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Vintage 1972 Diane Arbus Aperture Monograph White PB Portrait Photography USA
Brand/Publisher: Aperture trade paperback photography volume titled \'Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph\' by Diane Arbus with accompanying text by Doon Arbus, issued in the An Aperture Monograph series and printed in the United States. The copyright page identifies this copy as the sixth printing.
Title and subject: Nonfiction portrait photography monograph collecting Diane Arbus\'s black and white images, with the now-classic twin girls photograph on the front cover. The book presents her portraits of individuals, couples, families, and social scenes, emphasizing psychologically charged, direct encounters between camera and subject.
Format and design: Large-format trade paperback with white card covers, black spine titling, and back cover text outlining Arbus\'s life and career. Interior pages feature full-page black and white plates printed on coated stock, many with brief captions, framed by introductory and contextual text that situates the photographs within late twentieth-century American art and culture.
Structure and contents: The sequence of images highlights recurring themes of identity, performance, family, gender expression, and everyday rituals, including portraits of performers, beachgoers, teenagers, couples at dances, domestic interiors, and close-up faces. Essays by Doon Arbus and curator John Szarkowski, along with a critical note by Hilton Kramer of The New York Times, discuss Arbus\'s working methods, exhibitions, and influence on contemporary photography.
Publication details and audience: Copyright 1972 by Doon Arbus and the Estate of Diane Arbus. The book was printed by Rapoport Printing Corporation and bound by Sendor Bindery for Aperture, a nonprofit photographic publisher, and was produced in conjunction with a major exhibition of Diane Arbus photographs at The Museum of Modern Art. Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 72-93191. ISBN: 0-912334-41-X (paperbound); additional ISBNs 0-912334-40-1 and 0-912334-42-8 are also listed. Intended for adult readers, photographers, and students of twentieth-century American portrait and documentary photography.
Special features: The front endpaper includes a lengthy handwritten presentation note in blue ink from a previous owner reflecting on the book\'s artistic inspiration, adding a layer of personal commentary to this copy.
Condition: White card covers show overall age toning, scattered small smudges and spots, and light to moderate surface rubbing with a few shallow finish scratches. Edges and corners display mild wear and softening, with small creases along the fore-edge and lower corners and a more noticeable diagonal crease on the lower area of the back cover; spine panel is toned with a vertical reading crease and minor rubbing at the ends. Textblock edges are uniformly toned with slight dust soiling and a few small marks visible, but the binding remains secure and pages turn cleanly. Front endpaper carries a long handwritten presentation inscription in blue ink, while interior photo pages examined are clean, fully legible, and free of additional writing or highlighting; listing includes this 1972 Aperture trade paperback only, with no slipcase or supplemental materials.
