Reading American Photographs: Images As History, Mathew Brady to Walker Evans [Paperback]

Alan Trachtenberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0374522499 | ISBN-13: 978-0374522490 | Publication Date: November 1, 1990

Winner of the Charles C. Eldredge Prize

In this book, Alan Trachtenberg reinterprets some of America's most significant photographs, presenting them not as static images but rather as rich cultural texts suffused with meaning and historical content. Reading American Photographs is lavishly illustrated with the work of such luminaries as Mathew Brady, Timothy O'Sullivan, and Walker Evans--pictures that document the American experience from 1839 to 1938. In an outstanding analysis, Trachtenberg eloquently articulates how the art of photography has both followed and shaped the course of American history, and how images captured decades ago provocatively illuminate the present.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Trachtenberg's sophisticated discussion finds in American photographs a way of reading the past--"the past as culture, as ways of thinking and feeling, as experience." For this study he considers images originally edited as albums, books, or photo-stories. In such works as Mathew Brady's Gallery of Illustrious Americans, the Civil War albums of Alexander Gardner and George Barnard, Timothy O'Sullivan's Western survey photographs, Lewis Hine's social work projects and texts, and Walker Evans's American Photographs, he sees photographers trying to make sense of their society while seeking to create a role for photography as an American art. This impressive analysis, which employs social, cultural, and political history as well as art criticism, is highly recommended for American studies and photography collections. (Photographs not seen.) --Ann Copeland, Drew Univ. Lib., Madison, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Brilliantly elucidates how an informed cultural historian sees and interprets American images through the camera's eye."--Daniel Aaron, Harvard

"Alan Trachtenberg's Reading American Photographs gives fresh and fascinating insights into the household names of phototgraphic history."--Cornell Capa

"A splendid book [written with] learning and intellectual passion . . . thoroughly gratifying."--Alfred Kazin

"This is a must read for those interested in culture and politics. He brilliantly interprets the past for thepresent."--Wanda M. Corn, Standford University

"As Mr. Trachtenberg concludes, 'It is not so much a new but a clarifying light American photographs shed upon American relaity.' That light, as he has richly demonstrated, now illuminates our past in inescapable and powerful ways."--Williams S. McFeely, The New York Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang (November 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374522499
• ISBN-13: 978-0374522490
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > History
  • #21 in Books > History > Historical Study > Historiography
  • #69 in Books > Arts & Photography > Individual Artists

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must, March 27, 2009

By 

Sylvia Hottinger (Madrid) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reading American Photographs: Images As History, Mathew Brady to Walker Evans (Paperback)

Trachtenberg's subtitle of Images as History , Mathew Brady to Walker Evans does no do the contents of book justice. This well-written and consrtucted book covers much more than from Mathew Brady to Walker Evasn, it also broaches photography subjects that were previously found in the realms of art history, architectual photographs, and of sociology, afroamerican representations. Ths book is a treasure for anyone interested in photography, America and its history.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavy weight American Studies, September 25, 2007

By 

Meredith Folsom (Half Moon Bay, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reading American Photographs: Images As History, Mathew Brady to Walker Evans (Paperback)

If your interested in the mind of America, what we think and why we think it, Trachtenberg is your man. This is a very detailed, dense, and enjoyable work on the topic. It's premises are taken from the evidence gleaned from photographs and the history of the profession, a relatively new one (in the process of its own revolution from chemical to digital).