Wundergarten der Natur. Neue Bilddokumente schöner Pflanzenformen.
Berlin: Verlag fur Kunstwissenschaft, [1932].
First edition. [xvi], 120 pp with 120 photogravure plates presenting 137 images. Bound in publisher's linen stamped in maroon, lacking the dust jacket. Text in German. Very Good with spine lettering dulled, worn, foxed endpapers and edges, former owner's name at front pastedown. The uncommon first edition of what is considered one of the most influential photobooks of the 20th century. Following the success of his first monograph, Urformen der Kunst (or Art Forms in Nature), Blossfeldt demonstrates an artistic potential of the camera by capturing botanical images with distinct sharpness. The trained sculptor influenced the New Objectivity movement in post-WWI Germany, "Blossfeldt was sensitive to the curvilinear beauty of plants and used organic structures as the basis of his technological designs.To young German artists, his photographic studies proved the convergence of nature and art." (Roth 15) His work helped validate photography as a respected art form, earning acclaim from the artistic avant-garde and inclusion in major exhibitions like Fotografie der Gegenwart and Film und Foto.
Price: $2,750