W. Eugene Smith and Aileen Smith - Minamata - 1975

This important documentary photobook by renowned Magnum photographer W. Eugene Smith which has been described as his last and most influential work. Originally Smith and his wife had planned to spend three months there but stayed for three years, immersing themselves in the community and documenting the injustice and suffering inflicted upon the people by the a chemical company.

Minamata is a fishing and farming town on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. Its people joined the industrial age when the Chisso Corporation built a chemical factory there. The disaster that then befell them, and the ways in which some have managed to respond, reach far beyond Japan. Their courage is a flag of hope for all life - but it will have signaled no victory unless it awakens other people to action in every corner of this planet. An uneasiness developed in the town in the early 1950's. Many individuals fell ill with the same symptoms: limbs and lips tingled and then became numb; speech slurred; motor functions went out of control. Some died. Was this strange new disease contagious? Nobody knew.

Minamata's disease was recognized as methyl mercury poisoning from industrial wasters. The mercury reached people through contaminated fish. Some doctors suggested that the number of persons affected might reach 10,000. So far 103 have died and some 700 others have been verified seriously - and permanently - damaged. As groups of victims pressed a turbulent, multi-sided crusade to force industry and government to take responsibility, W. Eugene Smith and his wife, Aileen, moved to Minamata. The result of their collaboration is an enduring document that crowns the work of one of the world's greatest documentary photographers.

Minamata is recognized as one of the most significant works of photojournalism of the twentieth century. 16-year-old Tomeko Uemura being bathed by her mother was the last great photograph taken by W. Eugene Smith who died in 1978.

Unlike the more commonly found softback edition, this is a copy of the very rare hardback edition bound in embossed burgundy red leatherette with a glossy black dust jacket and bright white typography.

Included in Roth - The Book of 101 Books, p. 232-233

Condition:
This is a very rare first edition copy of the difficult to find hardback edition. Very good condition. Dust jacket torn in places. Tiny bump to top front cover. Age related discoloration to top of pages - prominent age spots on top of pages, particularly at the rear of the book dealing with the Chronology and Medical Report sections (mainly text). Please examine listing photos carefully.