Gypsies. Photographs by Josef Koudelka
Millerton, New York: Aperture, Inc., 1975. 1st Edition. Large oblong quarto, publisher's taupe cloth, spine and upper board stamped in silver, upper board blindstamped, black endpapers, original photo-illustrated dust jacket.
First edition of Czech-born French photographer Josef Koudelka's collection of large-format black-and-white photos of ethnic Roma, taken mostly in the separated Roma settlements in eastern Slovakia between 1962-1968, his foundational work. Renowned for his images documenting and addressing sociopolitical issues, and praised for his ability to capture the resilience of the human spirit amidst the abject, Koudelka is widely considered a master of his form. "Josef Koudelka’s photographs aim at a visual distillation of a pattern of human values: a pattern than involves theater, large gesture, brave style, precious camaraderie, and bitter loneliness" (from the preface by MoMA photography department director John Szarkowski). Illustrated with black-and-white plates; with an essay by Roma scholar and sociologist Willy Guy. Stated first printing to copyright page. Minor fading to board edges; unclipped dust jacket with light edgewear. Near fine. Item #10881
$400.00