Photographs. Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Nebraska Art Association, 1977.  Introduction by Norman A. Geske.  212 pages. Hardcover with protected dust jacket. Book is fine with a few small spots on last few pages that look like they occurred during printing.  Dust jacket is very good with some rubs on back cover, no tears or chips.  Catalog for 894 photographs, reproduced either among 100 full page, well-reproduced plates or in thumbnails at the back of the book that lists all the photos arranged by photographer with bio summary for each photographer. Photographers include Berenice Abbott, Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, Alinari, James Alinder, Alexander Alland, Manuel Alvarez-Bravo, John A. Anderson, Diane Arbus, Lewis Baltz, Thomas F. Barrow, Cecil Beaton, E.J. Bellocq, Steven L. Berens, Ruth Bernhard, Margaret Bourke-White, Constantin Brancusi, Bill Brandt, Brassai, John Brook, Eugene J. Buechel, Wynn Bullock, Abraham M. Byers, Harry Callahan, Jo Ann Callis, Julia Margaret Cameron, Paul Caponigro, Walter Chappell, Thomas Clyde, Marie Cosindas, Konrad Cramer, Ralston Crawford, Imogen Cunningham, William M. Current, Edward S. Curtis, Bruce Davidson, Roy De Carava, and many more. Uncommon, very especially in hardcover.  Summary:

Photographs is a 212-page museum publication that presents a curated overview of the photographic holdings in the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery’s permanent collection at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The publication, with introductory text by Norman A. Geske, then-Director of the gallery, brings together historic and modern photographic works by a range of significant American and international photographers represented in the Sheldon’s holdings.

Rather than focusing on a single artist or a particular theme, the volume surveys the breadth of the museum’s collection of photography — including early processes and silver gelatin prints by key figures in the history of the medium. Through roughly 100 plates and numerous catalog illustrations, the book highlights both technical diversity and artistic expression across the 19th and 20th centuries, offering examples of documentary, portrait, landscape, and experimental photography.

Geske’s textual contributions provide historical context for the Sheldon’s photographic collection within the broader mission of the museum (which houses over 12,000 works of American art in all media) and help frame the selection of works as part of the gallery’s role in collecting and presenting significant examples of the photographic arts.

Overall, Photographs functions as both a catalog of part of the Sheldon’s photography collection and an interpretive guide that introduces readers to important works and developments in the history of the medium as represented within this university museum context.