Customer Reviews

Folk Photography: The American Real-Photo Postcard 1905-1930

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Luc Sante in FOLK PHOTOGRAPHY: The American Real-Photo Postcard 1905-1930 brings to our attention, or rather reminds us - for how many of us have cloistered these old postcards handed down to us from our ancestors only to leave them tucked away in 'boxes to be discarded/kept' - of a pastime from the early part of the last century when photos of the family or of interesting moments recorded during vacations or simply from daily lives were taken to a shop where they could be made into postcards to mail for very little money to lucky recipients. This craze was world wide, but Sante has focused on American made postcards, and because of that he dredges up on the pages of this very well designed book some 100 photographs on postcards that survey the spectrum of topics that amateurs felt made interesting (and at times newsworthy) messages to family members dispersed across the country.

The variation in imagery is tremendous: a simple portrait of a plumber holding a toilet and tools, strange locations for animals as in pigs on a sidewalk, obviously staged scenes with cutout props as in 'Paper Moon', religious acts, fires and their management by the local firemen, still lifes of death (photographic reliquaries) such as images of the deceased laid to rest in coffins, etc. The emotions these images touch are the spectrum of human interest, from humor to devastation. But it seems that Luc Sante is less interested in the recalling of these times than he is in substantiating these postcards as an important hiatus in the history of photographic art that began with the invention of the camera, then passed to the accessibility of this recorder of human events to the common people, to becoming a means of studying the development of America's progress into and within the industrial age. The book remains entertaining to those who are enchanted with memorabilia, but it also becomes a strong document for studying American history as told by those who lived it. This is an inspiring book, but it also is an important resource for looking back and seeing how we all developed as a people. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, September 10

By turns lovely, gorgeous, lurid, gruesome, luscious and great. Full of histories we did not know, could not imagine and will smile wide and genuine when we do. That Sante is willing to share is to our advantage. When was the last time a single stationary image made you ache? Every library of photography, every institution of learning and every person who fears not our past and those capable of feeling small delights in our present will love this book.

Jim Linderman
[...]

This book has an unusual and interesting collection of photographs. I'm particularly interested in this period of history, and in photography, so this was an excellent purchase for me. I actually disagree with the comment complaining about the authors writing though, and wish Sante would have written a little more.

One of the most visually interesting RPPC collections I have seen! Many thanks to Sante for sharing them with the world.

Unfortunately, the essays drag this publication down. While there are several clever passages, the prose and tone are oppressive overall. The author treats the anonymous creators of these works rather dismissively and in the process comes off as a bit of a Euro-centric prig. While Sante never claims that his is a scholarly or documentary work, he nevertheless leaves the reader wanting to hear more about the postcards...and less about how fond he is of himself.