Exhibitions. The Imaginary Photo Museum. With 457 Photographs from 1836 to the Present.

Harmony Books, 1982. Translated from the German Das Imaginäre Photo-Museum. By Renate and L. Fritz Gruber with texts by Helmut Gernsheim, L. Fritz Gruber, Beaumont Newhall, and Jeane von Oppenheim. Stiff illustrated wraps, very good with slight evidence of use on covers. Catalog for a major photography exhibit at Photokina, September 12–28, 1980, at the Kunsthalle in Cologne, Germany.  Newhall's essay traces the history of museums and photography.  Gruber provides a succinct history of the medium.  The 457 photos are arranged in chapters and subchapters: Chronology; Color Photography; and Analogies (The Object, The Nude, The Landscape, The Portrait, The City, The Event, and The Vision).  Helmut Gernsheim follows with the Afterword consisting of a rumination on the exhibit, followed by biographical information on the photographers by von Oppenheim and the usual back matter.  Photographers represented include Berenice Abbott; Ansel Adams; Diane Arbus; Eugene Atget; Richard Avedon; Lewis Baltz; Hippolyte Bayard; Cecil Beaton; E.J. Bellocq; Werner Bischof; Bourke-White; Mathew Brady; Brassai; Robert Capa; Paul Caponigro; Etienne Carjat; Lewis Carroll; Imogen Cunningham; Bruce Davidson; George Davison; F. Holland Day; Baron Adolf De Meyer; Robert Demachy; John M. Divola; Robert Doisneau; Ken Domon; Madame D'Ora; Rudolf Dührkoop; Alfred Eisenstaedt; Ed van der Elsken; Peter Henry Emerson; Hugo Erfurth; Elliot Erwitt; Frank Eugene; Walker Evans; Roger Fenton; Hans Finsler; Franco Fontana; Robert Frank; Lee Friedlander; Luigi Ghirri; Philippe Halsman; Lewis Hine; Emil Hoppe; Gertrude Käsebier; Andre Kertesz; Dorothea Lange; Jacque-Henri Lartigue; Joel Meyerowitz; Duane Michals; Muncacsi; Nadar; Paul Outerbridge; Gordon Parks; Irving Penn; Eliot Porter; Man Ray; Jacob Riis; Erich Salomon; Christian Schad; Ben Shahn; Arthur Siegel; Aaron Siskind; Emmanuel Sougez; Edward Steichen; Alfred Stieglitz; Josef Sudek; William Henry Fox Talbot; Teynard; Roman Vishniac; Weegee; Edward Weston; Clarence White; Garry Winogrand, and many others. Summary:

The Imaginary Photo Museum (1982) is an expansive, curated survey that attempts to realize André Malraux’s concept of a "museum without walls" for the medium of photography. Edited by Renate and L. Fritz Gruber, the book serves as the permanent record of a landmark exhibition originally produced for the 1980 Photokina trade fair in Cologne, Germany.

Concept and Scope

The volume brings together 457 photographs borrowed from premier museums and private collections worldwide. Its ambitious goal was to assemble the "ideal" collection, representing the most significant achievements in the history of the medium from its infancy in 1836 through the late 20th century.

• Historical Range: Spans from the pioneering work of Mathew Brady and William Henry Fox Talbot to modern masters like Alfred Stieglitz, Walker Evans, and Man Ray.

• Global Perspective: Because the images were gathered from diverse international archives, the book offers a rare cross-section of photographic history that transcends any single institution's holdings.

Organization and Structure

The book is thoughtfully divided into two distinct pedagogical approaches:

1. Chronology: A linear historical progression that traces the technical and stylistic evolution of photography over 140 years.

2. Analogy: A thematic section that groups images by subject matter rather than date, allowing for cross-generational dialogues. Categories include:

   • Portraits, Nudes, and Landscapes

   • Cities, Events, Objects, and Visions

Technical and Biographical Features

• Biographical Index: The book includes a highly regarded index of the featured photographers, providing concise biographies and references for further study.

• Format: Primarily black-and-white, with a dedicated section for color photography, the book is noted for its high-quality reproductions that maintain the integrity of the original vintage prints.

• Collaboration: Features contributions and text from esteemed photo-historians like Helmut Gernsheim, adding scholarly weight to the visual survey.

Summary: The Imaginary Photo Museum is a foundational reference work. It functions as a "mega-memory" of the medium, providing a comprehensive, single-volume education on how photography evolved from a scientific curiosity into a dominant global art form.