Signed; Patrick Zachmann - Enquête d'identité - 1987

Exceptionally signed copy by Patrick Zachmann on the title page, unique and unavailable in a signed edition. Patrick Zachmann, member of the Magnum agency since 1990, was awarded the Niépce Prize in 1989 and the Nadar Prize in 2016. 116 pages and 70 black-and-white photographs, including a number in full-page or two-page spreads. White publisher’s binding in skivertex with a faux-toile texture, title debossed on the back in silver, and illustrated dust jacket; In excellent condition.

The book title plays on the words of the French language: “identity inquest” is also a search for identity. Patrick Zachmann recalls that during a trip to Shanghai his Chinese interpreter asked him whether he was French with such a name or rather Israeli. "No, but I am Jewish," and the interpreter adds, "Ah, I knew you weren’t French!" On a trip to Israel he explains that he defines himself from the outset as non-Zionist and rather pro-Palestinian, but in Israel he suddenly feels very Jewish.

Patrick Zachmann defines himself as a "second-generation Jew" and says he became a photographer because of his lack of memory and to recover it. He wondered whether one can be Jewish while being ignorant of one’s religion and culture, language and cuisine. To answer this question, Zachmann conducts a photographic inquiry into Orthodox religious circles, among Holocaust survivors, at Sephardic dances in 1980s Paris during the early anti-Semitic attacks, among Jews with no outward signs, questioning them about “physical recognition,” which understandably elicited very contradictory reactions. This investigation ends in his own family with the birth of his son and the circumcision ceremony. The different chapters are punctuated by texts by Patrick Zachmann.

Copy in excellent condition, dust jacket slightly soiled. A book from my personal collection kept with the utmost care. Shipped protected with reinforced packaging and international tracked shipping guaranteed. For multiple purchases, possible grouped shipping with refund of excess postage paid via Paypal.

0.8 Kg excluding packaging.