SCHNEIDER (I. L.) Primitive Masks. Photographs and text by I - Lot 275

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SCHNEIDER (I. L.) Primitive Masks. Photographs and text by I - Lot 275
SCHNEIDER (I. L.) Primitive Masks. Photographs and text by I. L. Schneider. Paris, Les Îles d'Or, Librairie Plon, 1951. In-8, paperback, illustrated black-and-white cover, title printed in red and black, 14 pages of text followed by 32 photographic plates in heliogravure, mostly full-page, with descriptive captions. First edition. The bibliography of the Jacques Malgorn collection confirms the colophon of 14 p. + 32 pl. and its inclusion in the “Psyché” series. An interesting photographic monograph devoted to masks in the traditional arts of the world, published in 1951. Schneider is both the author of the text and the photographer. The book is not limited to Africa: the plates feature masks from Central and West Africa—notably from the Belgian Congo, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria—as well as examples from other civilizations in Asia and elsewhere. The first plate reproduced in your copy is thus devoted to an imposing Baluba mask from the Belgian Congo; the captions also mention the Dan, the Yoruba, Japan, Ladakh, etc. The book’s main appeal lies in its remarkable series of 32 black-and-white photographs, reproduced as photogravures and mostly in full-page format. The bibliographic sources consulted describe this edition as the first and likely only edition. Published in the early 1950s, at a pivotal moment in Europe’s reception of African and non-European arts, this volume is a fine addition to a library devoted to primitive arts, ethnography, and the history of object photography. A good copy. The original cover is intact, though slightly yellowed and sun-faded, with a few small marks and stains, particularly on the upper part of the front cover. Corners are slightly rounded. The spine and stitching appear sturdy. The interior is very clean and well-preserved; the plates display beautiful contrasts.
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