Through narrative and previously unknown nineteenth century. This prizewinning book tells the intertwined stories of photography and the american west a new medium and. Sandweiss is the author of numerous works on western american history and the history of photography, including print the legend. Traces the secret double life of a nineteenthcentury scientist and surveyor of the postcivil war american west, revealing the mixed heritage that enabled him to cross color lines and conduct a second existence as a black pullman porter and steelworker with an africanamerican wife and five multiracial children.
Sandweiss professor of history, 6 dickinson hall, princeton university, princeton, nj 085441017. Photography and the american west by sandweiss, martha a. Photography and the american west, a cultural history of photography in the american west. Horn lecture in western history and culture, presented by the unm department. Print the legend might well be called martha sandweisss magnum opus, so brilliantly does it demonstrate the power of locating photographic history in the social, political, and economic contexts that created visual images and that provided the setting for their interpretation. She reveals the complexity of a man who while publicly espousing a personal dream of a uniquely american race, an amalgam of white and black, hid his love for his wife, ada, and their five biracial children. A gilded age tale of love and deception across the color line ebook written by martha a. Sandweiss is professor of history at princeton university. This passionate and compassionate book is closer to historiography how historians do their work than to history.
Print the legend is an impressive contribution on multiple planes, for martha sandweiss not only recounts the complex history of the use of photography in the american west between 1840 and 1890, she also guides both the general reader and historian alike in the process of rethinking how we interpret and utilize photography. Sandweiss, 9780300103151, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Print the legend belongs on that short shelf of essential books about the american west. Passing strange is one of those books with precisely the right title. Photography and the american west won the ray allen billington prize from the organization of american historians for the best book in american frontier history. Reviews in american history print the legend might well be called martha sandweiss s magnum opus, so brilliantly does it demonstrate the power of locating photographic history in the social, political, and economic contexts that created. Sandweiss is a historian of the united states, with particular interests in the history of the american west, visual culture, and public history.
Sandweiss at princeton university is an expert in american history, history of the american west, photography, public history, u. Sandweiss writes that as early as the eighteensixties daguerreotypes, album plates, and glass lantern slides encouraged railroad barons and realestate developers to plot their next moves. Desolate flatlands were paired with optimistic text, depicting a visual story that affirmed and expanded the central. Photography and the american west, the author introduces her book as a story about photography and the american. This is one of those remarkable, compelling books that comes along only when a distinguished scholar meets a great subject. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read passing strange. Sandweisss print the legend is a magnificent work and a definitive synthesis of the nineteenthcentury wests photographic visual culture. The organization of american historians has given the ray allen billington prize to martha a. Martha sandweisss work remains at the forefront of scholarship on photography in the region.
She began her career as a museum curator and taught for twenty years at amherst college. This book tells the intertwined stories of photography and the american. While most histories of photography focus on its aesthetic evolution, two works link technological changes in the medium to the content of images. Pdf download by martha a sandweiss print the legend. Sandweiss has 15 books on goodreads with 2434 ratings. Professor martha sandweiss discussed her book print the legend. It is indeed a story about passing, in every sense of the term, and historian martha sandweiss tells it with a scholars rigor and a storytellers verve. Photography and the american west, published by yale university press. Sandweisss posts on the penguin blog the secret double life of the man who mapped the american west, and the woman he loved clarence king was a late nineteenthcentury celebrity, a brilliant scientist and explorer once described by secretary of state john hay as the best and brightest of his generation. A gilded age tale of love and deception across the color line martha a. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Photography and the american west 9780300095227 by sandweiss, martha a. Photography and the american west the lamar series in western history 9780300103151.
Sandweiss unearths a compelling tale of secret racial identity. Photography and the american west by martha sandweiss. Sandweiss is a historian and professor of history at princeton, with a focus on public history and the american west. Here, the author explains how the work of frontier photographers affected americans in the nineteenth century by showing them images of dramatic landscapes, native peoples, the. Print the legend is an impressive contribution on multiple planes, for martha sandweiss not only recounts the complex history of the use of. Pdf download by martha a sandweiss print the legend photography and the american west hardcover pdf full ebook.
Photography and the american west, in which she recounts the evolution. Print the legend shows how the first photos of the american west were cropped and captioned to embellish the stories and myths that drew the pioneers westward. Photography and the american west the lamar series in western history new ed by sandweiss, martha a. She is the author of numerous works on western american history and the history of photography, including print the legend. Sandweiss begins by discussing the limited uses of daguerrotypes as intermediaries for other forms of visual information in the context of the mexicanamerican war and the unfolding western landscape. Desolate flatlands were paired with optimistic text, depicting a visual story that affirmed and expanded the central fictions of nineteenthcentury western history. Martha sandweiss has produced a fascinating and important volume, richly deserving the ray billington prize awarded by the organization of american historians. Martha sandweiss is the author of several books, including print the legend. Photography and the american west sandweiss, martha a. Sandweiss research and teaching focus on 19thcentury u. Sandweiss is the first writer to uncover the life that king tried so hard to conceal from the public eye. She posits two ways to think of how we interpret and use photographs. Professor martha sandweiss talks about her book, print the legend. April 30, 2003 director of media relations 45428417.
Print the legend is an insightful study of the codevelopment of photography and the image of the american west. Girl kid child frozen elsa anna pink necklace bracelet set xmas birthday gift. A gilded age tale of love and deception across the color line. Sandweisss print the legend is a magnificent work and a definitive synthesis of the. Passing strange is not only a lesson in the intricacies of class, race, and gender relations. This prizewinning book tells the intertwined stories of photography and the american westa new medium and a new place that came of age. Sandweiss has given us a truly memorable book, written with clarity and grace and superbly illustrated.
An interview with martha sandweiss in which she discusses her book passing strange, a biography of clarence king who lived a double life as the celebrated white. Most collections of western photographs ask us to look at images from the past. One thread follows the history of photography as a medium from the daguerreotype era of the 1840s, through the bulky glassplate era beginning in the late 1850s. Sandweiss serves on the governing boards of the organization of american historians and the american antiquarian. Sandweiss calls readers to listen to the stories that swirl around those images. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. The best historians make the commonplace new and strange. Sandweiss does that in print the legend, her extraordinary journey into the photographs of the american west. Photography and the american west, winner of the organization of american historians ray allen. Photography and the american west new haven, conn yale university press, 2002. Sandweiss, professor of american studies and history at amherst college for print the legend.