Edward Weston's Daybooks, what's missing?

[Tony Egan]

it's a shame that there's not a really good one of Weston, Strand, or Cartier-Bresson.

I read quite a good biography of HCB last January - one of those thoughtful Christmas presents... Quite a good job for a notoriously private man. Written by another Frenchman, there are some cultural references and "in jokes" that I did not fully appreciate (and promised myself to research further some day....)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/050051223X/104-4080283-9159151?v=glance&n=283155

 

[Bill Mitchell]

Bill,

The CD and DVD will not be neccesaary in the near future. The Center For Creative Photography is scanning all the Weston images and will have them online for study at some point.

Walker Edmonson

Hi Walker,
Well I do have the big book. It's certainly refreshing to read of your research into Weston and his work. I think that a lot more needs to be written about the relation between Weston and his first wife. As I understand it, she never remarried, and eventually moved to Carmel? to live with/near Neil. Other details of her life (and date of her death) seem to be unknown. In particular her relation to and influence on their four sons should be documented, since she was really responsible for their upbringing most of the time.
I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the on-line scans from CCP. I've got about all the EW books that I can afford (or have room for).

 

[PhotoHistorian]

Hi Walker,
Well I do have the big book. It's certainly refreshing to read of your research into Weston and his work. I think that a lot more needs to be written about the relation between Weston and his first wife. As I understand it, she never remarried, and eventually moved to Carmel? to live with/near Neil. Other details of her life (and date of her death) seem to be unknown. In particular her relation to and influence on their four sons should be documented, since she was really responsible for their upbringing most of the time.
I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the on-line scans from CCP. I've got about all the EW books that I can afford (or have room for).

Hi Bill,
Glad to hear you do have the Big Conger Book. They are a very rare commodity now, so hang on to it. Please to hear you enjoy tidbits about my research. Edward's life and work has taken me all over the country researching the answers to questions and viewing exhibitions.
I agree more needs to be written about Flora May Chandler, Edward's first wife. She really was a wonderful woman. Cole Weston told me she never remarried because despite everything she still loved his Dad. She was a school teacher by profession. And although she did the major part of raising the boys, Edward had a very strong infuence on all of them. The boys "floated," as Cole described it, back and forth between households throughout their youth years. Flora did move to Carmel in her later years. She died there in 1965. There are letters between Edward and Flora in the Weston Archive at the Center For Creative Photography. Unfortunatley I haven't read any of them. The correspondence I have read has a lot of additional information to offer. Hopefully, in time someone, will write a new Weston biography and we can put the Maddow "effort" out to pasture once and for all.
If there are any specific Edward Weston books you would like to read and don't have in your collection, feel free to email me your request and I'll see if I can locate a copy. Between myself and a few other Edward Weston fans I know, we have just about every book ever printed on Edward. I am sure a loan could be arranged.

Walker

 

[Bill Mitchell]

Wow, Walker, what a nice reply. The only one that comes to mind is "My Camera on Point Lobos." Don't think that I've ever even seen a copy. Is it mostly pictures, or a real how-to-do-it like the Adams/Newhall books on Death Valley, Yosemite, etc?
Have you ever considered my original theorem, ie, annotating the Daybooks, or perhaps writing "a guide to the daybooks?"

 

[PhotoHistorian]

Wow, Walker, what a nice reply. The only one that comes to mind is "My Camera on Point Lobos." Don't think that I've ever even seen a copy. Is it mostly pictures, or a real how-to-do-it like the Adams/Newhall books on Death Valley, Yosemite, etc?
Have you ever considered my original theorem, ie, annotating the Daybooks, or perhaps writing "a guide to the daybooks?"

Hi Bill,
I don't have "My Camera On Point Lobos" in my book collection but will check with friends to see if I can locate one for you.
The first edition of "My Camera On Point Lobos" was published in 1950 by Virginia Adams (Ansel Adams' wife)and Houghton Mifflin Co. The edition included 30 photographs and excepts from Edward's Daybooks. I have never seen a copy of this edition.
A second printing took place in 1968 by Da Capo Press. I have seen several copies of this edition and would not consider it good typographically when compared to other books of Edward's work. There is a very heavy "inky" look to the images. When compared to Edward's original prints they are really poor quality reproductions.
The price of first edition copies of "My Camera On Point Lobos" can range from $300-1,000 from most used book dealers.
An annotated version of the Daybooks would be a nice addition to the list of Edward Weston books in print. However, I do not know anyone working on such a project at this time.
Most writers in recent years have selected specific collections or periods in Edward's career to write about. Such as: "Margrethe Mather and Edward Weston: A Passionate Collaboration" (Edward's Pictorial Period); "The Last Year In Carmel" (Edward's Post Guggenheim Period); "In Focus Edward Weston: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection"; and "Weston's Weston: California and the West" (Photographs from the Lane Collection).
But Edward Weston continues to fascinate. Don't be surprised if an annotated edition of the Daybooks appears sometime. The first edition of the Daybooks appeared in 1961 and they have been published every few years since then. All have followed the Nancy Newhall edited version. Perhaps someone will re-look at the entire Daybooks and come up with a new version.

Walker

 

[Bill Mitchell]

Thanks, Walker. But it doesn't sound like it would be worth going to the trouble. I'm sure that I've seen most of the images, and have read the Daybooks.
I've just ordered the Billy Justema book on Margarete Mather, and hope that it will keep me busy for a while.
Please feel free to contact me directly to continue our dialogue. bmitch at comcast dot net.
Bill