4061 - Art in Photography, The

Art in Photography, The Art in Photography. 1897/98. 10 issues (of 12) with 51 photogravures (of 60) on plates bearing the photographer’s name, the printer’s name, and the title. Various sizes ranging from approximately 20 x 14 cm to the reverse (39 x 27 cm). Presented in loose portfolios housed in a linen portfolio with the title and an illustration on the front cover. Vol. I, 1897, and Vol. II, issues 1–4, 1898, Berlin, Julius Becker. The magazine *Die Kunst in der Photographie* was published in Berlin by Julius Becker from 1897 to 1899, then by Martin Oldenbourg. In 1901, Wilhelm Knapp’s publishing house in Halle an der Saale continued the series, initially with 66 issues. The magazine was distributed as individual issues in a folder designed by Hermann Hirzel. Publication ceased in 1908. The magazine’s editor, Franz Goerke, an amateur photographer, was a founding member of the “Freie photographische Vereinigung” (Free Photographic Association) in Berlin. In 1896, the association decided to create a journal to showcase photographic developments from around the world, with the aim of gaining recognition for photography as an art form. In 1897, the first issue of *Die Kunst in der Photographie* was published. In addition to reproductions of works by renowned photographic pioneers, such as Alfred Stieglitz, Sarah Choate Sears, and Rudolf Eickmeyer Jr., the works of amateur photographers were published as large-format photogravures or autotypes. The emphasis was on the Pictorialists’ work and its aesthetic merit. As the world’s first photographic journal, it treated art photography as an international movement. Franz Goerke was a leading author among the various renowned contributors. The magazine’s sophisticated and insightful articles covering international photographers, photographic clubs and associations, as well as exhibitions, declined sharply beginning in 1901. *Die Kunst in der Photographie* contributed decisively to the dissemination of photographic images and the development of photography in the Western world. It strongly influenced subsequent publications, such as *Camera Work*, edited by Alfred Stieglitz. Unfortunately, this important journal remains an underappreciated historical document that still awaits detailed research. Hardly any German institutional library holds a complete set. Photogravure plates of works by the following photographers are included in the two volumes offered here: Craig Annan, Robert Demachy, Hugo Henneberg, Theodor and Oskar Hofmeister, Heinrich Kühn, Leonard Misonne, Alfred Stieglitz, Frank M. Sutcliffe, and Hans Watzek. – Edges of the linen portfolio are rubbed, with some small tears; slightly soiled; individual paper issue covers have been rebound at the spine with linen tape; the paper of the covers is very brittle and shows age stains along the edges; chips; some photogravure plates show age stains and/or foxing in the margins, a few also within the image; most images are in very good condition. Lit.: Rolf Krauss, “Die Kunst in der Photographie, the German Camera Work,” in: History of Photography 10, no. 4: pp. 265–297 (1986) & 11, no. 1: pp. 1–12 (1987).