Indian Circus. Photographs by Mary Ellen Mark. Foreword by John Irving. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1993. 107 pp. Quarto. First printing. Inscribed on half-title page, "For ____/Fondly/Mary Ellen Mark/Sept. 7, 2000/Minneapolis." Clothbound in photo-illustrated dust jacket. Tritone reproductions.
"A beautiful young contortionist twists into an improbable pose and gazes at the camera. A trainer relaxes in the gentle, coiled embrace of his elephant's massive trunk. These and other poignant images offer an eloquent glimpse into the lives of assorted acrobats, clowns, animal trainers, and other traveling Indian circus members. Like Diane Arbus, Mary Ellen Mark's extraordinary photographs demonstrate a remarkable affinity for those living on the fringes of life, and involve the observer with a level of passion, spontaneity and dignity rarely equaled in photojournalism."--the publisher.
A couple of spots of abrasion to rear pastedown; otherwise Near Fine+/Fine. |