{"product_id":"7-1","title":"American Photographs: The First Century. From the Isaacs Collection in the National Museum of American Art.","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdited by Merry A. Foresta. Smithsonian, 1996. Phenomenal photographs collected by Charles Isaacs, Jr., who provides an Afterword. 79 color plates plus more than 100 four-color images. George Barker, William Bell, Charles Bierstadt, Elias Bonine, Mathew Brady, Annie Brigman, Alexander Gardner, Laura Gilpin. O. Pierre Havens; William Rau, Paul Haviland, F. Jay Haynes, Alexander Hesler, Pach Brothers, Lejaren Hillers, Lewis Hine, William Henry Jackson, Gertrude Kasebier, Joseph Keiley, James E. McClees; John Moran; Eadweard Muybridge, Timothy O'Sullivan, John Bullock, John Chislett, Imogen Cunningham; Dwight Davis, Clara Sipprell, Rudolf Eickemeyer, Carleton Watkins, et al. Fine in stiff wraps. Summary:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"0\"\u003e\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eAmerican Photographs: The First Century\u003c\/i\u003e (1987) is a seminal survey of 19th-century photography, showcasing the expansive collection of \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"135\"\u003eCharles Isaacs\u003c\/b\u003e. The book, and the accompanying exhibition at the National Museum of American Art (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), highlights the medium's evolution from its commercial birth in 1839 to its establishment as an expressive art form by the early 1900s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"1\"\u003eCore Focus and Scope\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003eThe volume focuses on the \"pre-modernist\" era, emphasizing how photography documented the rapid transformation of the American landscape and identity. It covers three primary movements:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-path-to-node=\"3\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"3,0,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eThe Daguerreotype Era:\u003c\/b\u003e Early portraiture and the democratic nature of \"the mirror with a memory,\" making professional likenesses available to the middle class.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"3,1,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eExpansion and Conflict:\u003c\/b\u003e Breathtaking landscape photography from the American West (surveys) and the gritty, monumental documentation of the Civil War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"3,2,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eThe Rise of Pictorialism:\u003c\/b\u003e The shift toward the end of the century where photographers like Alfred Stieglitz began treating the camera as a tool for fine art, often mimicking painterly styles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003eKey Themes\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eTechnological Evolution:\u003c\/b\u003e The transition from the unique silver plate of the \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"76\"\u003eDaguerreotype\u003c\/b\u003e to the reproducible wet-plate collodion process and the eventual convenience of the dry plate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eNational Narrative:\u003c\/b\u003e How photography served as a tool for Manifest Destiny, capturing the \"sublime\" beauty of Yosemite and the Yellowstone region to inspire national pride and westward migration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eSocial Documentation:\u003c\/b\u003e The book highlights the work of both anonymous itinerant photographers and famous figures like \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"117\"\u003eMatthew Brady\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"132\"\u003eTimothy O’Sullivan\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"156\"\u003eCarleton Watkins\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003eSignificance of the Isaacs Collection\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"8\"\u003eThe collection is noted for its high \"curatorial eye.\" Unlike collections that focus solely on historical record, the Isaacs Collection prioritizes the aesthetic quality and compositional strength of the prints. It argues that even early survey photographers were making conscious artistic choices regarding light, framing, and perspective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"9\"\u003eFormat and Presentation\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003eThe book is structured with scholarly essays that provide historical context for the plates, making it a critical reference for understanding how early photography shaped the American visual consciousness. It serves as a bridge between photography as a scientific curiosity and photography as a respected museum-grade art form.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gary Saretzky Photo Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40661476671682,"sku":"","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0593\/3115\/0018\/products\/AmericanPhotographsTheFirstCentury.jpg?v=1632405766","url":"https:\/\/store.saretzky.com\/products\/7-1","provider":"Gary Saretzky Photo Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}