For the first time, photographs from the Royal Photographic Society are gathered together in a fascinating, unique tribute to the art form. Highlights include one of the world's oldest photographic images; rare works by Stieglitz, Steichen, and Coburn; selections from the collections of Julia Margaret Cameron and Roger Fenton; extraordinary images from mid-nineteenth-century travelers who brought back "exotic" prints from the East; and eccentric and beautiful works from unknown professional and amateur photographers. Taken together, they represent an unbroken thread linking the development of genres, styles, and techniques. From portraiture to journalism, landscape to fashion, PhotoHistorica juxtaposes work both familiar and unfamiliar, putting images into a provocative thematic context. Every page reveals the enduring power of photography. Even the most jaded browser of photographic history collections will covet this handsomely produced volume of superb images from the 1840s to the 1950s. Organized loosely by subject matter (portraiture, social documentary, nature and science, travel), PhotoHistorica contains more than 300 images by the likes of Julia Margaret Cameron, Alfred Stieglitz, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Roger Fenton, and Edward Steichen. But the most intriguing aspect of this book, drawn from the collection of an organization founded by amateur photographers in mid-19th-century London, is its inclusion of unusual prints known only to specialists. A full page is devoted to an anonymous turn-of-the-century photographer's image of hairs on the wing of a house fly, a mesmerizing abstract pattern of tapering black shapes. German photographer Heinrich Kühn imbued a 1905 view of three women in peasant dress trudging up a sand dune in the midday sun with a timeless, iconic quality. The luminous effects possible in black-and-white photography of the era produced sensual depictions of nudes and moody landscape views, both rural and urban. During the same period, the Autochrome process--color transparencies on glass--yielded brilliant effects that look startlingly modern. The "Art" and "Nudes and Fashion" sections contain some images we now view as kitsch, including Fred Holland Day's earnest photograph of himself as Jesus on the cross and Annie Brigman's outdoor shot of a nude boy with a wood sprite's antennae who ponders a symbolic glass globe. But the book, with helpful commentary by Pam Roberts, curator of the collection, chooses to embrace the spirit of wonder that suffused photography in its first century. And it's almost impossible to resist. --Cathy Curtis The oldest continually active photographic organization in the world, the Royal Photographic Society has become known as a repository and exhibition site for the work of talented amateurs as well as its many famous members. The strength of this book is that it gives readers the opportunity to learn more about the work of skilled practitioners, many of them women, whose names are rarely seen in the literature. From the huge collection, which has been growing for nearly 150 years, society curator Roberts has chosen photographs that fit into eight genres: portraiture, social documentary, domestic, nature and science, art, nudes and fashion, landscape and architecture, and travel. The reproductions are of the highest quality, early color processes are accurately reproduced, and the selection of images is amazingly varied and full of marvelous surprises. In addition to introductory essays, each caption provides substantial information about the photographer, the process, the composition, and the location as well as other perceptive and useful commentary. There are also technical specifications for each photograph and short biographies in the end matter. This is a superb book, worthy of inclusion in every photographic history collection. Highly recommended. Kathleen Collins, Bank of America Corporate Archives, San Francisco Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. "Dipping into his book becomes a voyage of discovery...." -- Houston Chronicle "Stunning photos march us through the history of the art." -- Seattle Times A PHOTOGRAPHER'S LENS, remarked Edward Steichen, captures "the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and the skies that man has inherited, and the wealth - and confusion - man has created." PhotoHistorica is a testament to this truth. Drawn from The Royal Photographic Society's archives - over 270,000 images dating from 1826 to the present day - the more than 300 photographs gathered here represent and unbroken thread linking the development of photographic genres, styles, and techniques. Some of the works are instantly recognizable, some are unknowns yet offer a landmark moment through their subject matter or style. Many are published here for the first time. Highlights include one of the world's oldest photographic images; rare pieces by Stielitz, Steichen, and Coburn; selections from the wor