A Rare Look at Iconic News Photos Along With Original Editors’ Notes
A fascinating collection of iconic photos printed for newspapers complete with original editors’ notes has gone on exhibit in New York.
The prints show a wide range of historical and newsworthy events like the suffragist movement, the detonation of the atomic bomb, and the Vietnam War among many other events.
But just as interesting are the notes on the back of the prints from editors debating on the ethics of the photo such as Saigon Execution taken by AP photographer Eddie Adams. A note on the back of the brutal photo asks: “Too violent?”
The prints in the exhibit are “far from pristine” because they have been handled and contain artifacts associated with a 20th-century newsroom such as crop lines, grease pencil markings, date stamps, credit information, and other background notes.
The collection of almost 250 prints was assembled by Dan Solomon and Howard Greenberg. Solomon’s association with the prints are thanks to his work digitizing the archives of publications like The New York Times, Time-Life, and The San Francisco Examiner.
Solomon was initially inspired by the shocking 1963 image of a self-immolating monk in Saigon by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Malcolm Browne. Solomon turned over a print of the iconic image and noticed numerous stamps and information on the back.
“The print had a presence and the aura of a powerful object connected to history and the dissemination of information. I immediately asked how I could see more,” Solomon says in a press release.
“This collection of iconic images includes many rare and important prints and is distinguished from all others,” adds Howard Greenberg. “We had the good fortune to be able to acquire important first and second generation ‘press’ prints at a time when certain archives were beginning to sell photos from their files.”
Extra! Extra!: News Photographs from 1903-1975 is on now at the Howard Greenberg Gallery in Manhattan until November 16.