Many Are Called by Walker Evans, First Edition

Many Are Called by Walker Evans

First Edition, First Printing, 1966

An Exceptional Copy

This is a rare first edition, first printing of the classic photobook “Many Are Called” published by The Riverside Press, Cambridge, in 1966. This important Walker Evans monograph contains his quiet, understated, yet powerful subway photographs. These portraits of unknowing riders capture the particular experience of riding the New York subway during the 1930s and 40s, yet also speak profoundly to experience of the self in the modern city. As Parr and Badger write in “The Photobook: A History”, In Many Are Called, Evans "investigated the very process of photographing, by making spontaneous, improvised images for which he relinquished as much control as he could to the camera itself. Evans' shows the way his subjects "simply withdraw into themselves during the interlude of travel between work and home. [They] may be lost souls, but they are also lost in thought.” In the eloquent preface, written in 1940, James Agee writes of his close friend's work, "Each [rider] wears the garments which of themselves are exquisitely subtle uniforms and badges of their being." In addition to including Agee's essay here, Evans dedicated the book to the writer, who died in 1955.

Containing 89 fascinating black and white photographs and measuring approximately 9” x 7”, the book is bound in black cloth boards and has a printed dust jacket that is protected by a mylar cover. The errata slip is tipped in. The book is in FINE condition and the dust jacket is in Near Fine+ condition with some slight rubs to the tips and a small closed tear at the top of the back of the jacket. Overall, this is an exceptional copy of this photobook classic 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 front cover of the book and 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.