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[THE THEORY OF PHOTOMONTAGE] Fotoilliustratsiia v gazete : V pomoshch’ redaktsionnym rabotnikam [i.e. Photo Illustration in Newspaper : Helping Editors]

Morozov, S.

Moscow: Goskinoizdat, 1939. Item #1817

136 pp.: ill. 22,5x15 cm. In original cloth binding with lettering on the front cover. Very good, front cover slightly faded, ink signature on t.p., number on t.p. and front cover.

First and only edition. One of 2600 copies. Rare.
This is the first guide for photo editors in the Soviet Union. In the late 1930s, the number of outstanding Soviet photographers worked on stating art of socialist photography. In addition to the obvious innovations in presenting depicted objects, their works were notable because of the close connection with ideology. The author wrote: “Despite the genre and topic of shooting, the photojournalist should always remember ... all newspaper photographs are pieces of propaganda”. And they were effective the only way when the picture editors knew the photographer’s craft.
To the well-coordinated work of the picture editors, this manual contains the composition basics, illustrated with photographs by well-known masters like Ignatovich, Shaikhet, Brodsky and others. The examples are published with commentaries in captions. The author explains what camera equipment need to use and how to organize the photo laboratory, what kinds of photo illustrations the editors may print, which of them are better than others and how to arrange photographs among the text pieces. The bibliography is published at the end of the book.
The separate section is dedicated to photomontage, the author points out 3 ways of creating a photo-montage picture and includes the checklist on how one could know the quality of photomontage.

Worldcat shows the copies in Library of Congress, Princeton and California Universities, New York Public Library.

Price: $950.00