Chromes. WILLIAM EGGLESTON. Three clothbound hardcover books in clothbound slipcase. First edition. Signed by the artist. Published by Steidl 2011. Now Huxley-Parlour Book

William Eggleston (born 1939) is one of the most influential photographers of the later half of the 20th century and is widely credited with helping to establish colour photography as a recognised artistic medium. Chromes pulls together some 350 images taken in Eggleston’s home town of Memphis during the 1970s, provided by the Eggleston Artistic Trust and many of which had never been previously published. This was a pivotal period in Eggleston’s development as an expert colour photographer in which he began testing colour and compositional strategies, developing the quintessential “poetic snapshot”, and pioneering the use of dye-transfer prints, all of which would later define his practice.

In keeping with the artist’s preference for leaving photographs untitled and allowing a de-contextualised image to stand alone, Chromes traces the themes and subject matter which became Eggleston’s signature, rather than chronology. Together, the works reproduced in this three-part volume describe Eggleston’s ability to see images within a broader scale and to create a balanced photograph out of seemingly unconnected compositional components.

This unique first edition set has been signed by Eggleston on the title page of Volume One.