BLOSSFELDT, Karl (1865-1932)

[Photobook] Wunder in der Natur. Bild-dokumente schöner Pflanzenformen

Leipzig: Verlag: H. Schmidt & C. Günther Pantheon-Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, 1942. First Edition. Hardcover. First (and only) Printing of the final book in Blossfeldt's celebrated trilogy (with Urformen der Kunst and Wundergarten der Natur), showcasing "unfamiliar shapes from the vegetal worlds . . . as startling, elegant architectural forms." (Roth 101) Introduced by Professor Otto Dannenberg. Royal 8vo (322 x 245mm): [10]pp, with 120 black & white full-page plates in sheet fed gravure. Publisher's navy blue linen, spine and front cover lettered and decorated in gold, top edge stained navy blue; in the scarce illustrated dust jacket. Slight slant to spine, trivial expert repair to head of jacket's spine panel (involving neither lettering nor design), but a superior example, about Fine, tightly bound and clean throughout with rich renditions of the plates. Roth (101 Books), p. 48. Heidtmann 14507A. Heiting/Jaeger I, pp. 188–201. Fine- / Fine-. Item #BB2505

Published posthumously. Karl Nierendorf, the Berlin gallerist who first showed Blossfeldt's images of "austerely elegant" (Roth 101) plant parts (twig ends, seed pods, tendrils, leaf buds) along side African sculpture, wrote the introduction to Urformen der Kunst as a manifesto on the interrelationships between art and nature, pointing to Gothic, Renaissance, and Rococo architectural ornamentation "echoed in the tendrils, stalks, pods and blossoms of Blossfeldt's photographs," calling Blossfeldt's straightforwardly scientific, greatly magnified close-ups of plant forms "isolated objects of unexpected aesthetic delight." (Many copies were disbound, and the photogravures sold as individual prints.) "These he meticulously arranged against stark backgrounds and photographed in magnification, so that unfamiliar shapes from the vegetal worlds are revealed as startling, elegant architectural forms." N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

Price: $1,624.00