HCB riddle

snusmumriken · Dec 11, 2022

I have a copy of Henri Cartier Bresson: Photographer (Thames and Hudson 1980). It’s a collection of 155 photos selected by HCB himself. The photos are divided into 6 sections, separated by whole blank pages. It has been bugging me for nearly 40 years now that I cannot figure out what the significance of those 6 sections is. They are not chronological and I cannot discern any connecting theme within each section.

Does anyone else own this book and have the answer?

Sirius Glass · Dec 11, 2022

snusmumriken said:
I have a copy of Henri Cartier Bresson: Photographer (Thames and Hudson 1980). It’s a collection of 155 photos selected by HCB himself. The photos are divided into 6 sections, separated by whole blank pages. It has been bugging me for nearly 40 years now that I cannot figure out what the significance of those 6 sections is. They are not chronological and I cannot discern any connecting theme within each section.

Does anyone else own this book and have the answer?

I have the same book and it beats the $#!+ out of me.

Alex Benjamin · Dec 11, 2022

snusmumriken said:
I have a copy of Henri Cartier Bresson: Photographer (Thames and Hudson 1980). It’s a collection of 155 photos selected by HCB himself. The photos are divided into 6 sections, separated by whole blank pages. It has been bugging me for nearly 40 years now that I cannot figure out what the significance of those 6 sections is. They are not chronological and I cannot discern any connecting theme within each section.

Does anyone else own this book and have the answer?

The original French edition dates from 1979 and has just been reissued by Delpire (https://delpireandco.com/produit/photographe/). I'd be curious to know if it's also divided the same way. It features a foreword by French poet Yves Bonnefoy.

The Guardian recently did a feature on the new edition: https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...n-photographe-new-edition-french-photographer

If you're intrigued, you can always write to someone at Delpire.

Richard Man · Dec 11, 2022

snusmumriken said:
I have a copy of Henri Cartier Bresson: Photographer (Thames and Hudson 1980). It’s a collection of 155 photos selected by HCB himself. The photos are divided into 6 sections, separated by whole blank pages. It has been bugging me for nearly 40 years now that I cannot figure out what the significance of those 6 sections is. They are not chronological and I cannot discern any connecting theme within each section.

Does anyone else own this book and have the answer?

A quick look through with random guesses:
1 - Decisive moments
3 - Foreign countries
4 - vertical things that form composition
6 - urban/suburbia

Probably wrong after careful analysis

snusmumriken · Dec 12, 2022

The multi-quote tool isn't working for me this morning, but thanks to all three of you. It's good to know that the answer isn't completely obvious!

It was helpful to learn about the re-issue by Delpire. This morning I have sent an enquiry to Fondation HCB, in the hope that they might have someone on staff or among their associates who knows the answer. They are presumably in contact with Delpire anyway. I'll report back if I hear anything helpful.

nmp · Dec 12, 2022

snusmumriken said:
The multi-quote tool isn't working for me this morning, but thanks to all three of you. It's good to know that the answer isn't completely obvious!

It was helpful to learn about the re-issue by Delpire. This morning I have sent an enquiry to Fondation HCB, in the hope that they might have someone on staff or among their associates who knows the answer. They are presumably in contact with Delpire anyway. I'll report back if I hear anything helpful.

I don't have the exact book, but I have the "The Early Work" published by MOMA. So I checked. Sure enough - it also has these blank pages in between. Nothing in the book gives a clue as to what it is supposed to signify. It is not by the year as within each set there are multiple years. Not place either although some from the same place are bunched together, but not exclusively within a set.

Probably not important. Just the printer deciding to add pages so they can charge more...

:Niranjan.

David Lingham · Dec 12, 2022

snusmumriken said:
I have a copy of Henri Cartier Bresson: Photographer (Thames and Hudson 1980). It’s a collection of 155 photos selected by HCB himself. The photos are divided into 6 sections, separated by whole blank pages. It has been bugging me for nearly 40 years now that I cannot figure out what the significance of those 6 sections is. They are not chronological and I cannot discern any connecting theme within each section.

Does anyone else own this book and have the answer?

I would guess this might be due the nature of the printing process. The total number of pages in a book has be divisible be either 8,16 or 32 for a book imposition to work. If the publisher and the designer had to work with a set number of selected images by HCB for each section, it would probably have made sense in order that the images remained in their correct section to fill the imposition with blanks to make up the required number of pages. In doing this it would also keep all the pictures from a section on one press sheet making it easier for the printer to balance the images on the press. This is only a suggestion but a possible answer without having seen the book.

BrianShaw · Dec 12, 2022

Perhaps those blank pages are intended to be opportunities for the reader to quietly reflect upon what was just read.

nmp · Dec 12, 2022

BrianShaw said:
Perhaps those blank pages are intended to be opportunities for the reader to quietly reflect upon what was just read.

They didn't figure someone will be bugged for 40 years because of that....

snusmumriken · Dec 12, 2022

David Lingham said:
I would guess this might be due the nature of the printing process. The total number of pages in a book has be divisible be either 8,16 or 32 for a book imposition to work. If the publisher and the designer had to work with a set number of selected images by HCB for each section, it would probably have made sense in order that the images remained in their correct section to fill the imposition with blanks to make up the required number of pages. In doing this it would also keep all the pictures from a section on one press sheet making it easier for the printer to balance the images on the press. This is only a suggestion but a possible answer without having seen the book.

That crossed my mind too, but the sections have respectively 34, 30, 34, 11, 20, and 26 photos (=pages).
Even taking into account the title page, introduction and end notes, I don't think that explaination works.
In any case, why not put in 6 extra photos? It's not as though he didn't have others too choose from!

David Lingham · Dec 12, 2022

snusmumriken said:
That crossed my mind too, but the sections have respectively 34, 30, 34, 11, 20, and 26 photos (=pages).
Even taking into account the title page, introduction and end notes, I don't think that explaination works.
In any case, why not put in 6 extra photos? It's not as though he didn't have others too choose from!

Jonathan

As I said it was only a suggestion, but one based on nearly 50yrs of working in the printing industry. I have seen this kind of scenario especially with a large scale photographic book. If the photographer has only chosen a certain number of images that isn’t enough to fill a pagination section, and specified the mood be retained and that they appear in individually themed sections, then blank pages will be added to make life easier on the press. I see that the book in question is over 40+yrs old, with modern printing technology you probably wouldn’t need to do this today as it is easier to maintain a balance and uniformity between different press sheets, something that probably wasn’t easy to achieve when this book was printed.

David

NB23 · Dec 12, 2022

(moderator's deletion of off-topic reference to unrelated politics}

Maybe 6 different films used?
6 different Printers?

No idea, don’t have the book.

jeffreyg · Dec 12, 2022

David Lingham's explanation sounds reasonable to me. I've made several hand-made books and printed the pages through my computer on double sided paper so each sheet folded in half makes four pages. I have noticed in recent years that many books have one image printed across two adjacent pages perhaps as a work around or fad? Personally, I prefer one image per page.

A side note: some years ago while on a trip to Paris my wife and I were in the HCB institute and met the director. We struck up a conversation and he asked if we would like to meet Mr Bresson. He was going to take us to his apartment but Mr Bresson couldn't make it at such short notice and suggested the next day but unfortunately we were leaving the next day. As is said "what a difference a day makes".

ABOUT | JEFFREY GLASSER

HOME | SCULPTURE and PHOTOGRAPHY

Sirius Glass · Dec 12, 2022

I always got a laugh out of documents that have pages with "This page intentionally left blank" printed on it, because the page is obviously not blank.

snusmumriken · Dec 19, 2022

I have just received the following kind reply from the Fondation HCB.

<<
Dear Jonathan Reynolds,

I appreciate your enthusiasm for this book.

This book was made by the publisher Robert Delpire. Indeed the sections are not chronological, the choice is aesthetic. The continuity of the images should be pleasing for the eye. There is no other explanation.

In the republished book, the sections remain.

All my best,

Léa Thouin
Collections
Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
79 rue des Archives - 75003 Paris
www.henricartierbresson.org
>>

I really appreciate that they have replied at all. But I have to say, I remain puzzled. In what sense there is continuity of the images still baffles me. I don't see why sections are necessary at all if continuity is the aim. Nor do I see why those sections vary in length from 11 to 34 photos: there must have been a reason for that.

Ah well, perhaps I just have to let it go.

Vaughn · Dec 19, 2022

snusmumriken said:
This book was made by the publisher Robert Delpire. Indeed the sections are not chronological, the choice is aesthetic. The continuity of the images should be pleasing for the eye. There is no other explanation.
...

Ah well, perhaps I just have to let it go.

Exactly. Blank pages are rest areas used aesthetically. And the book design has work brilliently in this case if someone is still thinking about them 4 decades later. Very successful!

Great photographic books are not catalogs, but works of art themselves.

Paul Ozzello · Dec 19, 2022

Not to hijack this thread but if anyone is in Switzerland there’s a phenomenal exhibit of HCB at the Gianadda museum in Martigny.

Sirius Glass · Dec 19, 2022

snusmumriken said:
I have just received the following kind reply from the Fondation HCB.

<<
Dear Jonathan Reynolds,

I appreciate your enthusiasm for this book.

This book was made by the publisher Robert Delpire. Indeed the sections are not chronological, the choice is aesthetic. The continuity of the images should be pleasing for the eye. There is no other explanation.

In the republished book, the sections remain.

All my best,

Léa Thouin
Collections
Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
79 rue des Archives - 75003 Paris
www.henricartierbresson.org
>>

I really appreciate that they have replied at all. But I have to say, I remain puzzled. In what sense there is continuity of the images still baffles me. I don't see why sections are necessary at all if continuity is the aim. Nor do I see why those sections vary in length from 11 to 34 photos: there must have been a reason for that.

Ah well, perhaps I just have to let it go.

I am still confused so I will just walk around in circles and mutter to myself. At least that way I will be talking to a more intelligent audience.

gone · Dec 19, 2022

Like others have said, it's probably an issue w/ the printer. The wife and I had all sorts of problems w/ them changing things from what we wanted and what we sent them. In the end we self published. It was a small batch Hawaii publication called Island Profiles. Featured every month were a different Big Island writer/poet/photographer etc. Loads of fun even if we lost a little money, and it looked and read just how we wanted it to.

It's like the old saying: If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Alex Benjamin · Dec 19, 2022

snusmumriken said:
Ah well, perhaps I just have to let it go.

Remember, Cartier-Bresson was close to André Breton and influenced by the whole Surrealist movement.

I wouldn't overthink this.

Sirius Glass · Dec 19, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
Remember, Cartier-Bresson was close to André Breton and influenced by the whole Surrealist movement.

I wouldn't overthink this.

So the sections in the book are surreal ... I will have to sleep on that ...

jtk · Dec 27, 2022

jtk said:
View attachment 324980

jtk · Dec 27, 2022

A Surreal Friendship • Henri Cartier-Bresson • Magnum Photos Magnum Photos

How Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Henri Cartier-Bresson riffed on each other’s practices

www.magnumphotos.com

redbandit · Dec 28, 2022

jeffreyg said:
David Lingham's explanation sounds reasonable to me. I've made several hand-made books and printed the pages through my computer on double sided paper so each sheet folded in half makes four pages. I have noticed in recent years that many books have one image printed across two adjacent pages perhaps as a work around or fad? Personally, I prefer one image per page.

A side note: some years ago while on a trip to Paris my wife and I were in the HCB institute and met the director. We struck up a conversation and he asked if we would like to meet Mr Bresson. He was going to take us to his apartment but Mr Bresson couldn't make it at such short notice and suggested the next day but unfortunately we were leaving the next day. As is said "what a difference a day makes".

ABOUT | JEFFREY GLASSER

HOME | SCULPTURE and PHOTOGRAPHY

1 image printed on two consecutive pages like in a normal magazine...

its easy, if they printed on one page, they would need to do a fullsize pullout page.. no profit there. And having it across two pages, prevents people from cutting it out and framing it due to the dual pages

Alex Benjamin · Dec 28, 2022

jtk said:
A Surreal Friendship • Henri Cartier-Bresson • Magnum Photos Magnum Photos

How Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Henri Cartier-Bresson riffed on each other’s practices

www.magnumphotos.com

Thanks for this. Has one of the best description of the oft-misunderstood "Decisive moment": "...the irrational unconscious making itself known in the split second that a photograph is taken."

People don't realize, or plain don't know, how close HCB was to the Surrealists.

HCB riddle

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