Steichen, Edward, compiler. U.S. Navy War Photographs. Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Harbor.

U.S. Camera Publishing [ca. 1946]. Published by Tom Maloney's U.S. Camera at the request of Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. Commander Edward Steichen (1879–1973) was responsible for photography for the Navy during World War II. 108 pages, approximately 11 x 11.5 inches, blue wraps with yellow titling. Notoriously fragile binding (three staples) professionally repaired and strengthened, with a custom made polyester jacket. First few pages with light foxing on edge. Superb photographs by Charles Kerlee, Wayne Miller, et al. Very good.

Note:  Edward Steichen had several significant careers in photography.  In the early 1900s, Steichen, who was born in Luxembourg on March 25, 1879, worked with Alfred Stieglitz in the Photo Secession and helped establish photography as an art medium through his highly manipulated gum bichromate prints, such as his 1904 self portrait.  After service in WWI, when as Major Steichen he played a key role in organizing aerial reconnaissance photography for the U.S. Army in France, he became chief fashion photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair.  During WWII, as the oldest commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, Commander Steichen was the Director of the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit and curated innovative thematic photo exhibits, “Power in the Pacific” and “Road to Victory,” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where in 1947, he became Director of Photography.  Among the many exhibitions he presented at MoMA before his retirement in 1961, “The Family of Man” (1955), Steichen’s plea for world peace, subsequently traveled worldwide and was seen by nine million people. The catalog, the best selling photo book of all time, is still in print. The exhibit is now installed at Clervaux Castle, Luxembourg, and continues to fascinate both the general public and scholars. Steichen died on March 25, 1973 in West Redding, Connecticut.