A worthwhile copy of the original

This new book has an interesting pedigree, described in an essay by Caldecot Chubb on a loose, buff coloured insert in the book. Eggleston was commissioned to photograph the area around Plains, Georgia, the birthplace of Jimmy Carter just before the Presidential election in 1976. The photos were never used but Chubb decided to publish a hundred of them, though maybe published is not quite the right word, made might be more accurate, eight copies were produced each comprising of two books with actual prints stuck onto the pages, leather bound and placed in a linen box. Five copies were for sale (MoMA has one) one each for Chubb and Eggleston and the last an exhibition copy. It would have been useful if a still life photo of the original two volume book was included with Chubb's essay.

 The photos Eggleston took in 1976 are beautiful as one would expect, with a subtle quietness capturing the countryside and small towns in this part of the South. They don't have the dazzle and exuberance of the ten volume Democratic Forest (also published by Steidl) which I consider a sort of Eggleston photo biography.  Instead the images have a predominance of green, brown and blue skies. These colours interestingly run through the town photos where I would have expected to see a flamboyant combination of commercial signage, neon, brightly coloured vehicles and architecture, Eggleston seems to have avoided this aspect of small towns for this commission.

I thought the sequencing of the photos particularly good with the first twenty or so revealing some wonderfully observed views of the countryside, close-up and middle distance, followed by shots of houses and commercial buildings on the edge of various towns near Plains. Thirty-two photos are of Plains and its vicinity. The hundred photos, of course, have nothing to do with the Presidential election they are just fascinating images of the South focusing on an area where one of the election candidates was born and lived. Oddly one photo seems out of place, seventy-two shows part of the bottom legs of a water tower, a utility pole and trees in the background, somehow I just didn't think it blended in seamlessly with the other ninety-nine in the book.

Once again Steidl have produced the perfect photobook, the pictures are only on the right-hand pages surrounded by generous margins, the opposite page has a brief geographic caption. Though the screen is only 175 it brings out all the detail when printed on a slightly creamy 170gsm matt art paper. The five for sale copies of Election Eve are now probably worth thousands but this new edition captures the greatness for a reasonable price.