The Photobook: A History - Volume 2

"The Photobook: A History, Volume I, by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, is the most important contribution to the field since modern histories of photography began to appear in the early twentieth century. We can be sure that this book, and its forthcoming second volume, will lead the way to revitalization of thinking and publishing in the field. It dwarfs previous publications in both its scope and the information it provides." (Photo-Eye, December 2004)

More photobooks are being published now than ever. For most photographers, this format is the ideal vehicle to present their work and communicate their vision to a mass audience. While the history of photography is a well-established canon, much less critical attention has been devoted to this alternative history of the medium through the pages of the photobook

Following the critically acclaimed first volume, THE PHOTOBOOK: A HISTORY: VOLUME II, co-edited by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, brings the most comprehensive illustrated history of the photobook fully up to date. Featuring over 200 photobooks, this lush survey offers a fresh approach to photographic history and is a celebration of the medium's diversity. Broadly thematic in structure, each chapter features an introductory easy followed by detailed discussion of the individual photobooks alongside images of the book covers and spreads.

While the first volume stressed the subjective nature of the history of the medium and how that history was molded by the influences of curators and historians, the second volume brings a new perspective from the viewpoint of the photographer and the editor. A secret web of influences and interconnections between photographers and photographic movements around the world is revealed producing a global network of ideas.

Spanning from Edouard Baldus's magnificent book for the Paris-Lyons Railway Company of 1861 to Stephen Shore's American Surfaces of 2005, the development of photography in its published form is the main focus. THE PHOTOBOOK: A HISTORY: VOLUME II is a chronicle of contemporary life, covering key artistic genres, including The American Photobook, The European Photobook, The Artist's Photobook and The Company Photobook.

Gerry Badger explains the narrative function this unique format provides, "The photobook has become a worldwide phenomenon as practitioners of all cultures look to photography as a means of understanding the world around them." The books that fill the pages of this magnificent volume have defined photography, telling us just as much about the history of the medium as the history of the world. THE PHOTOBOOK: A HISTORY: VOLUME II is an indispensable resource.