Background information
"In 16 portfolios with 408 photographs, August SANDER documented his adopted home Cologne in the years 1920 to 1939 in a long-term project lasting about twenty years; individual photographs were taken in the post-war period. In 1953 this treasure was acquired for the Cologne City Museum. In the process, he created a city portrait of cultural and historical significance. Between 1946 and 1952, SANDER compiled 16 portfolios with a total of 408 photographs from this visual material. The city of Cologne acquired the portfolios in 1953 after tough negotiations. But August SANDER's work did not receive the appreciation it would have deserved at first. For a long time, the originals and the negatives handed over to the Rheinisches Bildarchiv served in the Cologne City Museum merely as documentation of the Cologne cityscape before the Second World War. In addition, the book market was saturated with pre-war photographs by Theo FELTEN in the 1952 illustrated book 'Köln - Dein hohes Bild'. At times the treasure was also somewhat forgotten. It was not until 1988 that August SANDER was moved by Rolf Sachsse's work, ''A. Sander, Köln wie es war, Köln 1988', brought August Sander back into the public eye; in 1995 an edition of SANDER's works appeared, edited by August Sander-Archiv/ Kölnische Stadtmuseum ('August Sander - Köln wie es war, Köln 1995').
Content, book reviews
In the present volume, 'SANDER, August - Köln wie es war.', also edited by the Kölner Stadtmuseum and published by a Cologne publisher. 408 photographs from 1920 to 1939, August SANDER's photographs are published for the first time in facsimile quality as enlarged, developed, and edited by the artist, so that this is not a mere illustrated book, but rather a faithful edition, which is due to Rita Wagner; she also provided the introduction to the history of the 16 portfolios. Minor errors made by August SANDER in the classification of various pictures were editorially corrected for the catalog, and the photographs were also dated for better classification.
"'Cologne as it was. 408 Photographs from 1920 to 1939" is a huge, very heavy photo volume in very good facsimile quality. It is THE work about the city of Cologne in the 1930s!" (© Richard G. SPORLEDER)
About the German photographer, August SANDER (1876-1964)
Photo books by, about and with works by August SANDER
- Format
- Gebundene Ausgabe mit Schutzumschlag, 32 x 35 x 4 cm., 448 S., 408 S/W-Aufnahmen in Faksimile-Qualität, deutsch-sprachiger Text - GERMAN TEXT ONLY!