Ansel Adams

mounted, signed and annotated 'Special Proof Print' in pencil on the mount, a Carmel studio stamp on the reverse, circa 1938, printed circa 1974 (400 Photographs, p. 123; Yosemite and the Range of Light, cover)

Gift of the photographer to Ray A. Roberts

This print, on paper with a surface sheen, is in generally excellent condition. In raking light, a few tiny deposits of original retouching are visible. The corners of the mount are slightly bumped, and there is very light soiling on the front. The Carmel stamp on the reverse of the mount is not recorded in Karen Haas's and Rebecca Senf's book, 'Ansel Adams in the Lane Collection.' Notations within the stamp on the reverse indicate that this print was made circa 1974.
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.

Ray Roberts was a senior editor at Little, Brown and Company when he was assigned to work with Ansel Adams on the photographer's autobiography (Ansel Adams: An Autobiography, published by the New York Graphic Society, a division of Little, Brown, in 1985).  In her biography of Adams, Mary Street Alinder recounts:

'Early on, Little, Brown had assigned senior editor Ray Roberts to the project, flying him out to Carmel with company president Arthur Thornhill, Jr., in April of 1981 to introduce us.  I was concerned about how much control Ray would want to have over the book, but Ansel was even more worried than I: he thought that the boys back East were sending a watchdog.  It turned out that Ray was really there to help us.  Never negatively interfering, he provided sage counsel that resulted in a much better book' (Ansel Adams: A Biography, New York, 1996, pp. 373-4.  Alinder's editor for her biography of Adams, published by Henry Holt, was also Ray Roberts).

In addition to Adams's autobiography, Roberts was the Little, Brown editor for Ansel Adams: Letters and Images, 1916 – 1984, published in 1988. Roberts, who died in August 2009 at the age of 71, had a long and illustrious career in publishing.  Besides Little, Brown, and Henry Holt, he also worked at the University of Chicago Press, Macmillan, Doubleday, and Viking.  He was a friend and editor of the authors John Fowles and Thomas Pynchon, among others.