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First Exposures – Writings from the Beginning of Photography(Getty Publications – (Yale))

by S. Siegel

Format: Paperback

Condition: Standard Secondhand — £26.15

Standard Secondhand — £26.15

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An exact date for the invention of photography is evasive. Scientists and amateurs alike were working on a variety of photographic processes for much of the early nineteenth century. Thus most historians refer to the year 1839 as the “first” year of photography, not because the sensational new medium was invented then, but because that is the year it was introduced to the world.

After more than 175 years, and for the first time in English, First Exposures: Writings from the Beginning of Photography brings together more than 130 primary sources from that very year—1839—subdivided into ten chapters and accompanied by fifty-three images of significant visual and historical importance.

This is an astonishing work of discovery, selection, and—thanks to Steffen Siegel’s introductory texts, notes, and afterword—elucidation. The range of material is impressive: not only all the chemical and technological details of the various processes but also contracts, speeches, correspondence of every kind, arguments, parodies, satires, eulogies, denunciations, journals, and even some poems.

Revealing through firsthand accounts the competition, the rivalries, and the parallels among the various practitioners and theorists, this book provides an unprecedented way to understand how the early discourse around photographic techniques and processes transcended national boundaries and interconnected across Europe and the United States.

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The Photography Reader: History and Theory

Format: Paperback
Published: 2017
Pages: 520
Publisher: The J. Paul Getty Museum
ISBN: 9781606065242

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Condition Descriptions

Our conditions mean the following:

New - a brand new book
Almost New - appears new but is actually secondhand.
Very Good - only minor imperfections such as minor scuffs to edge or cover or a price written in pencil or shop sticker.
Standard Secondhand - Clearly been read before, but not too bad. We do not recommend these for gifting. Spines usually creased. Could also include creases or folds to cover, some writing such as in the cover or elsewhere, underlining or highlighting, but might not do. Possibly some stains or marks. Similar in general to books in any secondhand shop or charity shop.
Poor Condition - Usually this will have a specific problem such as writing inside, water damage, missing dust jacket, heavy staining, large creases or cuts. These are readable copies but not nice ones. On other websites this condition is called 'Acceptable' or 'Fair' , but we want to be more honest.

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