1214 - Photography

Photography Klein, William Tokyo. Foreword by Richard Friedenthal. Hamburg: Nannen, 1965. 4°. 184 pp. with 169 plates. Hardcover with color-illustrated dust jacket. (“Die Zeit” Books). Heidtmann 18455. See Auer 437; Koetzle 232 ff.; The Open Book 206 ff.; Roth, The Book of 801 Books 140 ff. (All refer to the original American edition from 1964). - First German edition. - With a handwritten dedication by W. Klein: “hopefull (2 Japanese characters) William Klein.” - An electrifying portrait of Tokyo in the early 1960s: William Klein plunges into the streets of the burgeoning megacity with radical intimacy, stark black-and-white imagery, and cinematic energy. Crowds, neon signs, stockbrokers, young people, protests, and the avant-garde coalesce into a vibrant portrait of a society caught between tradition, consumerism, and modernity. With uncompromising perspectives, coarse grain, and dynamic framing, Klein creates not a conventional cityscape but a visual spectacle. *Tokyo* ranks among the most significant photo books of the 20th century—wild, immediate, and still overwhelmingly powerful today. *Tokyo* is less a neutral documentary than a subjective experience of the metropolis. Klein depicts a city on the threshold of global modernity, thereby challenging Western clichés of a quiet, orderly Japan. His radical, graphic style influenced a younger generation of Japanese photographers; Daido Moriyama, for example, is often mentioned in this context. - Dust jacket slightly rubbed at the top, very good copy. First German edition. - Signed copy. With a handwritten dedication by W. Klein: “hopefull (2 Japanese characters) William Klein.” - An electrifying portrait of Tokyo in the early 1960s: William Klein plunges into the streets of the burgeoning megacity with radical intimacy, stark black-and-white imagery, and cinematic energy. Crowds, neon signs, stockbrokers, young people, protests, and the avant-garde coalesce into a vibrant portrait of a society caught between tradition, consumerism, and modernity. With uncompromising perspectives, coarse grain, and dynamic framing, Klein creates not a pleasing cityscape but a visual event. *Tokyo* ranks among the most significant photo books of the 20th century—wild, immediate, and still overwhelmingly powerful today. *Tokyo* is less a neutral documentation than a subjective experience of the metropolis. Klein depicts a city on the threshold of global modernity, thereby challenging Western clichés of a quiet, orderly Japan. His radical, graphic style influenced a younger generation of Japanese photographers; Daido Moriyama, for example, is often cited in this context. — Dust jacket slightly scuffed at the top; very good copy. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union. This work is subject to the standard margin scheme. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints, and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.