DAMAGED DUST JACKET!
In July 1954 Italian photographer Fosco MARAINI travelled together with a small film crew to the small Japanese island of Hekura Hegura-jima (舳倉島). The island is famous for female pearl divers (ama divers).
MARAINI’s warm-hearted diary style text is illustrated by his photographs in this small-format book.
The first colour picture section is focused mainly on the daily life on the island, with distant views and general impressions. But MARAINI comes closer and closer with his camera, documenting the work of the (usually topless) female pearl divers at, around and under the water.
The 'ama' divers became quite a popular subject for photographers. Yoshiyuki IWASE is probably the best-known of those who photographed the diving girls.
The heart of the german edition (!) is a section with pages of black and white photographs, introduced & followed by pages of colour photographs of the famous diving girls. The underwater black & images are printed with a greenish overlay, enhancing the underwater impression.
The book is a wonderful celebration of this lost tradition, the girls no longer diving naked and unaided.
In 2011 german photographer Nina POPPE published her photo book, called 'Ama' in an edition of 800 copies. The creative part and the story are based on the German edition of Marainis 'The island of fishermen girls' but also involves the Japanese tradition and the Dutch photo book art.
'Ama' is sold out at the publihser, but actually some copies are still available at Café Lehmitz Photobooks: https://www.cafelehmitz-photobooks.com/books/detail/100230.html?q=ama+poppe
This German edition was published by Henry Goverts Verlag, Stuttgart, 1963.
The Italian edition (1960, published by Leonardo da Vinci editrice, Bari as 'L’isola delle pescatrici') came first and was reprinted in 1961, 1962 & 1964. Maraini's book was also published in the UK (1962 by Hamish Hamilton, London as 'The island of the fisherwomen'), USA (1962 by Harcourt, Brace & World Inc., New York as 'HEKURA: The Diving Girls’ Island', Sweden (1963 by Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, as 'Najadernas Ö' and last but not least in Japan (1964, by 未来社 Miraisha, as 'AMA Island – Hegura Island'.
I took all details about the history of this book from 'achtung.photography-page, thanks! Source: https://www.achtung.photography/fosco-maraini-lisola-delle-pescatrici-1960/
In July 1954 Italian photographer Fosco MARAINI travelled together with a small film crew to the small Japanese island of Hekura Hegura-jima (舳倉島). The island is famous for female pearl divers (ama divers).
MARAINI’s warm-hearted diary style text is illustrated by his photographs in this small-format book.
The first colour picture section is focused mainly on the daily life on the island, with distant views and general impressions. But MARAINI comes closer and closer with his camera, documenting the work of the (usually topless) female pearl divers at, around and under the water.
The 'ama' divers became quite a popular subject for photographers. Yoshiyuki IWASE is probably the best-known of those who photographed the diving girls.
The heart of the german edition (!) is a section with pages of black and white photographs, introduced & followed by pages of colour photographs of the famous diving girls. The underwater black & images are printed with a greenish overlay, enhancing the underwater impression.
The book is a wonderful celebration of this lost tradition, the girls no longer diving naked and unaided.
In 2011 german photographer Nina POPPE published her photo book, called 'Ama' in an edition of 800 copies. The creative part and the story are based on the German edition of Marainis 'The island of fishermen girls' but also involves the Japanese tradition and the Dutch photo book art.
'Ama' is sold out at the publihser, but actually some copies are still available at Café Lehmitz Photobooks: https://www.cafelehmitz-photobooks.com/books/detail/100230.html?q=ama+poppe
This German edition was published by Henry Goverts Verlag, Stuttgart, 1963.
The Italian edition (1960, published by Leonardo da Vinci editrice, Bari as 'L’isola delle pescatrici') came first and was reprinted in 1961, 1962 & 1964. Maraini's book was also published in the UK (1962 by Hamish Hamilton, London as 'The island of the fisherwomen'), USA (1962 by Harcourt, Brace & World Inc., New York as 'HEKURA: The Diving Girls’ Island', Sweden (1963 by Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, as 'Najadernas Ö' and last but not least in Japan (1964, by 未来社 Miraisha, as 'AMA Island – Hegura Island'.
I took all details about the history of this book from 'achtung.photography-page, thanks! Source: https://www.achtung.photography/fosco-maraini-lisola-delle-pescatrici-1960/
- Format
- Gebundene Ausgabe mit Schutzumschlag, 16,5 x 24 x 1,5 cm., 200 S., 40 S/W-Aufnahmen (+9 grün eingefäbte Seiten) sowie 25 Farbaufnahmen, deutsch-sprachuger Text - HERE GERMAN TEXT ONLY!