Popular Photography. The Best of Popular Photography edited by Harvey V. Fondiller.

Ziff-Davis, 1979. 1st printing.  Large heavy volume with dozens of articles dating back to 1937. Includes Robert Capa; Victor Keppler; Dorothea Lange; Henri Cartier-Bresson; Ansel Adams on “My 50 Years in Photography”; Arnold Newman; Edward Steichen; Margaret Bourke-White on her book, You Have Seen Their Faces; Edward Weston; W. Eugene Smith; Alfred Stieglitz; Paul Strand; Andreas Feininger; Andre Kertesz; Weegee; Fritz Henle; Ken Heyman; Kirlian photos; Philippe Halsman; Beaumont Newhall; Nadar; Lenses; Japanese cameras; Leica cameras; International Center of Photography - ICP; Holography; Andre de Dienes; David Douglas Duncan; Alfred Eisenstaedt; John Steinbeck; Wilson Hicks; Cornell Capa; Eaton Lothrop, Jr.; Itinerant daguerreotypists; Bob Schwalberg; Ken Poli; John G. Morris; Arthur Goldsmith; Life magazine; Arthur Rothstein; Edwin H. Land; et al. Divided in sections on Personalities; Techniques; Photojournalism; Moving Images; Viewpoints; Careers; History; Index. Plus portfolios of black-and-white and color photographs. Excellent reference on history of photography. Fine hardcover in cloth with very good protected dust jacket. Summary:

The Best of Popular Photography (published by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company in 1979) is a comprehensive, 392-page historical anthology curated and edited by noted photography editor, critic, and writer Harvey V. Fondiller. Drawing from more than 500 issues of Popular Photography magazine published between its inception in 1937 and 1979, the volume acts as a definitive time capsule documenting the evolution of mid-century photographic culture, criticism, history, and technical innovation.

Core Content & Visual Framework

1. A Comprehensive Anthology of Photographic Writing

The book compiles over eighty essential articles, essays, and technical columns that originally shaped the discourse of amateur and professional photography over a four-decade span. The written selections cover a vast range of topics, organizing the material to show how public perceptions of the medium shifted from an industrial novelty to an universally recognized form of fine art.

2. Dialogues Between Iconic Figures

The compilation is notable for its inclusion of historical profiles and personal essays written by prominent literary and artistic figures, offering rare insights into the lives of legendary image-makers:

• Literary Profiles: Features pieces such as novelist John Steinbeck writing on the legendary combat photographer Robert Capa.

• Peer Appraisals: Includes master photojournalist W. Eugene Smith offering a critical evaluation of Dorothea Lange's profound documentary work.

• Masters of the Craft: Showcases historical articles, technical philosophies, and retrospective profiles written by or about canonical icons like Ansel Adams and Edward Steichen.

3. Technological and Aesthetic Evolution

Beyond the profiles of famous personalities, Fondiller curates articles that track the rapid physical development of photographic gear and aesthetics. The volume documents the popularization of color film, the transition from heavy press cameras to portable 35mm formats, the development of mid-century darkroom aesthetics, and the debates surrounding the boundaries between commercial illustration, raw photojournalism, and abstract art photography.

The Best of Popular Photography serves as an invaluable primary reference source for photo-historians and enthusiasts. By gathering influential, out-of-print writings from the pages of the world's most widely read photography magazine, Fondiller’s anthology maps out the exact cultural and technical milestones that transformed photography into the dominant visual language of the 20th century.