Slightly Out of Focus by Robert Capa, First Edition

Slightly Out of Focus by Robert Capa

First Edition, First Printing, 1947

This is a rare first edition, first printing of Robert Capa’s classic photobook “Slightly Out of Focus” published by Henry Holt and Company, New York, in 1947. Robert Capa was one of the important war photographers of the twentieth century and also a storyteller par excellence, and the combination of his photographs of World War II and his account of personal adventures make this a wartime book with much human appeal. There are halftone photographs throughout, some full-page and others smaller, taken in Europe and North Africa from the summer of 1942 until the end of the war. After covering five wars, Capa stepped on a landmine in Vietnam in 1954 and died at age 41, the first American correspondent killed in Vietnam.

Measuring approximately 9” x 7.5”, the book is bound in orange cloth in a photographically illustrated dust jacket. The condition of the book is FINE in a Very Good+ dust jacket that has not been price clipped and is protected by a mylar cover.  The dust jacket has a few closed tears, chipping, and some paper loss to the spine head and the back top of the jacket not affecting any of the lettering. Overall, this is an exceptionally nice copy of a book that has become increasingly difficult to find with a dust jacket in collectible condition.

Cited in “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Roth

Photographs of the dust jacket issues as well as 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.