1. ALVIN LANGDON COBURN Westminster Abbey 1905 Photogravure published 1909 8.1x6.1” on 16x12” gray paper ASG# ALC/1103

2. ALVIN LANGDON COBURN St. Paul's From The River 1906 C, Photogravure 7x6.375” on 16x12” gray paper C ASG# ALC/1106

2 plates from London, Published 1909 represent one of the artistic highlights of photogravure printing.

Alvin Langdon Coburn was one of few photographers who enthusiastically embraced the photogravure process to produce his own books and exhibition prints. When Coburn was young, he studied with the American painter-printmaker Arthur Wesley Dow, who instilled in Coburn the desire to combine art and craft. Shortly thereafter, during long visits to England, Coburn began learning the photogravure process at the London County School of Photo-Engraving. In 1909 Coburn settled in London, where he set up two hand-operated printing presses in his home. He produced two striking books, London (1909) and New York (1910), each of which were illustrated with twenty rich photogravures of impressionistic images. For both publications, Coburn personally prepared the printing plates, exposing, etching and steel-facing them; he then pulled proofs until he obtained a perfect specimen for his printer to match. Coburn closely watched, as the prints were printed.
https://photogravure.com/key-figure/alvin-langdon-coburn/

Excellent minor wear, page edges uneven where bound