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Banking on Images
From the Bettmann Archive to Corbis
Estelle Blaschke

224 pp.
with numerous black/white illustrations
thread-sewn paperback



Leipzig April, 2016
ISBN: 9783944669632
Edition Number: 1

Width: 16 cm
Length: 23 cm

Language(s): English

Author
Estelle Blaschke

Designer
Helmut Völter

The role of photo agencies remains a blind spot in the history of photography. Emerging in the beginning of the 20th century to »satisfy the picture-hunger of modern man« (Tschichold), they transformed photography into a commodity. As catalysts for the picture market and through the creation of systematic collections, these companies shaped our western visual culture. The 1920s, 1930s and 1990s, in particular, ushered a paradigm shift in the economy of the medium, marked by major technological developments and the rise of new markets. Taking the example of the Bettmann Archive and Corbis – one of the world’s largest photo agencies, founded by Bill Gates – the book »Banking on Images« inquires into the criteria used in selecting these images, the way in which the value of a commercial »image bank« is determined, and the concept of photography that lies behind it.

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