The Photobook: From Talbot to Ruscha and Beyond

The photograph found a home in the book before it won for itself a place on the gallery wall. Only a few years after the birth of photography, the publication of Henry Fox Talbot's The Pencil of Nature heralded a new genre in the history of the book, one in which the photograph was the primary vehicle of expression and communication, or stood in equal if sometimes conflicting partnership with the written word.

Format: Hardback
Length: 252 pages
Publication date: 31 October 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Before achieving its rightful place on the gallery wall, the photograph found a cherished place within the pages of the book. The advent of photography marked a transformative era in the history of the book, ushering in a new genre where the photograph assumed a central role as the primary medium of expression and communication, often standing in harmonious yet sometimes conflicting partnership with the written word. Within this remarkable volume, a diverse group of practicing photographers and writers from various fields of scholarship come together to explore innovative approaches to interpreting the photobook. They endeavor to develop fresh ways of understanding how meaning is intricately shaped by the interplay between an image and its textual and contextual surroundings, while also engaging with the multifaceted visual, tactile, and interactive experience that the photobook offers. Through meticulous examinations of individual works, the book delves into the diverse spectrum of photobooks, from their esteemed status as fetishized objets d'art to their humble yet significant existence as cheaply printed booklets. It celebrates the unique creative and cultural contributions made by these remarkable artifacts, shedding light on their enduring significance in the world of visual storytelling.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032220260