Photographs in Ink (complete with CD-ROM)

Teaneck, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University, College Art Gallery, 1996. Appears unread. Fine condition in a Fine dust jacket. NO chips. NO tears. NO creases. NOT a library discard. Bright, shiny, clean, square, and tight. Sharp corners. Hinges are perfect. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. Pages are fresh and crisp, apparently never read. NO underlining. NO highlighting. NO margin notes. First printing. Unpaginated (but 84 pages). This is the catalogue of an exhibition of 49 distinct photo-mechanical processes held at New Jersey's Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1996. There are handsome photographic illustrations throughout, including sepia and full-color reproductions. Complete with CD-ROM, with nearly 100 additional reproductions, stored in a pocket at the end. Bound in the original dark green cloth, stamped in shiny copper on the front cover. Includes the original copper-color dust jacket, printed in bright white. From a review on the web: "PHOTOGRAPHS IN INK… document(s) an exhibition on the history of photomechanical processes held at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1996. This difficult and rarely examined topic involves not only traditional photography and printmaking techniques but complex chemical formulas and intricate mechanical procedures. The authors themselves admit to having trouble distinguishing between processes. Therefore, the benefit of viewing on a CD-ROM almost 100 examples beyond those in the print catalogue adds enormously to the success and lasting value of this publication. The exhibition and catalogue are the work of two curators, David A. Hanson and Sidney Tillim, and the show draws its work primarily from their private collections. Tillim, the catalogue's essayist, has expanded on his exhibition PHOTOGRAPHY REPRODUCTION PRODUCTION (Bennington, Vt.: Bennington College, 1992) with the help of Hanson, author of four useful scholarly studies of the early photomechanical processes… PHOTOGRAPHS IN INK exhibited (and the CD-ROM illustrates) 120 entries produced by 119 inventors and/or companies involving 49 distinct photomechanical processes. Illustrating such extensive documentation would not be feasible in a printed catalogue but is easily accommodated through digital technology. At the same time, the print catalogue provides the more aesthetically satisfying paper reproductions of a paper-based process. The exhibition and catalogue are arranged chronologically, from the earliest 1824 heliographic engraving by Joseph Nicà phore Nià pce published by Blanquart-Évrard in 1870 to the halftones by Dorthea Lange published by Elizabeth McCausland in 1946. Major printing techniques are divided into four categories: intaglio, planographic, relief, and woodburytype… The print catalogue is uniquely designed to highlight its 30 full-color plates. The catalogue essay is inserted on narrow sheets between the plates so as not to obscure more than a small portion of the illustrations… Appendices include a glossary to help understand the terminology of the processes, an alphabetical list of inventors and their inventions, and an exhibition checklist. The accompanying CD-ROM begins with a slide show, leading quickly to a homepage which offers six options: checklist, inventors and processes, glossary, credits, help, and quit… In addition to the checklist items, the CD-ROM reproduces images of book covers, title pages, and illustrations not included in the exhibition. Many examples allow for magnification to show a detail of the individual process, such as dot or screen patterns. The inventors' section provides portraits of most photographers along with information concerning their photographic discoveries. In this way, content of the catalogue and CD-ROM complement each other without simply duplicating the information. Each utilizes the strengths of the individual medium to help define and illustrate the difficult distinctions between photomechanical processes. Ultimately, PHOTOGRAPHS IN INK.