JAMES & OTHER APES: PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES MOLLISON by Mollison, James (Photographer) & Goodall, Jane (Contributor) - 2005

London, England: Chris Boot/Archive Of Modern Conflict, 2005. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. London, England: Chris Boot/Archive Of Modern Conflict, 2005. Hardcover. Fine/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. 115 pages. Collection of color portrait-photographs. One of the most beautiful photography books of our time. The 2005 First Edition Thus. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the 2009 Reissued Edition. The First Edition Thus is now scarce. A brilliant production by James Mollison and Chris Boot: Regular-sized volume format. Glossy pictorial hard boards with titles on the spine, as issued. Photographs by James Mollison. Essay by the great primatologist Jane Goodall. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper by EBS in Verona, Italy to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents James Mollison's "James & Other Apes". Extreme closeup portraits of our great relatives that consciously mimic Christian Boltanski's and Ken Ohara's iconic photo-ID work on human beings, with a brilliant twist. "Here are fifty great apes - chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos, our closest biological relatives. Photographed over a span of four years in seven ape sanctuaries (Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Germany, and the United States), they are mainly orphans, victims of the illicit trade in 'bushmeat'. Djeke, Fizi, Gregoire, the eponymous James, Koto, and others are all photographed as unique individuals while representing species whose survival is under threat. The faces that look back at us also raise profound moral and scientific questions, including what we mean when we define ourselves as 'human' " (Publisher's blurb). "I hope that 'James & Other Apes' will stimulate thinking and help people to understand better our place in nature. For many, it will be a humbling experience. We are different from other animals (as they are different from each other), but not as different as we think" (Jane Goodall). The "passport-ID" photographic aesthetic (brilliantly deployed by Boltanski and Ohara) is adapted by Mollison to stunning effect, and with moving results. An absolute "must-have" title for James Mollison collectors. <b><i> This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by James Mollison. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. He also drew an ape drawing beside his signature. This title is a contemporary photography classic. This is one of few such signed copies (with original drawing) of the First Edition Thus/First Printing (2005) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. A rare signed copy thus. </b></i> 50 color plates. One of the most brilliant photographers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO ROBIN SCHWARTZ "LIKE US: PRIMATE PORTRAITS" TITLE IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0954689437.