Bruno Mouron is a photographer. He is a book collector too. He asked questions to publishers, here are their answers.
Questions to Clément Kauter, Le Plac’Art Photo, Paris
What is your specialty and your goal in photography books ?
My favorite periods are the 1960s and ‘70s along with contemporary photography. I specialize in Japanese photography and am very interested in South America since there’s much to be discovered there.
Can you feel an evolution regarding the market of vintage photography books?
I feel like there’s a lot of enthusiasm for photography and especially for self-published and limited editions.
Does the number of collectors/buyers increases ?
Thanks to the different art fairs across the world, one can meet new clients, collectors and a new audience. The international market is very large but pyramid-shaped because of the price of the books.
Which book would you like to never sell and keep for yourself ?
I was very attached to Lorinczy Gyorgy’s New York. Not only do I believe that it’s a masterpiece, but I felt very sentimental about it because it was given to me by somebody I loved very much. But I believe that we cannot keep the best things for ourselves, since then my clients would get the second choice, so in the end I sold that copy.
Is there competition between the dealers of photography books ?
There’s competition, like in every field, but beautiful books only make the collectors hungrier to discover and acquire more.
Which book is the most sought after at the moment?
I think everyone has their Holy Grail. Consequently, what they want is very different, and that’s a good thing for the photo book market.
Questions to Antoine de Beaupré, Librairie 213
What is your specialty and your goal in photography books ?
The bookstore specializes in photo books. Personally, I’ve worked extensively on the second half of the 20th century, since there’s so much to explore, like Japanese and Latin American photography
Can you feel an evolution regarding the market of vintage photography books?
The fever has subsided a little since the euphoria of the early 2000s. People can easily buy everything online now, and that doesn’t make it easy for a bookseller.
Does the number of collectors/buyers increases ?
Yes. Thanks to fairs like Paris Photo, it seems like there’ s always new customers. Some of them are rather sophisticated in their purchases, while others are art collectors trying their hand at the photo book market.
Which book would you like to never sell and keep for yourself ?
Unfortunately, no. I make my living from books, and I’ve decided not to collect them. Sometimes it’s very difficult to part with one book or another.
Is there competition between the dealers of photography books ?
No, I don’t think so. We’re more complementary than competitive.
Which book is the most sought after at the moment?
The important books are always being sought out. Current books are what creates the most demand, like the Kawada book, Chizu, following his exhibition at the Tate London.
Questions to Denis Ozanne, Librairie Chloé et Denis Ozanne, Paris
What is your specialty and your goal in photography books ?
From Surrealism to Conceptual photobooks of 20th Century.
Can you feel an evolution regarding the market of vintage photography books?
Demand is down for minors books and is maintained for great copies.
Does the number of collectors/buyers increases ?
Generally yes.
Which book would you like to never sell and keep for yourself ?
The Beautiful Book, by Jack Smith.
Is there competition between the dealers of photography books ?
No, because we are few, on quite different sectors.
Which book is the most sought after at the moment?
Les Champs Délicieux, by Man Ray.
Questions to Diran Sirinian, Libreria Anticuaria, Buenos Aires
What is your specialty and your goal in photography books ?
Latin American photobooks have become my “speciality”. My goal is to continue developing local networks in the region that will allow me to go on sourcing and descovering rare, unusual and collectible Latin American photobooks. The is a lot of material out there waiting to be “discovered / rediscovered” in the context of the collectible photobook. I wish to go on this search & find mission.
Can you feel an evolution regarding the market of vintage photography books?
Horacio Fernandez’s bibliography set a sort of collectible “cannon”; but there only about 150 books included. The evolution that I hope is coming, 3 years after the publication of that bibliography, is the opening up of the collector universe to the vast universe of Latin American photobooks beyond those 150. Local bibliographical initiatives will come soon and this will help spread information for collectors
Does the number of collectors/buyers increases ?
Dificult to quantify specifically for Latin American photobooks. In general I think the answer is yes mainly because the summation of bibliographical efforts that help share information on worthy material to pay attention.
Which book would you like to never sell and keep for yourself ?
Those that are dedicated to me by the authors
Is there competition between the dealers of photography books ?
I like to think of it as complementation and not competition
Which book is the most sought after at the moment?
For a while it was Sergio Larrain photobooks and Claudia Andujar’s Amazonia. Now clients are open to more choices
Questions to Barbara Karpf, Kehrer, Gerrmany
What is your specialty and your goal in photography books ?
We’re specialized in publishing fine art photography books. The goal is to achieve the perfect combination of content and design for every individual book.
Can you feel an evolution regarding the market of vintage photography books?
Afraid we’re not too familiar with this issue. A book dealer might be the right person to answer this.
Does the number of collectors/buyers increases ?
We definitely feel an increase, but there can always be more!
Which book would you like to never sell and keep for yourself ?
I have many books I wouldn’t ever sell, both from our own list as well as from other publisher’s.
Love my copies of Dog Days Bogotá, The Afronauts, and,and and…
Is there competition between the dealers of photography books ?
Today most competition is between the specialized photo book dealers and the big online sellers. Even more so in countries that don’t have a fixed book price. We feel lucky that in Germany you get the same deal at your local bookstore as on Amazon.
Which book is the most sought after at the moment?
As a publisher, we can only answer this for our list. At the moment, the brandnew “Eyes Wide Open! 100 Years of Leica” (English edition coming out in December) seems to be the most sought after, followed by the controversial “War Porn” by Christoph Bangert.
