Small world

There are no details about these photos in the book and as it was published in 1981 it's reasonable to assume they were taken at least forty years ago. My guess is that they are from the late sixties and through the seventies.

Bubley had a knack of photographing people and children as if she wasn't there. The 159 photos here show this with hardly any child looking at the camera. I think the best images involve pets, like the cover photo and children by themselves exploring their immediate surroundings; looking at flowers; pressing a piano key; listening to a record. Fortunately, there are hardly any showing under fives making a mess of things, for example babies and food is always a favourite snap taken by parents.

I think Bubley's work has been rather neglected, apart from this book of children's photos there are only two others worth considering, the excellent On assignment published by Aperture and her work for the FSA/OWI published in the Fields of vision series from Giles.

UPDATE A book of photos Bubley took for the Office of War Information covers several bus journeys she took in 1943. First-class reportage of the American home front. ISBN 979-8843742812.