EACH VOLUME INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY ANSEL ADAMS

ADAMS, Ansel, and BAKER, Robert. The Camera. WITH: The Negative. WITH: The Print. WITH: Polaroid Land Photography. Boston: New York Graphic Society, (1982), (1982), (1983), (1978). Together, four volumes. Large octavo, original black cloth, original dust jackets. $3000.

First and early printings of the New Ansel Adams Photography Series, four volumes illustrated with hundreds of examples of his own work, each volume boldly inscribed and signed by Adams on the half title, “For John E. Rhoads, Ansel Adams, Carmel, 9-13-83.”

In this series Adams explains and illustrates his philosophy and technique of “visualization”-imagining the final photograph in advance—as it relates to the entire process of crafting a black-and-white image. These three books were originally published as Adams’ 1948 ‘Basic Photo Series,’ (The Camera was originally issued as The Camera and the Lens); these new revised editions “contain a wealth of new information, and all the volumes [have been] completely reorganized and rewritten.” New advances in photographic technology, such as the 35mm and medium-format cameras and the growing popularity of the hand-held camera, have also been incorporated into this new edition. The Camera is a third printing, originally published in 1980; The Negative is a second printing, originally published in 1981; The Print and Polaroid Land Photography are both first revised editions, first printings. (Polaroid Land Photography is not actually part of the “New Ansel Adams Photography Series,” but is bound and jacketed uniformly with the other three volumes and was issued just two years prior.).

Tiny snag to rear panel of dust jacket on The Camera. Fine condition.