Signed; Hans Silvester - Camargue [FIRST EDITION, UNIQUE SIGNED COPY IN THE WEB ] - 1960

Exceptionally signed copy on the title page by Hans Silvester (born 1938), original edition published in 1960 and Hans Silvester's first book, unattainable in a signed copy. 108 pages and around one hundred black-and-white photographs, text in French by the famous writer Jean Giono. Publisher's cloth binding illustrated on the cover. In excellent condition.

It should be noted that a new edition, limited to 1,000 copies, was produced in 2026 with the authorization of Jean Giono's heirs at the initiative of the Association des Amis de Jean Giono. And an exhibition of these photographs was presented from 2 to 23 August 2026 at the Château de Gréoux in Provence.

Camargue is that part of Provence that runs from Arles, the birthplace of Lucien Clergue famous for the well-known bridge painted by Van Gogh in one of his works, to the sea with the Rhône estuary. It is also the territory of Sainte-Marine where the traveling people gather during religious pilgrimages. Finally, this wetland area hosts many animal and plant species and is a cattle-raising region for bulls for bullfights, with many horses for riders who monitor the herds and mount to confront the bulls in the bullfights. "Silvester paints the Camargue in black and white, white as his horses, black as his bulls". (Eric Desachy - Guy Mandery, The Guide to Books 'Edition Les Yeux Ouvert', 2012)

Hans Silvester was born in 1938 in Lörrach, Black Forest, Germany, just near Switzerland, and he graduated from the Freiburg School of Photography in 1955. He settled in Provence in the early 1960s while traveling the world, photographing diverse populations and publishing numerous high-quality photography books. He joined the Rapho agency in 1965. From the 1980s onward, Hans Silvester shifted his work toward environmental advocacy, denouncing the ravages of deforestation in the Amazon, publishing a long report on a Provencal river titled "The River Murdered." Hans Silvester is an active photographer and in recent years has produced many books on the peoples of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia.

Hans Silvester received the International Planète Albert Kahn Prize in December 2022 for his career and for his testimonies of an era from 1960 to today. "Thanks to his openness to the world, the acuity of his photographer’s eye and his sense of beauty, he conveys iconic images representing everyday people, witnesses of a culture, a place, a moment… The photographer’s eye freezes a fleeting moment to remind us what makes up our history. As such, he is at once an artist, a sociologist, a historian, a defender of cultures and of nature through an approach based on trust and observation". (retourdevoyage.com)

In excellent condition with very slight wear from use of the binding. A book from my personal collection kept with the utmost care. Shipped protected with reinforced packaging and guaranteed international postal tracking. For multiple purchases, group shipping is possible with reimbursement of any excess postage paid via PayPal.

0.850 kg. excluding packaging