Anonyme Skulpturen.

an exceptional copy with the promotional poster

An exceptional copy of Bernd & Hilla Becher's first book, with the scarce original folding promotional poster.

The publication of Anonyme Skulpturen established their work as a pivotal point at the intersection of photography, architecture, and conceptual art.

'In this book we show objects predominantly instrumental in character, whose shapes are the result of calculation and whose processes of development are optically evident. They are generally buildings where anonymity is accepted to be the style. Their peculiarities originate not in spite of, but because of the lack of design.'

The folding poster was distributed to bookshops to announce the publication of Anonyme Skulpturen, published by Art-Press Verlag, a Düsseldorf-based publishing house run by Hans Kirschbaum and Eugen Michel, and printed by Michel's printing firm Michelpresse, during his spare time. Hilla Becher noted in an interview that she and Bernd had been approached by several publishers, none of whom would allow them to reproduce their images as they desired. That was until Eugen Michel suggested that he could print the book if they delivered him the design, text, and images. 'He [Eugen Michel] didn't ask how expensive it would be, because he said, I'm going to do it when the printing press is available, and so I'll print one sheet today, and one sheet in two weeks, and it doesn't matter when it's ready' (Balaschak).

Bernd and Hilla Becher seized upon this opportunity to control the presentation of their photographs in the context and format of their choosing. The resulting book was their first significant statement about their work, creating a critical precedent for the numerous exhibitions and books they would later realise.

First edition; 4to (280 x 220 mm, 11 x 8¾ in); black & white photographs printed in offset; blue cloth-covered boards, spine and upper side stamped in white, photo-illustrated dust-jacket, white with titles in black, fine; [216]pp. [With:] Promotional poster; (264 × 207 mm, 10½ x 8¼ in unfolding to 788 x 608 mm, 31 x 24 in), machine-folded twice horizontally and twice vertically; illustrated with a grid of 9 black & white photographs, text in black and burgundy, upper side lightly marked, minor creasing, light toning to folds, a very good example.

[Anonyme Skulpturen] The Book of 101 Books pp194-5; The Open Book pp258-9; The Photobook: A History Vol.II p266; What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women p1996; Balaschak, Unstable Ground: Photography books and the modern landscape, 1938-1975, p.134. [Promotional poster] Bernd und Hilla Becher: Printed Matter 1964-2013, no.15.