Menschlich (Humanity) by Christian Boltanski, First Edition

Menschlich (Humanity) by Christian Boltanski

First Edition, First Printing, 1994

Fine Condition

This is a rare first edition, first printing of the critically acclaimed photobook “Menschlich” published by Thouet Verlag and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther Konig, Koln in 1994. Containing approximately 1,300 full-page black-and-white illustrations printed on a fine, near translucent paper, the book features photographs of people, scenes, and found images Boltanski has used in his installations exploring the history and memory of the Holocaust.  Parr and Badger in “The Photobook: A History”, write:  "Christian Boltanski belongs among those obsessive artists who are courageous and strong enough to tackle again and again their most personal vision, revisiting, modifying, and constantly reinterpreting it…in Menschlich, his main subject is the Holocaust and he shows us hundreds of pages of blurred photographs of individuals bearing mute but eloquent testimony to this immense crime against them.".

Measuring approximately 10.5” x 8.5”, the book is bound in photographically illustrated flexible boards. The book is FINE condition with a very small shadow crease (typical of this title) near the upper edge. Overall, this is an exceptional copy of a notoriously fragile photobook that is highly sought after as an emerging classic.

Cited in both “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Roth and “The Photobook: A History”, by Parr and Badger.

Photographs of the front cover of the book 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.