A recent purchase of early 20th century Japanese photography publications from a dedicated collector, Tom Jacobson, offers extremely rare material for researchers to consult first hand and deepens the Research Library’s coverage of the topic.
Jacobson notes that “most of these kinds of books were destroyed during the war, as the fires in major cities decimated libraries and photographers’ archives” therefore making these types of titles rare in library collections worldwide. Indeed, several of the titles acquired are only held by our library.
The library now has a collection of 82 titles covering the period of 1920-1960. Half of the volumes predate the end of World War II. The majority of the items are annuals, monographs, and bound journals published during the period. The remaining items are retrospective in nature, exhibition catalogues, and reference materials.
The publications form a coherent study collection for scholars interested in the history of photography and modernism in Japan while making the library one of the very few in this country to hold materials published in Japan during the early 20th century.
The full list of titles is available in Primo Search.
-James Cheney, Collection Development Librarian