken include Rome, Viterbo, Corfu, Lima, Cuzco, the Gulf cities of Mexico, Boston, Providence, Woonsocket, and Martha's Vineyard. But anyone looking for picturesque landscapes will not find any here. Siskind's idea of place is, as Hess points out, formal and essential rather than specific and accidental, universal expressions of art's significance in the most rigorous manner possible. Hess underscores Siskind's significant contribution to the history of Western art itself: "It's in the formalist area that Siskind's particular genius obtains, his ability to make photography a matter of transcendent aesthetic import. This is what art is about" (Thomas B. Hess) . "To a large degree, he has been responsible for bringing photography into the twentieth century" (Henry Holmes Smith) . An absolute "must-have" title for Aaron Siskind collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Aaron Siskind. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a great photography book. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Should NOT be confused with the Softcover Edition. Both editions were published in a total print run of 7500 copies. Should also NOT be confused with copies signed on a tipped-in page ("first front endpaper") . A rare signed copy thus. 89 duotone plates. "Aaron Siskind Photographs" was selected as one of the greatest photography books in "The Photobook". One of the greatest artist/photographers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER AARON SISKIND TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374232059.