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• Issue #129
• Article

Bassenge Photography Auctions is having two sales this season offering over 500 photos and nearly 120 photographic books in its upcoming photography auctions to be held in Berlin, Germany on June 21 and 22, 2007. The first sale includes photographs, photographica and photo books from the collection of the German photographer Michael Ruetz , who also has managed the Heinz Hajek-Halke estate over the last 30 years.

Some rare and fine vintage prints, the majority by important German photrographers of the 1950s-1980s, are being offered. The photographers include: Dieter Appelt, Wilfried Bauer, Sibylle Bergemann, Werner Bokelberg, Christer Christian, Arno Fischer, Robert Häusser, Peter Keetman, Siegfried Lauterwasser, Robert Lebeck, Hilmar Pabel, Richard Peter Sr., Heinrich Riebesehl, Albert Renger-Patzsch, August Sander, Michael Schmidt, Toni Schneiders, Umbo, Paul Wolff, Ulrich Wüst and many others. Nearly 30 prints--mostly vintage or early--by one of Germany's most important photographer's, Heinz Hajek-Halke, whose work spans the 1920s through the 1960s, are also up for sale.

Such famous photo books as William Eggleston's Guide by John Szarkowski, Larry Clark's "Tulsa" and the "Artists & Photographs" box as a complete set, published in 1970, containing many works by the pop and concept artists of the day, should attract many international buyers.

The regular sale to be held on June 22nd resumes with a wide selection of unusual and quality 19th-century material. Especially of note is a group of 27 albumen prints attributed to Franz Hanfstaengl, depicting the participants of an artist's ball in full costume. The ball was held in 1862 in Munich with the theme of fairytale figures. The group is in very good condition and an exquisite, rare example of German 19th-century photography. Other 19th-century items include: an early salt print of an Egyptian temple "Erment (Hermonthis)" by Felix Teynard from 1852 (5000 euro), the "Temple of Fortuna Virilius and the House of Rienzi" (circa 1860) as an albumen print by Robert Macpherson (3000 euro), a comprehensive album by J. Laurent of architecture in Spain (1865-1875) (5000 euro), "Vue des Remparts, Jerusalem", an albumen print from a waxed paper negative by Louis de Clercq (3500 euro) and an early salt print by Eugène Constant , "Piazza del Popolo" circa 1850 (900 euro). Two finely hand-colored Japan albums (1200 and 2500 euro) from a German collection are prime examples of the collecting of photos as travel souvenirs at the end of the 19th century. There are also several other very interesting travel albums, including one with images of Algeria from the 1870s (1000 euro), one of Indonesia, Arabia and Italy from 1870s-1890s (1500 euro) and a private German travel album with views and people of India (900 euro).

The 20th -century section includes work by: Berenice Abbott, Atget, Richard Avedon, Bauhaus Photography, Cecil Beaton, Ilse Bing, Karl Blossfeldt, Lev Borodulin, Bill Brandt, Brassai, Josef Breitenbach, René Burri, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lucien Clergue, Imogen Cunningham, Andre de Dienes, Robert Doisneau, Frantisek Drtikol, Hugo Erfurth, Andreas Feininger, Franco Fontana, Robert Frank, Leonard Freed, Tim Gidal, Bedrich Grunzweig, Philippe Halsman, Lewis Hine, E.O. Hoppé, Horst P. Horst, George Hurrell, Lotte Jacobi, Michael Kenna, André Kertész, Dorothea Lange, J.-H. Larrtigue, Herbert List, George Platt Lynes, Danny Lyon, Man Ray, Duane Michals, Leonard Misonne, Inge Morath, Arnold Newman, Roger Parry, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Leni Riefenstahl, Roy Schatt, Cami Stone, Maurice Tabard, Underwood & Underwood, Josef Vetrovsky, Andy Warhol Factory film photos, Weegee, Edward Weston and Yva.

Contemporary photographers include: Araki, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Daniele Buetti, Gregory Crewdson, Thomas Demand, Daniel Kane, Stefan Koppelkamm, Boris Mikhailov, Janet Riedel, Thomas Ruff and Heidi Schneekloth.

If you have any questions or need condition reports, please contact the photography expert Jennifer Augustyniak, Tel.: +49 (0) 30 893 80 290 and + 49 (0) 30 219 97 277; Fax: +4930 219 97 105 or e-mail jennifer@bassenge.com . Remember that in the U.S. you should dial 011 first and then the number without the 0 in parentheses. From other countries it is usually 00 and then the number.

The auctions will be held on June 21 and 22, Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m., Erdener Str. 5a, 14193 Berlin, Germany, tel.: +4930 893 80290, fax.: +4930 89180 25.

You can actually preview the work at Rankestr. 24, 10789 Berlin, Germany (near the Gedächtniskirche), tel.: +49 30 219 97 277 from June 4-19 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.(except Sunday) and Wednesday, June 20 from 10-4 p.m. The online catalogue can be found at: http://www.bassenge.com .