Burns, Dr. Stanley, B. (Editor/Author).

SLEEPING BEAUTY: A HISTORY OF MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN AMERICA First Limited Edition.

      Altadena, CA: Twelvetrees Press, 1990.. . Hardcover. First Edition. First Printing. 140 pages. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. Collection of photographs on subject. One of the greatest photography books of the 20th century. Limited Edition of 3000 copies. The true First Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with the Second Edition. The book is now rare. An austerely elegant production by Jack Woody: Oversize-volume format. A tall and slim book. Blue cloth boards with metallic-silver titles on cover and spine, as issued. Edited, assembled, and fully annotated by Dr. Stanley B. Burns. Preface, Photographs, Captions, Photographic Eras, Bibliography, and Acknowledgments appended at the beginning and at the end. Dr. Burns' essay, "Death in America: A Chronology", is unsurpassed in its scholarship. Printed on thick uncoated stock paper by EBS in Verona, Italy to the highest standards. In black DJ with matching metallic-silver titles on cover and spine, as issued. Presents a procession of death in America between 1840 and 1930. "Photographing a deceased person was a common practice in the 19th and early-20th centuries. These photographs were often the only ones ever taken of their subjects, and much pride and artistry went into them. It is astounding that although post-mortem photographs make up the largest group of 19th-century American photographs, they are largely unseen and unknown. Today, we struggle to avoid the topic of death. As a result, we have closed the door on these images, which reflect an American culture in which death and mourning played a visible and active part" (Stanley B. Burns, MD). With the exception of James Van der Zee's pioneering "Harlem Book of the Dead", it is telling that there is not a single book on dead people by a major American photographer (we mean "death portraits", the photographic equivalent of many artists' "death masks", not evocations of death such as Peter Hujar's masterpiece, "Portraits In Life And Death"). Almost all of the photographs in Dr. Burns' collection are by anonymous artists. Every single one of them is characterized by a serenity, calm, and quiet that retrospectively indict contemporary American culture's glib, mindless, Tarantino-esque fetish for violence and a "glorious death" (Quentin Tarantino's famous phrase). These photographs are more powerful and disturbing than anything our violent culture could ever imagine: Dead people shown with their eyes wide open, family photographs where the Living are shown with the Dead as though life and death were inseparable siblings, and most heartbreaking of all, little children, elaborately dressed up and shown lying in an open bed, a widespread practice that was eventually replaced by today's open coffin. They compel us to confront our own mortality. We might prolong life, but we will still have to face death in spite of everything, including modern science's advances. Because the prevailing ethos is "Forever Young", Dr. Burns rightly points out that most of us are ill-prepared for The End, and do not have the stoicism, grace, and dignity of these people. Stanley B. Burns, MD is a renowned ophthalmologist who has amassed the largest collection of vintage photographs, which now number around 700, 000 prints, the subject of numerous exhibitions, slide presentations, and international tours. Dr. Burns has also produced several anthologies, all of them riveting. Aside from "Sleeping Beauty", they include "Masterpieces of Medical Photography", now also a photography book classic, "Harm's Way", "Sleeping Beauty II", and "A Morning's Work". All of them bear photography' s motto: Memento mori. A masterpiece. A "must-have" title for photography book collectors. This title has been out-of-print for almost fifteen years even though it went into subsequent printing. This is one of only three copies of the First Limited Edition still available online and is in fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A rare copy thus. 76 plates. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER STANLEY BURNS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0942642325.