Edward Weston

mounted, initialed, dated, and inscribed with a copyright symbol by the photographer in pencil on the mount, titled, numbered 'W27 P51,' and inscribed with the Limited Editions Club copyright by him and numbered in unidentified hands in pencil and with a typed label, quoting Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, on the reverse, matted, 1941 

The photographer to his sister, Mary Weston Seaman

By descent to her daughter, Jeannette Seaman

By descent to her nephew, John W. Longstreth

The Dayton Art Institute, Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister, January - March 1978, and traveling to:

New York, International Center of Photography, July - September 1978; and

The Oakland Museum, February - March 1979

Kathy Kelsey Foley, Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister (The Dayton Art Institute, 1978, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 56 (this print)

Another print of this image:

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, with illustrations by Edward Weston, the Paddington Press reprint of the 1942 Limited Editions Club edition (New York, 1970), facing p. 35

This photograph, on slightly cool, semi-matte paper, is in generally excellent condition. In raking light, faint silvering in the darkest areas of the print is visible. There are a few minor chips along the bottom edge of the print and at the top left corner. The photograph is on a heavy-weight, cream-colored mount that has darkened with age. On the reverse, along one vertical edge, there are the remains of paper and adhesive, likely from a sheet of paper overlay that was at one time attached. There is also a paper remnant along the bottom edge, on the reverse, where a caption may have been attached. Portions of two old linen hinges on the reverse cover a small part of the typed label.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The label reads:

'Song of Myself:

'#33) "Over the sharp-peak'd farm house" et seq, to

'"Floating in it myself and looking composedly down......................................W"'

This photograph was taken in Binghamton, New York, on the New York-Pennsylvania border.  Perched high on a hillside, Weston took this image of a rolling landscape with a single isolated farm below.  Some time earlier, Weston had begun using Agfa film, so when he and Charis Wilson passed through Binghamton, New York, where the film is manufactured, they were compelled to stop.  Charis noted one of the possible reasons for the trip in her memoirs: 'He may have had some thought of getting free film, but no such luck.  He wasn't very good at capitalizing on his name; I used to tease him about being so backward in the self-promotion department' (Through Another Lens, p. 280). 

This New York State study was reproduced in the Leaves of Grass volume.  A print of this photograph is not included in the Edward Weston Archive at the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson.  At this time of this writing, no other prints of this image have been located.