The Unknown Berenice Abbott

The heft of this collection of books is just a small part of its presence. This is an amazing assemblage of books documenting the work of Berenice Abbott. This is an important document of photographic history. I am very happy that Amazon simply boxed the shipping box that originated from Steidl. The protective packaging from Steidl was impressive. Because the box was so heavy, more than a couple corners of the shipping box was slightly crushed, but the slip case of books inside were safely delivered unmarked. I don't know how many were printed, but this collection will surely hold its value, if not increase.

I watched the UPS man swing off his green stallion and bend forward a bit as he walked toward me carrying a box the size of his chest, "watch out this one is really heavy," yep, Berenice Abbott had arrived. Better yet, she arrived because of two men who would have been her lovers, Ron Kurtz & Hank O'Neal (if Abbott could have given herself to something other than photography), but wait, there's more: the god of ink himself printed these volumes, Steidl. It is a masterpiece of workmanship from the shipping box to the sleeved volumes and colored spines. Open any volume by Steidl, and smell the ink, it is the perfume of the printed dot. Abbott while working in New York in the thirties would gather crowds around here, not because she was working with large format equipment as a photographer-but because she was a woman wearing pants in public. She did not have many friends and spoke with an historical grasp of the history of photography like no other; because she was there. Ask Man Ray. Imagine, being there when Abbott invites Walker Evans over to her apartment to show Walker some prints by a little known French photographer Eugéne' Aget. Exhale. So, I washed my hands with Dawn dish soap and got out a pair of white gloves and opened the volume, "Greenwich Village," with a blue cover and a beautifully tipped-in image of a large window clock, it was everything I expected from the greatest documentary photographer of New York, and just maybe, Walker, of her time.Craig Carlson

Have you ever been to a photography exhibit at a museum? Now imagine the same high quality experience in the comfort of your home. I've only had a little bit of time to look at the collection because of other obligations, but I can say this..if you love photography books, get this one. If you love photography as student or practioner, get this book. I'm going to keep walking through this book slowly now, after I have completed my quick run through. Like eating your favorite desert...bite slowly and often...

As soon as Amazon's price decreased (significantly), I pounced. I love Steidl's books and this collection is no exception; it's beautifully printed and also beautifully bound. Of course (as others have inferred), you might get a hernia while lifting the books....my personal preference is for Abbott's NYC photos, and only two of the five books feature those - but her other photos are wonderful, too. The fact that only 2000 copies of this compendium were printed; well, that makes it very special to own a set.

Amazing photos! Books were in great condition ~ quick ship!

Splendid printing, excellent text, worthy of one of the great photographers of the 20th century.

I purchased this box set, along with the 2008 Steidl box set titled "Berenice Abbott." They are both magnifiscent, in terms of content and quality. I knew who Abbott was before I purchased these sets - the portraits of Atget and Joyce - but I never knew how wide ranging was Abbott's oeuvre. While the two-volume 2008 collection shows a broad range of Abbott's work, this collection takes it even further - The American Scene, New York, photographs of logging operations ... My God, Abbott did it all and did it aa astonishingly well! My advice: 1) Buy this collection. It is limited to 2,000 sets. It is well worth the money. 2) use a back brace when lifting it. It is heavy. Lastly, the publication quality is stunning. Of course, it's Steidl! I am addicted to Steidl publications ... I have Eggleston's Chromes and Los Alamos Revisited, and they, like this collection, are just so beautifully printed. Apart from the beauty of the work contained within a book published by Steidl, the books themselves are works of art as Steidl quality control standards no one else can match!

Incredible 5 volumes in a slipcase. Printed by Steidel. Need I say more?

A beautiful box set of five books with 699 whole page tritone and colour photos. Like other Steidl books, for example Bruce Davidson or Gordon Parks, this set on Berenice Abbott reveals a photo life of seventy years before your eyes (though it doesn't include any of her science photos).The contents of the five volumes:Book ONE: New York: 1929 to 1931. 100 photos (plus eleven pages of her photo album used as a photographic reference guide to the city).Includes the city from above and below, construction, the waterfront, El, the sidewalks of the city.Book TWO: American Scene: 1930 to 1935. 87 photos.New Jersey and Connecticut, 1931; American cities before the Civil War, 1934; architecture of HH Richardson, 1934; Southern trip, 1935.Book THREE: Deep woods. 107 logging photos.California, 1943; Maine, 1966--1967.Book FOUR: Greenwich Village, 1935--1950. 99 photos.Book FIVE: U.S.1 USA. 153 photos including some colour (plus eighteen smaller shots over two pages of signs along the highway).Books three and five I found the most fascinating. The lengthy photo essay of logging in California and Maine shows BA not just covering the mechanics of how the men work but including several portraits of the workers giving the industry a human face. The Maine photos also have added interest because many of them were taken in wintertime with plenty of snow.Book five, the thickest with the most photos gives a glimpse of a Berenice Abbott project that is least known about though some of the photos have been published. She wanted to document the way the auto was changing the landscape and creating a uniformity of appearance. Hank O'Neal in this book's essay says that an American placed in a typical shopping mall would be unable to pinpoint their location because of the retail and architectural sameness of the surroundings. In 1954 BA wanted to capture this encroaching sameness by photographing US 1 from the start at Fort Kent, Maine to the end at Key West, Florida, 2369 miles. The project created 1451 photos (including fifty or so colour shots) and I think it is comparable to the work Steven Shore or Robert Frank and their highway work. These amazing photos are presented in a geographic format and you can feel yourself slowly travelling south as the architecture of cities and towns change and especially the weather creates different life styles.This Berenice Abbott box set is another plus for Steild, a publisher who sets the gold standard for photography monographs.

Coming in at over 30 lbs, this set of books will leave you with things to look at for weeks. You can't help but marvel at how well Steidl packs the book (it's placed in a special box directly at the factory), prints the book, binds the book, and all the quality in between. THEN, there's the wonderful photographs of Bernice Abbott!Spend the money for this book! You won't regret it! And, might I add, it's cheaper on Amazon then it is even listed on Steidl's website. I've seen this book selling for $400 in stores! Invest, it will be worth it!

Erstklassige Bildbände in top Steidl-Qualität mit grossartigen Bildern der Ausnahmefotografin.

PARFAIT