“IN THE CARTIER-BRESSON TRADITION”: LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF 10 PHOTOGRAPHS, ONE OF ONLY 265 COPIES, A RARE COPY INSCRIBED BY STETTNER IN THE YEAR OF PUBLICATION

STETTNER, Louis. 10 Photographs… Introduction by Brassaï. Paris and New York: Two Cities, (1949). Large folio, six loose sheets and ten duotone plates, as issued, in original tan wrappers. Housed in a custom chemise and clamshell box. $5700.

Limited first edition, unnumbered, one of only 265 copies, an exceptional portfolio collection of ten striking exhibition-size duotones after photographs by Louis Stettner, inscribed by him in French on the dedication leaf in the year of publication, “à le Sheriff. Avec … [unclear] Louis Stettner, Paris, Oct 22, 1949.”

Praised by Brassaï as a photographer who reveals the world “with utmost accuracy and the simplicity of great art” (Early Joys), Brooklyn-born Louis Stettner is “a consummate street photographer in the Cartier-Bresson, Atget and, well, Weegee tradition” (New York Times). This impressive group of ten Stettner exhibition-size duotones, rarely found complete, contains finely composed images of silent streets and edgy urban portraiture—work that made Stettner a foundational touchstone for Robert Frank, William Klein and others. A leader in the humanist tradition that is at the core of his lifework, Stettner was widely praised for renouncing “his personality, his ‘I’ with its little fads and immense pretensions. Henceforth he will live under the authority of reality and will dedicate his existence to the cult of its images.” His photographs are part of the permanent collections in New York’s Metropolitan Museum and MoMA, and museums around the world. Text by Brassaï in French and English translation.

Duotones fresh and clean, rarely found in such fine condition; very lightest edge-wear to fragile wrappers. An exceptional about-fine work.