“How to Make Good Pictures”: Manuals and the Popularization of Amateur Photography
May 16–July 30, 2012
Mezzanine, The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building
Amateur photography is integral to the history of the medium. Beginning in photography’s early years, handbooks, manuals, and instructional films played a key role in its popularization. This exhibition examines how several types of manuals promoted amateur photography of the pre-digital era. These include early technical manuals by amateurs, promotional manuals by manufacturers, tutorials by major modern artists, specialty how-to books, and vintage instructional films.
Organized by Jennifer Tobias, Reader Services Librarian, MoMA Library.
Image: Cover detail, Kodakery: A Journal for Amateur Photographers 7, no. 9 (May 1920)