Annuals. The Year's Photography 1959. Royal Photographic Society annual.

Royal Photographic Society, 1959. Edited by Margaret Harker. Hardcover with protected very good dust jacket that has a couple of short tears and some rubbing.  End papers have light tanning from acid migration, probably from the glue used for the paste downs.  95 pages plus 10 pages of ads. Photographers include Henri Cartier-Bresson (“Lourdes, 1958”), Janine Niepce, J. Ortiz Echague, Margaret Harker, Eric Hoskins, Mark Kauffman, Jean Dienzaide, Arthur Gilpin, Peter E. Best, Norman Cox, Ho Fan, M.J. Schmidt, and many others. A majority of the photographers included were members of the RPS. Includes an essay by Harker on the year’s RPS exhibitions. Increasingly uncommon.  Summary:

The Year’s Photography 1959 is a 1959 annual compiled by the Royal Photographic Society, one of the world’s oldest photographic organizations dedicated to advancing both the art and science of photography. It was edited by noted photographer and RPS figure Margaret Harker.

The book functions as a year-in-review photographic anthology, documenting highlights of photographic practice and exhibitions associated with the Society during the preceding year. Within its approximately 95 pages (plus advertisement sections), it presents a curated selection of black-and-white and some printed images by a range of photographers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Janine Niepce, J. Ortiz Echague, Eric Hoskins, Mark Kauffman, Ho Fan, M. J. Schmidt, Peter E. Best, and Norman Cox, among others. Many of the contributors were RPS members, illustrating diverse approaches to composition, subject matter, and photographic technique of the late 1950s.

In addition to the image portfolios, the annual includes an essay by Harker that reviews the Society’s exhibitions and activities over the year, offering insights into trends, noteworthy achievements, and the state of photographic art at that time. The book’s role was both documentary and celebratory: capturing significant works produced or exhibited under the RPS banner and reflecting broader currents within British and international photography in 1958–59.

Overall, The Year’s Photography 1959 is a historical snapshot of mid-century photographic practice as seen through the lens of a respected professional society, combining representative imagery with commentary on the photographic scene of its day.