Schulthess, Emil. The Amazon by Emil Schulthess.

Simon and Schuster, 1962. 1st edition, 1st printing, near fine with moderate wear and soiling on spine. Illustrated boards, issued without dust jacket. Beautifully designed oblong book. [Another of the dozen or so large photo books, not including various editions and translations, by Swiss photographer Emil Schulthess (1913–1996), whose publications depict Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, South America, and the United States.]   

Emil Schulthess (1913–1996) was a pioneering Swiss photographer, graphic designer, and photojournalist celebrated for his monumental, technical, and visually inventive color documentary studies of the earth's most extreme environments. Born in Zurich, Schulthess trained as a graphic artist and worked for decades as an art director for the influential Swiss magazine Du, where he refined his mastery of editorial layout, print craft, and photographic storytelling. In the post-World War II era, he embarked on ambitious global expeditions, producing landmark photobooks on Africa, the Amazon, China, Soviet Russia, and Antarctica. Schulthess was a technical innovator who pioneered custom panoramic cameras and intervalometer systems, famously capturing the iconic 24-hour sequence of the midnight sun over the Antarctic continent during the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958). Honored with the US Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award and the Nadar Prize for his celebrated volumes, Schulthess leaves a legacy as a master of mid-century documentary publishing whose vast landscape vistas seamlessly united artistic grandeur with scientific precision.

The Amazon by Emil Schulthess is a definitive, mid-century photographic monograph and geographic survey published in 1962 (with English editions by Simon & Schuster). The volume documents a highly ambitious, eight-month expedition led by Schulthess along the entire length of the Amazon River, from its high-altitude Andean sources in Peru down to its massive Atlantic delta in Brazil.

The publication is celebrated for its technical mastery and its early, comprehensive look at the complex ecosystems and human geography of the Amazon basin.

Key Overview and Objectives

• An Epic Geographic Chronicle: Schulthess aimed to create a complete visual taxonomy of the world's largest river system. Supported by various South American governments and scientific bodies, his expedition utilized airplanes, boats, and overland vehicles to map out terrains that were largely inaccessible to the public at the time.

• Ecological and Anthropological Record: The book balances raw, uncharted geography with an intimate look at the indigenous populations, settlers, and emerging industries that relied on the river for survival.

Core Themes and Visual Style

• The Scale of the Wilderness: Schulthess utilizes sweeping aerial photography and wide panorama shots to convey the staggering scale of the Amazon rainforest and the labyrinthine network of its tributaries. His imagery captures the dense canopy, flooding riverbanks, and dramatic weather patterns of the equatorial climate.

• Indigenous and Riverine Communities: A major focus of the volume is its respectful, documentary-style portraiture of indigenous tribes and ribeirinhos (traditional riverbank fishermen). The photographs detail daily survival, hunting practices, architecture, and spiritual traditions without resorting to exoticism.

• The Encroachment of Modernity: The book subtly captures the early stages of modern industrial encroachment on the rainforest. Images of remote rubber-tapping stations, gold mining camps, and pioneering frontier towns contrast sharply with the ancient, untouched rhythms of the surrounding jungle.

• Technical Rigor: True to Schulthess's signature style, the book features crisp, high-contrast black-and-white images alongside rich, early color plates. His work is noted for its clean compositions and an incredible ability to capture fine textures—such as the sheen of water, dense foliage, and human skin—under challenging tropical lighting conditions.