The Animals by Gary Winogrand, First Edition, Ex-Libris – Eric Kroll

The Animals by Gary Winogrand

First Edition, First Printing, 1969

Ex-Libris – Eric Kroll - Contains Note and Signature

This is a first edition, first printing of the critically acclaimed photobook “The Animals” published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1969. Containing 44 black and white photographs, Winogrand's first book is a wry look at animals in the zoo and the people observing them. "I photograph to find out what the world looks like in a photograph," Winogrand famously said. In The Photobook: A History, Vol. 1 Martin Parr and Gerry Badger write, "Certainly, if not directly social, Winogrand's images would seem to talk of social things. The overriding tenor of his imagery was an elemental angst of the human condition, making him--for all his outward ebullience--one of the most pessimistic photographers."

Measuring approximately 8.5" x 7.5", the book is a soft cover in photographically illustrated wraps. The condition of the book is Near FINE+ with some minor surface wear to the front wrap.

The book is from the library of Eric Kroll, the photographer and publisher whose most famous works are "Fetish Girls" and "Beauty Parade”. Eric never had a stamp or label made - instead he would hand write his name into his books sometimes writing something about the artist. In this case, Eric has written on the title page that he used to see Winogrand shooting in Central Park when the two were friends both living in New York. The entry is followed by his signature.

Cited in all three reference works 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 cover, Eric Kroll’s comments and signature, and several examples of photographs from the book appear below. Please note that although the photographs appear digitized as thumbnails, they are viewable in the photo viewer by clicking the thumbnail photograph and viewing the photographs as a slideshow.