East 100th Street by
Bruce Davidson
First Edition, First Printing, 1970
Signed by Bruce Davidson
This
is rare signed first edition, first printing of the classic photobook
“East 100th Street”
published by Harvard University Press, Massachusetts
in 1970. "For
two years in the 1960s, Bruce Davidson photographed one block in East Harlem. He went back day after day, standing on
sidewalks, knocking on doors, asking permission to photograph a face, a child,
a room, a family. Through his skill, his extraordinary vision, and his deep
respect for his subjects, Davidson's portrait of the people of “East 100th Street”
is a powerful statement of the dignity and humanity that is in all people “ (From the Publisher). Vince Aletti
in “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth
Century” wrote, "Davidson's strobe doesn't dispel the gloom or
glamorize the ruin of the apartments, alleyways, storefronts, and rubble-strewn
lots where people stopped to pose for him, but the rapport he established
allows those people to surrender to the camera with their humanity
intact." Parr & Badger in their reference work on photobooks,
“The Photobook: A History” wrote, “From
Davidson's use of the large-format view camera "emerged a classic photobook … “East 100th Street” is an exemplary
exercise in the humanist social documentary mode".
Measuring approximately 15” x 12”
and containing 123 black and white duo-tone plates, the book is bound in cream
colored cloth boards with a mounted cover print in the original acetate dust
jacket. The book is in Near FINE+ condition with some age toning to the page
edges and a small mark to the first free endpaper. The rare original acetate
dust jacket is in Near FINE condition with some minor scuffing and two closed
tears to the upper front left and right that can be seen in the photograph
contained in this listing.
The book has been boldly signed by
Bruce Davidson on the title page. Overall, this is an exceptional signed copy
of a classic photobook that is rarely found in such
wonderful condition.
Cited in all three reference
books on photobooks: “The Book of 101 Books:
Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Roth and
“The Photobook: A History”, by Parr and
Badger, and “The Open Book” by Andrew Roth.
Photographs of the book, the
signature page, as well as several photographs contained in the book appear
below. Please note that although the photographs appear digitized as
thumbnails, they are viewable in the photo viewer by running your mouse over
the thumbnail. You can also click on the thumbnail to open a separate window
where the picture is viewable as a slide show.
