Moments Preserved by Irving Penn, Signed First Edition

This is a signed first edition, first printing of the Irving Penn’s first and most famous photobook “Moments Preserved” published by Simon and Schuster, New York, in 1960. Subtitled “Eight Essays in Photographs and Words”, “Moments Preserved” gathers Penn’s vast variety of enthusiasm – mostly for the vast variety of humanity – and slots them into categories by nationality: the French, the Italians, the English, and the Americans. Though most of these sections include fashion studies, still lifes, and the impressionist scents, they have in common the photographer’s deftly understated portraits, printed here in subtlest gravure. Penn reinvented the classic daylight studio portrait for a more casual time, undercutting its formality but heightening its potential as a revealing performance. (Vince Aletti from “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century”)

Measuring approximately 13.5” x 10”, the book is bound in beige cloth covered boards with a printed dust jacket protected by a mylar cover and is housed in a photographically illustrated laminated cardboard slipcase. The book is in FINE condition with a neat gift inscription on the inside board under the dust jacket flap. The dust jacket is in FINE condition with very superficial soiling. The slip case is in Very Good+ condition with some surface and corner wear as well as some minor soiling to the back to the slipcase. Overall, this is a very collectible signed copy of a classic photobook.

The book has been boldly signed and dated by Irving Penn on the first free endpaper and is inscribed to the famous art dealer, Mark Kelman.

Cited in “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Roth

Photographs of the book and slipcase, signature page, and stock images contained in the book appear in the listing photograph. Additional photographs that highlight the major slipcase issues appear in the photo section of the listing.