Monsters of the Gided Age
Monsters of the Gided Age, Fine copy in wraps, oblong 11″x9″, by Michael Mitchell, Gage Publishing, Toronto, 1979, no markings, a very clean copy has owner’s library ID embossed on title page, descreet and barely noticeable. First edition, and first printing, fine in wraps.
“I am not going to open a debate on the appropriateness of circus sideshow freak photographs. To be sure they are among the most striking of images and these photos were taken so the performers could sell them for a dime each to the audience…so who can begrudge the process? 100 years later Diane Arbus took similar photographs, but rather than being used as souvenirs or trade cards, they made her career. Never one to shy from the disturbing, overlooked or neglected, I am attracted by the taboo of these images, and they still manage to make the desperate attempts of contemporary artists to “shock” pale by comparison.
Continuing to review books which have been forgotten or deserve another look, this is the fairly obscure “Monsters of the Gilded Age: The Photographs of Chas. Eisenmann” by Michael Mitchell. Published in Canada in 1979, and likely a small edition, it is expensive today on the used book market but available.”
$ 125.00
