About this Item
1st Printing. Signed. 48 pages. Published in 2006. Retrospective collection of Polaroid photographs, presented as a scrapbook, as an Artist Book, and as a stunningly original photobook. The First Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a softcover original only and as part of the Steidl "Robert Frank Project". The First Edition is now scarce. An austerely elegant production by Robert Frank and Gerhard Steidl: Regular-sized volume format. Pictorial softcovers with photographic reproduction in front and titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Robert Frank. There is no text. Printed in quadrotone on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper using four-color matte inks and varnish coating by Steidl in Gottingen, Germany to the highest standards. The reproduction quality is outstanding in every respect. In pictorial DJ/slipcase, as issued. Presents Robert Frank's "Come Again: Polaroids". His "Lebanon Polaroids", assembled by the photographer in one Notebook. The original remained in his possession. This Facsimile Edition reproduces its visual, even tactile, subtleties, with the varnish coating, in particular, mimicking the Polaroid print's glossy finish. "In 1991, Robert Frank went to Beirut to photograph the city's devastation after the Civil War (1975-1990). He also made Polaroids which, upon his return home, he kept for himself. Many years later, he looked at those images again, and decided to create a sketchbook's worth of Polaroids. Robert Frank has worked almost exclusively with Polaroid in recent years, exploring the collage and assemblage possibilities of the instant photograph" (Gerhard Steidl). Frank's images of a devastated land capture in a rigorous documentary format a universal human tragedy as well as his own personal turmoil and pain. "He can portray real pain and capture profound depths of human emotion better than almost any other photographer; indeed, better than almost any other artist in any medium" (Martin Parr and Gerry Badger). Robert Frank died on September 9, 2019 at the age of 94 as the greatest photographer of our time. An absolute "must-have" title for Robert Frank collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Robert Frank. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a great photobook. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of the First Edition/First Printing available online, is still in the publisher's original plastic wrappers, and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Robert Frank was notoriously averse to any kind of signing, but he made a rare public appearance in New York City towards the end of his life. He signed copies for a few people, then abruptly left. Signed Robert Franks are rare, command as much as $20000 online even if they are not in fine condition, and will always keep their value. A rare signed copy thus. 24 quadrotone plates. Three of Robert Frank's books were selected as among the greatest photography books in "The Photobook". At the age of 92, Robert Frank was profiled in 2016 by The New York Times as "the greatest photographer of our time". A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ROBERT FRANK TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 3865212611. Seller Inventory # 15446
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