Rare Vintage Ansel Adams Original Print with integral poem by Witter Byner Start Price USD 5,000.00 Current Price USD 5,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 1 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, August 24, 2008 End Time Sunday, August 31, 2008 Location Columbus, Ohio See more about 'Rare Vintage Ansel Adams Original Print' Description ANSEL ADAMS ORIGINAL PRINT WITH INTEGRAL POEM BY WITTER BYNER A rare vintage print of extreme beauty by one of the Masters of 20th century photography "Wistaria"This print was discovered in the estate of an acquaintance of Ansel Adams. The package for sale includes the print and poem (the print is dry-mounted on the vellum paper on which the poem is printed), a description of the print's provenance by the owner of the studio that sold it, and a letter dated 12-31-77 from Mr. Adams to the studio owner providing background on the work. Click here to view a scan of Mr. Adam's letter. Mr. Adams guessed that the date of this print was 1928 or 1929, and characterized it as "quite rare". It is unlikely you will ever again see an Ansel Adams print for sale which includes his personal description of the circumstances surrounding its creation. The Archivist of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona characterized this print as "not one-of-a-kind, but certainly a rare Adams". This is a must-have for serious collectors of early Adams work. Keep in mind that this print was not made by an apprentice or assistant years after the photograph was taken (as many were). This print was made by the hand of the master himself. Specifications: Overall size (print plus poem): 14 X 9 1/2 inches Print Size: 7 3/4 X 5 3/4 inches Type: Black and white "Parmelian" print Condition: Overall excellent. A few very slight crinkles exist in the parchment-type paper in the area of the poem, but these will probably go unnoticed after proper matting and framing. The slight greenish tinge at the bottom of my scans of the print are a scanning artifact (I think I let a little outside light in, sorry). When eyeballed, the print looks fabulous. Status: Currently unframed and archivally stored in acid-free folder. Package Contents: - Print (as described above) - Poem "Wistaria", attributed to Adam's friend Witter Bynner (integral with print, poem printed by John Henry Nash) - Signed letter from Ansel Adams (written on back of fold-out card with "Half Dome, Merced River, Winter" Photolithographic print on reverse. Click here to view - Print description by studio owner Gary Smith to estate holder Click here to view - Original envelope for signed letter Click here to view The photograph is nearly heart-stopping, and perfectly captures the serenity, elegance, and dark mystery of this stately vista. It has an incredible tonal range, with details visible in both the lightest and darkest areas of the print. It is a wonderful example of Adam's ability to wait for the perfect light necessary to catch the ethereal quality of his subjects, and displays the mastery of darkroom technique that infuses his entire body of work. And remember, this photograph was taken in his early years, at age 26 or 27, well before most of his more mass-produced works of the national parks. It is also considered a vintage work because the prints were made soon after the negative was exposed (as opposed to years later, the case with many Ansel Adams prints). Moreover, this work qualifies as a piece of California regional history. It is of Mrs. Sigmund Stern's country home in Atherton (Click link to letter above for details), and was done at the request of Albert M. Bender, a prominent San Franciscan and Adam's mentor and patron at that time. A larger scan of the photograph (1440 X 1049 pixels) can be viewed here, but keep in mind that a scanned image simply can't do this work justice. The larger scan is about one-half megabyte and will take a few moments to download, depending on your system and connection speed. The scan is best viewed in true-color mode at the highest resolution your system can support. Other copies of this print must certainly exist, but the only one I'm aware of is in the archives of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. It is listed in the "Vintage Early Work" section of the Ansel Adams Photograph Collection as follows: 84:090:722 [wisteria, Atherton, California], ca. 1927-29 (mounted inside folio sheet imprinted with poem "Wistaria" [sic] by Witter Bynner) 14.7 x 20.1 cm As you can see, the print and poem are lovely and the provenance is astoundingly well documented. Bidding starts at $5,000 with no reserve. Serious bidders only, please. Check my feedback and bid with confidence. Good bidding and good luck! Additional Notes: I'm posting this for my brother-in-law and his wife, who currently reside in NYC with their two beautiful children and this beautiful Ansel Adams print. She received the print from the estate of her great-uncle, a native Californian. This package will ship directly from them in NYC, probably using UPS or FEDEX 2nd day air. It will be securely packaged and fully insured. I'm adding a $80 charge for S&H plus insurance, if it's more than that I will absorb it. International shipping will be $120. Contact me before payment if you have different ideas for shipping this. For this auction I will accept payment only by Paypal or cashier's check. No returns. PayPal—eBay's service to make fast, easy, and secure payments for your eBay purchases! Place a Bid!