SIGNED BY EDWARD STEICHEN AND CARL SANDBURG, SCARCE LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF STEICHEN, THE PHOTOGRAPHER, 1929, ONE OF 925 COPIES, WITH 49 SPLENDID FULL-PAGE PHOTOGRAVURES

(STEICHEN, Edward) SANDBURG, Carl. Steichen the Photographer. New York: Harcourt, Brace, (1929). Folio, original black cloth gilt. $3500.

Signed limited first edition, number 818 of 925 copies, signed by both Steichen and Sandburg, featuring Steichen’s iconic Garbo portrait and 48 additional full-page photogravures.

Published in 1929, this is the first major monograph on Edward Steichen, "a craftsman of genius who… more than any other individual is responsible for the public acceptance and high standing photography has in American culture" (McDarrah, 468). Steichen and his brother-in-law Carl Sandburg "had long talks about the merging new modern art forms… They heartily agreed that… art should be accessible and comprehensible to the masses." In 1929 the two men collaborated on this richly produced photobook, Steichen the Photographer, a work that "centered on Steichen's assertions about the historical importance of commercial art"—such as the images revolutionizing Vanity Fair under the innovations of Steichen and Condé Naste art director Mehemed Agha (Niven, Steichen: A Biography). Sandburg's warm introduction "provides anecdotal snapshots of Steichen's encounters with J.P. Morgan, August Rodin, Isadora Duncan and Bernard Shaw" (Roth, 54). With 49 sepia-toned photogravure plates, including frontispiece, Steichen's portraits of Garbo, Chaplin and Fred Astaire, and many of his famed art and commercial images. Without scarce original glassine and slipcase. Open Book, 86.

Plates and text fine, mild discoloration to cloth boards. A near-fine copy.