Items related to Americans
Synopsis
Contemporary America is revealed in candid, unconventional photographs
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
Armed with a camera and a fresh cache of film and bankrolled by a Guggenheim Foundation grant, Robert Frank crisscrossed the United States during 1955 and 1956. The photographs he brought back form a portrait of the country at the time and hint at its future. He saw the hope of the future in the faces of a couple at city hall in Reno, Nevada, and the despair of the present in a grimy roofscape. He saw the roiling racial tension, glamour, and beauty, and, perhaps because Frank himself was on the road, he was particularly attuned to Americans' love for cars. Funeral-goers lean against a shiny sedan, lovers kiss on a beach blanket in front of their parked car, young boys perch in the back seat at a drive-in movie. A sports car under a drop cloth is framed by two California palm trees; on the next page, a blanket is draped over a car accident victim's body in Arizona.
Robert Frank's Americans reappear 40 years after they were initially published in this exquisite volume by Scalo. Each photograph (there are more than 80 of them) stands alone on a page, while the caption information is included at the back of the book, allowing viewers an unfettered look at the images. Jack Kerouac's original introduction, commissioned when the photographer showed the writer his work while sitting on a sidewalk one night outside of a party, provides the only accompanying text. Kerouac's words add narrative dimension to Frank's imagery while in turn the photographs themselves perfectly illustrate the writer's own work.
From the Publisher
Select Praise for the 50th Anniversary Edition of Robert Frank, The Americans:
"Photography was never the same after The Americans. Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander and Nan Goldin all walked through the door Frank opened. And his influence was by no means limited to art photography. Fashion ads, music videos, movies- everyone stole from Frank".
Malcolm Jones, Newsweek
"One of the greatest photography books of the 20th century."
Richard Lacayo, TIME
"Frank's genius was to see America unfiltered, much like Walker Evans and Dorthea Lange. There are no tricks here, no posing or false glory, just a sense of desolation."
David Ulin, Los Angeles Times
"The Americans reflects the mood of a turbulent decade, when postwar euphoria was giving way to racial tension and anti-Communist paranoia. But it's not just remarkable for its subject matter. The book offered a new visual language for photography: an intimate, off kilter aesthetic that's been imitated so many times that it seems obvious. In 1958, in an era of Tupperware and Hula-Hoops, it was far from obvious. Like its contemporary Beat-era poetry and novels, The Americans was a blast of authenticity, a potent artistic statement, a revelation."
Sarah Coleman, Planet
"To mark the book's fiftieth anniversary, Steidl has published a new edition, complete with Kerouac's introduction, making The Americans the most famous photography book all over again."
Nicole Rudick, Bookforum
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherAperture, Inc.
- Publication date1978
- ISBN 10 0893810339
- ISBN 13 9780893810337
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages176
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 233.51
Shipping:
US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Americans
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 0893810339-R
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Americans
Seller: Carothers and Carothers, Albany, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 178 pages. Publisher's binding sturdy, a small splash mark to rear panel; contents unmarked. Edgewear to dust jacket, with fraying at head and foot of spine. 1400 grams. Seller Inventory # 012237
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Americans
Seller: GoldBooks, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. Very Good Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think_very_0893810339
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Americans
Seller: Books of the Smoky Mountains, Del Rio, TN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. Gently used book with ongoing seller support until you're fully satisfied with your purchase. Seller Inventory # oldport0893810339
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Americans
Seller: Jenson Books Inc, Logan, UT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Acceptable. This item is fairly worn, but continues to work perfectly. Signs of wear can include aesthetic issues such as scratches, dents, worn corners, bends, tears, small stains, and partial water damage. All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing, if applicable. Pages may include excessive notes and highlighting, but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # 4BQMP3003040_ns
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Americans
Published by
Aperture, Inc., New York, 1978
ISBN 10: 0893810339
ISBN 13: 9780893810337
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Gerry Kleier Rare Books, Martinez, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: USED_FINE. Former owner's blind stamp and ink name and address to the front end paper, else a clean copy in jacket. ; 11.5 X 9.3 X 0.8 inches; 176 pages. Seller Inventory # 496160
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Americans; Photographs by Robert Frank
Seller: ANARTIST, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover with price-clipped dustjacket in protective plastic overwrap; 182 pages, very good condition, except top outer page edge lightly spotted; internally fine; no internal marks. Foreign shipping may be extra. Seller Inventory # ThFrAp100
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Americans
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Fair. Buy with confidence! Book is in acceptable condition with wear to the pages, binding, and some marks within 1. Seller Inventory # bk0893810339xvz189zvxacp
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The AMERICANS
Seller: Ragabooks, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: USED_NEARFINE. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 3rd Edition. (1959)(revised & enlarged 1969) Aperture 'entirely new edition, incorporating all 83 of Frank's images in the orig sequence in a greatly enlarged format'. this First thus, 1st prntg. grey hb boards, title in silver, clean & bright, bndg firm, no bumps, price-clipped b/w photo illus dj, in protective sleeve, sml light crease at top front tip, no others, sl toning around periphery; brief ink gift inscr on half-title pg, no other marks, interior fine, 181 pp. 11.5"x 9.5". 2lbs 11oz. Seller Inventory # RB5078
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Americans
Seller: GoldenDragon, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. Very Good Copy. Fast Shipment. Seller Inventory # SilverDragon0893810339
Quantity: 1 available