Paris Photo underlines the importance of the photographic book and that of the publishing profession.
• A new space dedicated to publishers and specialist booksellers with the presentation of this year’s novelties, but also old books, rare books or limited editions. Book signing sessions on the stands will provide the public with an opportunity to meet the photographers.
The full programme of signing sessions will be posted on-line at the end of September.
• The “Love on the Left Bank” exhibition imagined by Markus Schaden:
This will decorticate the conception of a cult book on the history of photography by Ed Van der Elsken (1956), now published by Dewi Lewis (1999).
• The launch of the “Paris Photo Book Prize”:
For its first edition, the Paris Photo Book Prize will reward a reference photographic book that has marked the past 15 years. The Prize is made with the Aperture Foundation and benefits from the support of Leica.
Exhibition of a photo story
The book “Love on the Left Bank » by Ed van der Elsken, inspired the creation of a photo story, imagined by the bookseller, Markus Schaden, and presented at Paris Photo.
In 1950, Ed van der Elsken went to Paris where he became friendly with a group of dropouts from Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In his diary, he kept numerous of photos of their activities which he photographed at leisure.
In 1953, he met Edward Steichen who, impressed by the narrative dimension to his photos, suggested that he make them into a story book. Love on the Left Bank was published in 1956.
The story takes place over several months, during which, armed with his camera, he followed a couple of lovers and immortalised a love story, brutal and tender at once, in the working-class neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The resulting album is not only considered to be the summit of his art but is also internationally acknowledged as one of the founding photographic books of the 20th century, and the first to use the photo story format.
