OT: Josef Sudek's books

There are a couple of Sudek books around. Have a look at the main online photobookstores. As best (and very beautifully printed) overview of his work, I would recommend a German book edited by Anna Farova and issued in 1999 by Keyahoff Verlag. It's difficult to find, however. The most cherished Sudek book in my library, however, is "Sad Landscape": a superb collection of his large format panorama pictures taken in Bohemia, end of the fifties, early sixties.

Take a look at ebay.

Wonderful photographs, saw the exhibition of them at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the last couple of years.

I think there are copies of this book you can find at http://www.abebooks.com. They appear to be the Czech editions, from bookstores there. Perhaps there is no English translation, but the citation you saw was translated. The pictures are so wonderful you don't need to be able to read the words!

The quick answer is, I don't know. Hey, hold on: Sudek didn't use a Leica, or anything like it. <em class="bleating">Moderator, delete this thread!</em>

I have one book of Sudek's work, titled Josef Sudek, Poet of Prague: A Photographer's Life. Biographical material is worked around a splendid set of well-reproduced images; indeed, this is less a bio than a photo collection. (But sorry, I'm not selling.)

The book has just a single image (on p.73) captioned "View from the window of my studio, 1945-54"; close by it, however, are a few works in a similar vein that may or may not be what your after. In the back is a bibliography that includes monographs published to 1985; this does not mention the book you're looking for.

I remember buying this book for very little in a slightly sleazy shop full of remainders (thrilling bios of minor TV celebs, Taschen pornokitsch, etc.). It definitely cost under €20, even though it's hardback and shows no sign of having been remaindered (no black line across the page edges, etc.). Indeed, it was thanks to the low price that I picked it up: I'd never heard of Sudek at the time, and was merely looking for pornokitsch interested in Prague. I've since seen the same book, used, at much higher prices.

The used book market is about as nutty as the used camera market. There's no limit on the optimism of some would-be sellers or the desperation (or self-flattery through purchase of monstrously priced "rarity") of some buyers. That's the bad news. The good news is that you can bypass fleabay and similar idiocy by signing yourself up at ABE and registering a "want" for "josef sudek". Thereafter, whenever any of squillions of bookstores gets a book by "josef sudek", you'll hear of this by email -- and via ABE, so your address won't be broadcast. If you're inundated with uninteresting offers, then narrow your search by combining "josef sudek" with "window" or whatever. When you get an offer at a sensible price, buy. If somebody else beats you to it, just be patient till another copy turns up.

Be prepared to wait a few months. I haven't used ABE to buy any book for Sudek, but I have used it for many other purposes, and it's not uncommon to buy a book from one dealer for a quarter of the price asked for by another. And you'll soon see that certain sellers (including some that advertise membership of impressive-sounding societies) use terms like "scarce" to describe any book that didn't sell millions.

Me: what your after

Duh, make that "what you're after"

Yes, yes, take a look at fleabay, and see the prices paid by the underinformed and the loony.

Attempting to shut off the leaky italics...

...success. It seems there's a bug (feature?)in the forums that allows an unclosed <em> tag to proliferate to downstream posts.

I just want to second the vote for SAD LANDSCAPES. Wish I had a copy.

I have seen a feature film about Sudek, in Czech with Swedish sub-titles (it was on Swedish television). Well worth digging out if it's possible to find. Try the National Museum in Prague.

Guys,

"Sad landscape" is in print. It costs 650 CZK if i recall correctly (roughly 26 US dollars). Of course postage will add a bomb to U.S... Try www.kosmas.cz for a czech-amazon like e- shop. It's all in Czech, but they should be able to answer English emails. If everything fails, contact me and I'll try to help you. "Prague panoramatická" is out of print. I don't know why it wasn't reprinted. Copyright issues? The 1st edition (1959) is quite rare. I have seen it in a 2nd hand bookseller here in Brno about a year ago for 5000 CZK (200 dollars). The 2nd edition (1988?) should be cheaper but is not exactly common, either. The connoiseurs say the 1st edition is better quality.

stepan.

Thanks so much for that, Stepan. I've just looked into it, but had to bottle out at the registration page. Could you possibly give me a guide to the various information fields?

Some of Sudek's Prague panoramas here: http://www.sramek.ca/photos/sudekgallery/sugallery1.html

Jonathan,

at the 1st registration page, opt for B) and enter you email. pøíjmení = last name jméno = 1st name ignore the firma and other 2 fields -- that's for company orders. obec = city (if you're in US, i'd add the state here) ulice = street PSÈ = ZIP code stát = country (scroll down for "Spojené státy americké" telefon = phone

pøihlaﾹovací jméno = user name heslo = password potvrïte heslo = password confirm

on next page, go to "Adresa pro doruèení zásilky je v zahranièí:" (= delivery abroad) po zemi = ground letecky = airmail (i strongly recommend air-mail. I once sent prints to israel via ground mail and it took 3 months!)

Zpùsob platby, úhrady = payment method. pick Platební karta = credit card

click pokraèovat = continue.

that should be it, i hope!

Stepan, you're a gent! Meanwhile, I've been studying the prices of the Prague panoramas book on the web. Phew! "One of the most sought-after art books in Europe." Not kidding. Wonderful, though. There used to be a copy at my local library when I was a kid... Here's a picture for you. Forgive the primitive scan of my ca. 1983 effort to be J.Sudek!

Stepan,

Thanks for the info. I have located the book on the site you mentioned:

http://www.kosmas.cz/knihy/124394/smutna-krajina/

I have also sent an e-mail to them asking how I can order it in the US, etc. Will update more when I hear back. The Dutch seller confirmed that he shipped my book today.

Thanks for the link, Jonathan. I enjoyed it.

Jonathan,

did you manage to order the book? Or are there any more stumbling blocks in the ordering? I guess the "Praha panoramaticka" is really quite sought after given the price the local 2nd hand bookseller was asking for it! To put things into perspective, that's about 1/3 of a net monthly wage here. I like your picture... It definitely has something of the Sudek mood. But I am more intrigued about what did you do in 1983 in Prague? And have you been back since?

Nels,

I don't think they can help you with U.S. distributor. They're just a czech online bookshop. However, as I translated the crucial terms above for Jonathan, you should be able to order it yourself! Click the "pYidat do koa�ku" button, then "dokon it objedn�vku, pYej�t k podkladn" -- and then follow the translations above. stepan

Stepan,

I have put the book in my cart (I hope). Now which freakin' button do I click to "proceed to checkout"?

Thanks.

NEls,

dokoncit objednavku -- prejit k pokladne. it looks similar to the "add to the cart" button. (this time i am omitting diacritics as it makes photo.net go bonkers!) stepan.

Stepan, After I click that, it takes me to a page with the heading " N᫵pní «oï¿½í« je prẤn�". What do I do next? This is strange.

I can't even find the registration page...

NEls,

let'S start again. open the page with the book. On the right side, there's a pale blue button with "pridat do kosiku". click that. that'll take you to the page "obsah kosiku" (cart contents). There you click another button, called "dokoncit objednavku -- prejit k pokladne".

I think I'm there....working through at my own pace....patience.

The airmail delivery on this puppy is more than the price of the book...I'm not so sure if I'm crazy about this book anymore...:-)

It's done, Stepan. Thanks for all the help. The last bit was a challenge, but I have a confirmation e-mail, so I hope it went through fine.

Nels,

glad to help. i hope you'll like the book. Can't say you weren't warned about the price of the delivery :-) stepan.

Stepan,

I've done much crazier transactions in my life, so keeping things in perspective, this one is not so bad.

Greetings from Spojene Staty Americke - it'll take me a while to get over that one!

Cheers!

Incidentally, there's a copy of the book available on eBay from a seller in Czech Republic (I have been keeping quiet about it because I didn't want bidding competition). The seller has it listed for $40 and will charge $25 to ship to US. The one from the online bookshop worked out cheaper. So thanks, again.

Nels,

i also noticed that ebay offer for 40 dollars. I think that person just has the offer there, and if anyone buys it for that price, he just goes to the shop, buys a copy and mails it to you, making a bit of profit. if his shipping fee is lower than kosmas.cz, he's probably not sending it airmail...

I revisited Sudek today. I have a small book on him. Lot's of great stuff. I bet Trevor Hare would love his work although I think he is already familiar with him.

I've been running google searches on the guy since I read about him two days ago, and just about every image I've seen has peaked my curiosity immensely and makes me want to see the work bigger. Hence the purchase of three books in two days without much hesitation.

http://www.josefsudek.net/

To me Sudek's oeuvre has a particular atmosphere, which I am not sure is replicable today. I do not mean using 10x30cm 19th panoramatic camera or glass carriers with 10 ASA sensibility, but the way he portrays Prague -- would it be still possible to do it in a similar vein? Nowadays Prague almost feels like disneylandised version of itself, a tourist attraction that is all glittering on the outside but what is inside? What happened to all those old buildings, peeling paint and plaster, cobbly streets? Josef Sudek at least managed to capture some of this spirit in photographs... I think on a WAY different level, Jan Svankmajer did something similar, in a microscopic scale; he captured, in his movies, the microcosm of a Prague turn of century apartment bloc, the staircases, the cellars, the ornate doors, doorways and windows, the courtyards...

I got my Sudek book years ago. If you like Sudek, don't forget Atget. And if you like Atget, don't forget Ansel. Wow, these guys are great!

another good sudek publication are aperture's issues number 117 and 118. you can find these on ebay if you are patient enough.

Stepan, apologies been off-air overnight. I'll take another stab at ordering that book today. What was I doing in Prague in 1983? Primarily taking a look at Sudek's city. I was drawn to the country through other photographers, artists and composers too. I had a terribly difficult time tracing anything about Sudek. Even at the museums, staff were astonished that I was interested. Museum work seemed to consist of keeping everything under wraps.

Prague was fascinating at that time, and the surrounding countryside was beautiful. I wouldn't want to go back, for all the reasons you mention, which were an obvious cost of opening up to the west.

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Sorry.

Stepan, I succeeded in placing my order for 'Sad Landscapes' today. Thanks so much for your help!

Hi, The title "From my studio window" is a series of photos that sudek took during his later years and not a book (as of yet). Along with that series are "labyrinths" and a few other exquisite series of photos. The "Sad Landscape" series was one of 3 panoramic series that hopefully will be published someday. Apparently two other such studies of his beloved country were in maquette form at the time of his death. The "studio window" series is well represented in several books, the large "Favrova" volume and the beautifully printed monograph by Sonia Bullaty. Also the small Photo Poche edtion on Sudek is very well printed and heavily draws from the window series. It's about $15. Thanks, Steve Roberts