Seaside Album: Photographs and Memory

This book reproduces a selection ofphotographs of Brighton and Hove that portray the changing face and character of this colorful seaside town and its residents over nearly a century and a half. The book includes historic daguerreotypes from the 1840s by William Constables and a remarkable series of paper negatives and albumen prints by Edward Fox from the 1850s and 1860s. The book underlines the attraction of Brighton and Hove to visiting photographers--the architecture, people and activity that provided endless inspiration.

The majority of the 145 photographs are previously unpublished and provide a vivid evocation of the varied artistic aspirations and vernacular applications of the photographic medium. The book includes images by internationally renowned masters such as William Henry Fox Talbot, Bill Brandt, Walker Evans and Henri Cartier-Bresson, as well as introducing fine work by hitherto unrecognised masters such as William Constable, William Mason Junior, Edward Fox and George Ruff Junior.

Philippe Garner's publications include Cecil Beaton (1994 with David Alan Mellor), Sixties Design (1996), and John Cowan Through the Light Barrier (1999). He has acted as curator for exhibitions of photographs in museums in London, Paris and Tokyo.