Karsh Portfolio

by Yousuf Karsh

1967 signed first edition, Thomas Nelson and Sons (London), 9 7/8 x 12 1/4 inches tall beige cloth hardcover in publisher's unclipped dust jacket, black design to front cover, black lettering to spine, copiously illustrated with brilliant reproductions of Karsh's black-and-white photographs, 202 pp. Very slight soiling and rubbing to covers. Nicely signed by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) on the blank front free-endpaper. Otherwise, a very good to near fine copy - clean, bright and unmarked - in a slightly rubbed and creased dust jacket with a couple of short closed edge tears but which is nicely preserved and displayed in a clear archival Brodart sleeve.  Authenticity of signature guaranteed in perpetuity. 

Yousuf Karsh was an Armenian-Canadian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals. He has been described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. An Armenian genocide survivor, Karsh migrated to Canada as a refugee. By the 1930s he established himself as a significant photographer in Ottawa, where he lived most of his adult life, though he traveled extensively for work. His iconic 1941 photograph of Winston Churchill was a breakthrough point in his career, through which he took numerous photos of known political leaders, men and women of arts and sciences. Over 20 photos by Karsh appeared on the cover of Life magazine, until he retired in 1993.