Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography in America by Burns, Stanley B - 1990

Altadena, CA: Twelvetrees Press, 1990. Hardcover. SIGNED. First edition, first printing. Fine cloth-bound hardcover with a slightly darkened area to the front board as if exposed to moisture resulting in loss of gilt to bottom of two letters, no other indications, in a Near Fine dust jacket with a touch of shelf wear and a tiny tear at the spine. A nice copy. All dust jackets are protected by a clear mylar cover. BOOKS SHIP THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY, WRAPPED IN PADDING, IN A BOX. A chronological presentation of postmortem American photography from 1840 to 1930. "What emerges is a vivid visual history of the changes in American customs. We can see the change in death concepts and funerary practices, from the image of death as a stark Puritan journey for a sinner to the late Victorian beautification of death and its interpretation as a restful sleep for a redeemed soul." Edited with text by Stanley B. Burns. SIGNED BY BURNS on the title page; no inscription. 140 pages; 76 color reproductions printed recto only, with caption opposite; 9 x 12.25 inches. Extended captions, chronology of death in America, photograph identification by era, bibliography. LAID IN is a postcard advertising the publication of the second volume of memorial photos. Due to size and weight, international and expedited shipping will be more than quoted.