"Presenting a diverse geographic and ethnic selection, the What They Saw anthology interprets historical photobooks by women in the broadest sense possible: classic bound books, portfolios, personal albums, unpublished books, zines and scrapbooks. Some of the books documented are well-known publications such as Anna Atkins' Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions (1843-1853), Germaine Krull's Métal (1928) and Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph (1972), while other books may be relatively unknown, such as Alice Seeley Harris' The Camera and the Congo Crime (c. 1906), Varvara Stepanova's Groznyi smekh. Okna Rosta (1932), Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson's African Journey (1945), Fina Gómez Revenga's Fotografías de Fina Gómez Revenga (1954), Eiko Yamazawa's Far and Near (1962) and Gretta Alegre Sarfaty's Auto-photos: Série transformações--1976: Diário de Uma Mulher--1977 (1978). Also addressed in the publication are the glaring gaps and omissions in current photobook history--in particular, the lack of access, support and funding for photobooks by non-Western women and women of color." Publisher's website.
Historical photobooks by women, 1843-1999
Introduction / Russet Lederman and Olga Yatskevich -- Remapping photobook history / Mariama Attah -- 1843-1919: Trailblazers / essay by Anthony Hamber -- 1920-1935: The new woman / essay by Carole Naggar -- 1936-1945: Raising their voices / essay by Elizabeth Cronin -- 1946-1955: From ashes to a family / essay by Christine Hult-Lewis -- 1956-1964: Books as bombs / essay by Deirdre Donohue -- 1965-1969: Nostalgia, pop and revolution / essay by Paula V. Kupfer -- 1970-1975: Sisterhood in bloom / essay by Jeffrey Ladd -- 1976-1979: Sexual politics / essay by Michiko Kasahara -- 1980-1989: A global awakening / essay by Tony White -- 1990-1999: Reaching for a photo-democracy / essay by Jörg Colberg.
Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards. 2021 Photography Catalogue of the Year Shortlist.