Shadows of War: Roger Fenton's Photographs of the Crimea, 1855

A fine book, it is good to be able to appreciate the quality of Fenton's photographs in richly toned, accurate reproduction. The text is extremely well researched and written, I particularly enjoyed tracing Fenton's movements in the Crimea, because he was not there for all that long to produce such a substantial body of work. Like other early photographers he worked in conditions that today we would consider impossibly difficult, and the descriptions of just how he approached his task are extremely interestingBuyers should note that the book has an unusual case design, a 'Swiss binding', in which only the rear endpaper is glued to the case. The front endpaper is free, and the spine of the book is not glued to the spine of the case. This arrangement allows the book to be opened flat for double-page spreads to be viewed properly. You might momentarily think there could be a fault, but this is deliberate design and one applauds the book designers for using this unusual system. It works well.

According to another reviewer, this book's unusual binding 'allows the book to be opened flat for double-page spreads to be viewed properly. . . . it works well.' Unfortunately, this is not the case. As in any other book, the double-page spreads disappear into the 'gutter', where a certain amount of the image is hidden from view. Given this, I can't understand why the book was not bound in the usual manner.As for the selection of photographs, I felt that in some cases better choices could have been made. The entire collection seems to have been displayed at the back of the book in the form of thumbnail-sized images. Some of these, I think, are more deserving of enlargement than some of the rather bland images that were in fact chosen. Ah well.

The photographs are unique because there are not many taken of the Crimean War, but they are not terribly evocative. The book is slightly too big and the binding is poor - my copy came unhinged at the spine. Not worth getting if you have no special reason to do so - as a photographer or historian of the Crimean War.

Excellent historic photographic record of the Crimea. My only disappointment is that many of the small photos in the appendix required a magnifying glass to view. I would have been willing to pay more if the volume had more pages of larger photos. Buyer's need to be aware that this book has a 'Swiss binding'; the spine is not broken - it is designed so that the book lies flat when opened.

Arrived very quickly and is in immaculate condition. Very pleased.

Bought as a present. Receiver was delighted with it.

Beautiful collection of photos well presented.

Very good!