David Levinthal: Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box [SIGNED]

LEVINTHAL, David, FORESTA, Merry A., DIETZ, Steve, COREY, David

ISBN 10: 1881616398 / ISBN 13: 9781881616399

Published by National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in association with D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, New York, Washington, D.C., 1996

About this Item

First edition, first printing. Signed in black ink on the title page by Levinthal. Soft cover. Photographically illustrated laminated stiff wrappers (published only in wraps). Photographs by David Levinthal. Introduction by Merry A. Foresta and Steve Dietz. Essay by David Corey. 160 pp. with numerous four-color and black and white reproductions. 9-1/8 x 10-1/4 inches. Fine. The fourth title in the series 'American Scene,' published by the National Museum of American Art. From the publisher: "In Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box, David Levinthal takes as his subject a remarkable series of 1950s playsets manufactured by master toymakers Louis Marx and T. Cohn. As a reflection of the obsessive play of the 1950s and the current nostalgia for such items, Levinthal's tabletop photography allows the reader a bird's-eye view of imaginary tableaux." Signed by Author.

Seller Inventory # 111814

Bibliographic Details

• Title: David Levinthal: Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box [SIGNED]
• Publisher: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in association with D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, New York, Washington, D.C.
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1881616398
• ISBN 13: 9781881616399
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket as issued
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • About Photography
  • Polaroid
  • Signed Books
  • Fabricated/Staged
  • Cinema

About this title

Synopsis

In the general introduction to these first two books in the National Museum of American Art's new series, "American Scene," the series editor and series curator express a hope to "present the evolving portrait of America" in a time when "the myth of the `melting pot' has given way to a social fabric woven into a `coat of many colors.' " While that noble dream is well on its way to being realized here, the reality still does not quite feel like art. The work of Bernice Abbott and Robert Frank, referred to in the introduction, provides insights into American life but is also characterized by a particular way of seeing. These books have less the effect of art than of photojournalism-though perhaps the best sort, one encouraging contemplation rather than sensationalism. Unfortunately, the problem lies largely in the nature of series, the constraints of size and format and introduction, which here places as much weight on the editors' vision as the individual photographer's ability to see. That said, these are nonetheless valuable documents of today's middle America, by turns pleasant and disturbing, honest, and mythical. Pratt focuses on the county fairs of the Midwest, the traditions they maintain, and, most importantly, the people who attend them. Arndt photographs men, mostly working class, mostly in crumbling cities, establishing a sense of unity among his subjects that makes it the more successful of the books. In these two multiple-image portraits, public libraries will find a moving record of fading people and their traditions.-Eric Bryant Library Journal<

About the Author

David Corey is a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Brooklyn College.