Adams, Ansel

Folio (17 x 12 1/2 in.; 432 x 317mm).  Title-page printed in orange and black, 12 original photographic plates printed by Adams on special paper.  Publisher's tan quarter morocco, orange buckram covers, orange marbled endpapers; some darkening and staining to morocco, buckram somewhat faded and with minor wear at extremities.

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Ansel Adams's highly acclaimed first book of photographs. Copy 64 of 100 numbered copies, signed by Adams and Austin (of a whole edition of 108). 

This remarkable book marks the beginning of Adams's mature style and contains a number of very fine photographs, including his iconic image of the 18th-century San Francisco de Asis Mission Church.  Adams was concerned with the overall appearance of the book and had Will Dassonville, a producer of photographic papers, find a paper stock that would be suitable for both text and photographs.  The sheets to be used for the photographs were coated with a silver-bromide emulsion.  Adams then printed almost 1300 prints for the edition.

Writing in the afterword to the 1977 reprint edition, Weston Naef summed up Adams's achievement: "With Taos Pueblo we see a commitment to light and form as the essential building blocks of a picture.  Every exposure was made in the most brilliant sunshine which in turn created deep shadows.  Sunlight and shadow are at the same time the photographer's friend and foe.  Neither films nor papers can record the two extremes of bright sun and deep shadow equally well, and an unhappy tonal compromise is often the result.  Rich shadow detail is here realized simultaneously with delicate highlights in a way that proves Adams' native sense for the toughest technical problems of the medium and how to solve them."