ON ASSIGNMENT: DMITRI KESSEL, LIFE PHOTOGRAPHER, A SCARCE INSCRIBED PRESENTATION / ASSOCIATION COPY

KESSEL, Dmitri. On Assignment: Dmitri Kessel, Life Photographer. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1985. Large quarto, original black cloth, original photographic dust jacket. $550.

First edition, with more than a hundred photographs, presentation, association copy inscribed by Kessel to the publisher, Paul Gottlieb, a childhood friend: “To Paul. One of my earliest photo subjects, with deepest thanks for publishing this book. Dmitri (Mitya).”

Kessel was “an international human being… The world held too many attractions for this endlessly curious fellow, who was capable of shooting hard-hitting, eruptive news photos but also gorgeous architectural photography, notably of churches and cathedrals, along with stimulating photos of great artworks” (The Great Life Photographers, 276). Included in this volume are some of Kessel’s most famous photo essays, on topics such as the Shah of Iran, the Belgian Congo, life on the Yangtse, Bernini’s Rome, and Greece in 1944. Paul Gottlieb was the publisher and editor-in-chief of Harry N. Abrams, which published this book, for over 20 years. Gottlieb revolutionized art world publishing by greatly expanding its horizons.

A fine copy.