more book FYI

Santa left me this fun and quirky book, ROADSIDE AMERICA*, under the Xmas tree. As I understand it, Santa found the book in a discounted book display, just as I found the New York Times Magazine Photographs book in the same manner.

Re: the discounted price of the New York Times Magazine Photographs book, Markus Spring wrote/asked:

... I do not understand why in the world this book has to be sold that dirt-cheap only 2 weeks past christmas - does it mean that business was overestimated so much or that readers for that kind of book are scarce or is it just the normal death for a book in a tired economy where nobody dares to stock anything any more for fear it could be worthless tomorrow?

Apparently high-end photo book publishing is a small margin, limited market proposition. Add to that situation the fact that both publishers and bookstores are quick to pull the plug on anything that isn't jumping off the shelves, essentially a quick hair-trigger cut-your-losses trip to the discount bin for any book that is not cutting its $$$ per sq. ft. return rate.

While that may be bad news for the picture maker and the publisher, it's good news for me (as long as the publishers keep on publishing). I can't remember when was the last time I paid full sticker for a photo book. This deep discount situation has allowed me to grow my photo book collection to over 100 titles (and counting) - an educational / learning resource more valuable than any picture making gear I have ever owned.

That said, there is an interesting aside relative to photo book sales. Taschen, the publisher of ROADSIDE AMERICA, has a fair number of limited edition photo books listed on its website. Some, like the LaChapelle, Artists and Prostitutes, are limited to 2,500 copies at $4,500.00US per copy. That limited edition book is SOLD OUT, as are many of other the limited edition books.

Just in case you're interested, one limited edition book which is not sold out is Helmet Newton's SUMO. You can pick up 1 of the 10,000 copies for a mere $15,000.00US. The book is billed as The biggest and most expensive book production in the 20th century.

I believe it, but you can also believe that I will not be purchasing one, even it does end up in a 50% OFF discount bin.

*You can view the entire contents of the book by clicking on the Leaf through! link in the upper right area (under the book cover picture) of the publisher's web page.

FYI, this entertaining book is not so much a book about photography as it is a book about an aspect of disappearing segment of American culture. The pictures are as close to point-and-shoot, here-it-is, what-you-see-is-what-you-get picture making as it gets in a photo book. Somewhere in the book's text, one of the writers makes a connection between Margolies' pictures and similar pictures made by Walker Evans and there is some truth in that. However, I think I am quite rooted on terra firma when I state that Margolies is no Walker Evans.

It is a good book, nevertheless. The pictures really do drive home the notion of how Corporate-America-homogenized American culture has become - Big Mac, anyone?