Marvin captures life 5/5

For a relatively unknown photographer, Marvin Newman (1927-2023) gets a superb monograph from Taschen. He was a very professional creative photojournalist and certainly known in the American publishing world. The book's fourteen portfolios, from  Chicago in 1950  to New York's 42nd Street in 1983 reveal that Newman knew how to take images that would capture a reader's attention. 

What I like about his work is the way he managed to frame the focal point of interest. The ten photos taken in 1956 of Wall Street, including one taken from the ceiling with a wide-angle shot of the trading floor, are good examples of how Newman considers each shot. The most dramatic photos in the book are Broadway, 1954-1958 and 42nd Street, 1983. Both are night-time shots with amazing saturated colors created by neon signs and movie-house what's showing display marques.

Taschen has done Newman proud with this big book (fourteen by nine and a half inches) and printed with a two hundred screen on a semi-matt art paper.

US

Amazon.com: Marvin E. Newman: 9783836599122: Rexer, Lyle, Newman, Marvin E., Golden, Reuel: Books

UK

Marvin E. Newman : Rexer, Lyle, Newman, Marvin E., Golden, Reuel: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Mini places

 

Zoran Nikolic explains the contents of his book in the introduction. There is a difference between a microstate and a micronation, states are recognized internationally, nations are rather informal and not recognized. The Principality of Sealand, a fort in the North Sea (off the southeast coast of England) is just a fun state but should Birobidzhan have been included? This was established in 1934 in the Soviet Union as the first Jewish Autonomous Oblast  and located near China and the Pacific

The contents include most of the world's microstates past and present. Europe has the most (thirty-nine) though several of these are historical going back as far as 1278 for Andorra. Considering the number of islands in the Caribbean (twelve nations) and Oceania (thirteen listed) I would have expected more tiny statelets.

Each state gets a spread with a map, flag, location map and basic facts on the left-hand page. The right-hand has a page of text and I think it would been useful to break this up into two columns with a couple of sidebars. Eight pages at the back include some really small countries (including rather large Greenland and Mongolia). Oddly, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Ceuta and Melilla, Ascension, Saint Helena, Goa, Macau and Chagos Archipelago don't get a mention in the book.

UK
The Atlas of Microstates: Explore the world’s smallest nations and the unique geopolitical forces that have shaped them: Amazon.co.uk: Nikolic, Zoran, Collins Books: 9780008703493: Books