The New Projection Control - William Mortensen (1942) 3rd Ed 4th Printing HC/DJ

William Mortensen

Published by Camera Craft Publishing Company, San Francisco, 1948

About this Item

First published in 1942, The New Projection Control is William Mortensen's most technically ambitious and controversial instructional work, outlining his philosophy of photographic control through deliberate manipulation of negatives and prints. Written as a fully revised and expanded Third Edition, this volume systematizes Mortensen's approach to tonal control, local printing, montage, distortion, and expressive manipulation - techniques that placed him in sharp opposition to the straight-photography modernists of his era.

Lavishly illustrated with photographic plates and diagrams, the book serves both as a practical manual and a manifesto for pictorialist and expressionist photography. Mortensen emphasizes craftsmanship, intentionality, and the photographer's authority over the final image, offering detailed guidance on achieving dramatic tonal range, psychological impact, and compositional clarity. The instructional material reflects his teaching practice in Laguna Beach, where he trained a generation of photographers in his distinctive methods.

This copy is housed in the original publisher's dust jacket, featuring the iconic Mortensen portrait design and rear advertisements for other Camera Craft titles. Despite visible age wear to the jacket, the book remains a highly collectible example of mid-century photographic literature, particularly sought after by collectors of pictorialism, darkroom technique, and photographic theory.

William Mortensen (1897-1965) was an American photographer, teacher, and theorist best known for his dramatic pictorialist style and outspoken opposition to photographic modernism. Operating a highly influential school in Laguna Beach, he championed expressive control and darkroom manipulation at a time when straight photography dominated critical discourse. Though marginalized mid-century, Mortensen's work has seen renewed scholarly and collector interest for its technical rigor and unapologetically artistic vision.

Seller Inventory # NF.MOR.1948.2

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The New Projection Control - William Mortensen (1942) 3rd Ed 4th Printing HC/DJ
• Publisher: Camera Craft Publishing Company, San Francisco
• Publication Date: 1948
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 3rd Edition
• Printing: 4th Printing
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art
  • Non-Fiction
  • Educational