Books on the History of Photography?

[Michael Heald]

Hello! Thank you for the suggestions. I'll start with Newhall's book for an overview. Best regards.

Mike

[tim atherton]

To supplement the main texts, there are also many good books that follow the offshoot branches

such as Rosenblum's "History of Women Photographers"

or Anne Wilkes Tuckers "The History of Japanese Photography".

all equally fascinating

[paulr]

150 years of photography is a beautiful book. kind of an abbridged catalog of photgography from the beginning to the 80s.

I still would not consider the Newhall book to be an "overview." Today it's really just of scholarly interest, to see what the state of photo history was way back when. These newer texts (like rosenblum) are probably a much better bet, but I can't vouch for them personally.

[Mike Lopez]

I'll add "Looking at Photographs," by John Szarkowski. Not only will you be treated to Szarkowski's writing (he is my favorite photographic writer of all I've encountered), you will get a very broad introduction to the workings of 100 different photographers from history.

[paulr]

I love "Looking at Photographs." Not so much as a history but as a celebration of looking itself.

[Mike Lopez]

That book is a gem. I thoroughly enjoy Szarkowski's writing. I hope he continues for a long time.

[Mark Sampson]

When you've gotten through the basics (and there's been some books mentioned I'll have to read now that I know about them), I'd also suggest the anthology "Photographers on Photography". It was edited by Nathan Lyons and first published in the '60s. Another pioneering work, it gives you the writing of the practitioners themselves- often a useful contrast to how the historians look at the subject.