Description

“THE RAPHAEL OF 20TH-CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHERS”: CARTIER-BRESSON’S PHOTOGRAPHS, 1963, INSCRIBED BY HIM

CARTIER-BRESSON, Henri. Photographs. New York: Grossman, 1963. Small quarto, original blue cloth, original dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box.

First edition of this representative selection of 47 candid black-and-white images taken from 1929 to 1961, inscribed by Henri Cartier-Bresson on the title page: “Pour Michael. Henri C-B.”

“Regarded by the French as a national treasure, mentioned as a touchstone in almost every article in the popular photographic press, emulated by legions of photographers, Cartier-Bresson has delighted and informed millions with his photographs” (Claude Cookman). “He has a special interest in photographing people and in capturing the essence of what has not previously been seen. He is famous for his theory of the ‘decisive moment’-that is seizing the split second when the subject stands revealed in its most significant aspect? Today he ranks as one of the most important and influential photographers of this century” (Blodgett, 96). This wonderful retrospective selection of his work reflects his continual “search for the harmony and balance manifested in all events; he photographed to find the ‘transcendent’ order that links all cultures, all nations, and all historical moments” (Roth, 20). This copy was inscribed to Michael Gallagher, a New York photography dealer. Dust jacket price-clipped.

Book with only very lightest wear, one small chip to front panel of dust jacket. A near-fine copy, highly desirable thus inscribed.