Sabine Arque

Once upon a time in America: Rediscovering the first color photographs of the New World These rediscovered Photochrom and Photostint postcard images from the private collection of Marc Walter were produced by the Detroit Photographic Company between 1888 and 1924. Using a photolithographic process that predated the autochrome by nearly 20 years, they offered people the very first color photographs of The United States. Suddenly, the continent's colors were available for all to see. The rich ochres and browns of the Grand Canyon, the dazzle of Atlantic City, became a visual delight not only for eyewitnesses, but for Americans far and wide. Imbued with this sense of discovery and adventure, the pictures gathered here are a voyage through peoples, places and time at once. They take us through North America's vast and varied landscape, encounter its many communities, and above all transport us back to the New World of over a century ago. Over more than 600 pages including fold-out spreads, this sweeping panorama takes us from Native American settlements to New York's Chinatown, from some of the last cowboys to Coney Island's heyday. As luminous now as they were some 120 years ago, these rare and remarkable images that brought America to Americans now bring American's past to our present.

The turn of the 20th century was a golden era in France. It was an age of peace, prosperity, and progress after a series of bruising wars and turmoil within the French Republic, culminating in the Franco-Prussian War, which had ended in 1871. From the ruins of conflict, the Belle Epoque brought joie de vivre flourish, a boom in art, design, industry, technology, gastronomy, education, travel, entertainment, and nightlife. Through some 800 vintage photographs, postcards, posters, and photochromes from the extensive archives of Marc Walter and Photovintagefrance, France around 1900 follows up on TASCHEN's best-selling vintage photographic collections Italy around 1900, The Grand Tour, Germany around 1900, and An American Odyssey to provide a precious record of France in all its turn-of-the-century glory. With the photochrome technique used in many of the images restoring the past to vivid color, we enjoy a bristling close, bittersweet, encounter with this hopeful age: the brave, stony splendor of the Mont Saint-Michel; the icy peaks of Chamonix; and the honey light of the Cote d'Azur. With an introduction, six essays, and detailed commentary by Sabine Arque exploring the stories behind the pictures, this is an unrivalled portrait of a nation on the cusp of the century and of its poignant exuberance before the paroxysm of the First World War. While paying tribute to the precious Belle Epoque, crushed by the traumas of history, it also celebrates the unwavering allure of La Belle France, its beauty, culture, traditions, and legendary romance

These rediscovered Photochrom and Photostint postcard images from the private collection of Marc Walter were produced by the Detroit Photographic Company between 1888 and 1924. Using a photolithographic process that predated the autochrome by nearly 20 years, they offered people the very first color photographs of the United States. Suddenly, the continent's colors were available for all to see. From the rich ochres and browns of the Grand Canyon to the dazzle of Atlantic City, these places were now a visual delight not only for eyewitnesses but for Americans far and wide. Imbued with a sense of discovery and adventure, the pictures gathered here are a voyage through peoples, places, and time. They take us through North America's vast and varied landscape, where we encounter its many communities, and above all transport us back to the United States of over a century ago. Across more than 600 pages including fold-out spreads, this sweeping panorama takes us from Native American settlements to New York's Chinatown, from some of the last cowboys to Coney Island's heyday. As luminous now as they were some 120 years ago, these rare and remarkable images that brought America to Americans now bring America's past to our present.

The turn of the 20th century seemed full of promise for Germany. The suburbs may have teemed with tenements to house the new industrial proletariat, but on spacious new avenues in the city centres, people strolled proudly past magnificent bourgeois residences. The economy was booming, the aristocracy and the military enjoyed unlimited social prestige, and most of the population revered the Kaiser. Through some 800 color pictures, this book presents turn-of-the-century Germany as it liked to see herself: self-confident, glittering, patriotic but also with a belief in progress and - for those who could afford it - a cosmopolitan flair. As in the critically acclaimed America 1900 the images are all rare examples of the historical photochrom process, a printing technique that allowed black-and-white photographs to be reproduced in colour. From Ludwig II's fairy-tale castles in the Bavarian Alps to glamourous bathing resorts on the North Sea and Baltic, the pictures reveal a Germany of optimism, beauty, and transformation. Technical innovations and modern boulevards sit alongside medieval towns, rural traditions, and mystical forests, creating a fascinating and nostalgic panorama of a long lost epoch before the ravages of time and history set in.

Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copies The Golden Age of Travel neatly overlaps with the reign of the Emperor Meiji, which began in 1868 with the overthrow of a feudal order that had kept Japan secluded from the outside world for more than 200 years. In the ensuing four-and-a-half decades, Japan became a less remote and more attractive destination for the international traveler and a popular subject for photographers, both Japanese and foreign. In 536 pages, this book presents more than 700 vintage images of Japan, texts by a specialist in early Japanese photography, and extensive commentary through thematic sections exploring traditions as varied as tea, silk and Buddhism, as well as itineraries across five regions, all of which guide the reader through this captivating land. Our travels take us from the enchanting vistas of Nagasaki to the seagirt shrine of Miyajima, long esteemed among the "Three Views" considered the most beautiful in Japan; from the rambling streets of Kobe to the energetic bustle of Osaka; from the cornucopia of historic sights in the ancient cities of Kyoto and Nara to the twin delights of shopping and sex in the vibrant modern port of Yokohama; from the timeless beauty of Mount Fuji and the mountainside scenery of nearby Hakone to the urban melange of Japan's modern capital, where the traditions of Edo and the modernity of Tokyo co-existed; and, finally, from the jewel-like architecture of Nikko set amidst forests and waterfalls to the islet-studded bay of Matsushima, until our journey ends in the remote wilds of Hokkaido, home to the indigenous Ainu.