The Declaration of Independence

NY: Limited Editions Club, 2010. Frank, Robert. Folio. 37pp. One of 500 copies, signed by Frank and David Armitage, who contributed the Afterword. A single photogravure reproduction of Robert Frank's photograph "Jay, New York" (1954) adorns this edition of the United States Declaration of Independence. On its surface, the image captures the nostalgia and national pride characteristic of 1950s America. A massive American flag blankets most of the scene, with playful children, men in earnest conversation, and coiffed women in cardigans framing it. However, upon closer inspection the scene grows surreal and broaches the uncomfortable. The flag shows patches and a significant tear; it conceals some figures while highlighting others; it ultimately dominates the composition of the photograph, pushing aside the people at its fringes. The duality Frank imbues into his photograph mirrors that found in one of the United States' most valuable founding documents. Written with hope and promise, the Declaration of Independence was as riddled with shortcomings as progressive and revolutionary ideals. Like the flag, it has embraced as much as it has denied, but its bright promises have given it a nuanced longevity. Bound in full blue cloth with leather inlay bearing title in gilt. Housed in a suede-lined clamshell box. Very fine.