Review by Choice Review
Since its inception, photography has encompassed a vast variety of domains, from everyday life, art, and performance to journalism, advertising, science, politics, and fashion. The history and global sweep of photography are well served by this comprehensive, elegant reference book, produced by an impressive international team of nearly 80 contributing researchers and 150 consultants, including curators, art historians, professional photographers, and many French, Swiss, and Canadian PhD candidates. Herschdorfer, a Swiss museum and photography festival director, was responsible for the acclaimed Coming into Fashion: A Century of Photography at Conde Nast (2012), among other publications and exhibitions. The dictionary project was conceived in 1998, revived in 2010, and eventually resulted in 1,200 concise entries of basic facts about prominent photographers, trends, and technological advances. Entries are further indexed by categories such as inventors, institutions, genres, movements, techniques and processes, editors and publishers, periodicals, artists, and writers. Terms with separate see also entries are highlighted in beige in the text. A sturdy, tall-format binding; heavy matte paper; and a terrific layout with lots of white space add to the book's functional and aesthetic appeal. Photo reproductions appear on most pages. Important publications are noted in the entries for further research and will prove helpful for librarians involved in collection building. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All libraries/levels. --Russell T. Clement, Northwestern University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
This concise reference does a fine job of covering the artistic, cultural, historical, and technical aspects of the vast field of photography. More than 1,200 cross-referenced entries detail photographers, techniques, famous images, and processes, and there are 300 photographs of key works and people. Eighty researchers and 150 consultants in the field were consulted, giving this work a global focus and scholarly gravitas, yet the entries are very accessible, and the book will appeal to general library users. Recommended for most public and academic libraries and essential for special collections in photography.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
