Robert Frank — Der Photograph — du Magazine No. 251 (January 1962), Early Film & Photography Issue

Description

One of the earliest and richest period profiles of Robert Frank, this January 1962 issue of the Swiss arts magazine du is devoted entirely to Frank’s photographs and films. Appearing only three years after The Americans detonated its way into photographic history, the issue captures Frank at a pivotal moment—restless, transitioning into filmmaking, and pushing further into the emotional, improvisational visual language that would define his later work. The magazine includes extensive image sequences from Pull My Daisy and The Sin of Jesus, along with now-classic photographs from Coney Island, London, Wales, New York, South Carolina, and Florida. Texts are in German, including an important essay by Hugo Loetscher on Frank’s filmmaking.

This issue remains one of the key ephemeral documents for serious Frank collectors: it predates his 1969 Lines of My Hand, predates the major MoMA retrospectives, and stands as the first substantial European magazine treatment of his film work. Beautifully printed in du’s signature gravure-like tones, with generous full-page plates and multi-image grids. Essential for collectors of Frank, Beat cinema, and 20th-century photojournalism.

A scarce early study of Robert Frank’s photography and film work—an uncommon magazine issue that belongs in any serious Frank collection.