Paul Graham - A1 : The Great North Road - 1983

One of the most important British photographers, known for seminal photobooks such as Beyond Caring (Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, The Photobook Vol.2), New Europe (Parr and Badger, The Photobook Vol.2) and A Shimmer of Possibility (Parr and Badger, The Photobook, Vol.3), A1 The Great North Road, published in 1983, was his first book.

As the Photographer's Gallery who first exhibited the work noted: "In Paul Graham's series The Great North Road, colour often contradicts the mundane reality of the road. The landscapes, few and far between, are flat and unromantic and the road is primarily depicted through the interiors of the wayside stopping places and service stations. In these places the bright, plastic décor reflects an attempt on the part of the road's inhabitants to stamp their identity on a place which lacks the unity of village or town, and also to alleviate the journeys of their customers. The artificial colour of the interiors contrasts with the more muted colour of the landscapes through which the road passes.

The A1 itself could be called the backbone of Britain stretching from London up to Edinburgh, via York and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Its name The Great North Road implies the wealth of history and incident, which clings to a thoroughfare which has been in existence for centuries. Since the building of the in the 1950's the A1 has declined, and Paul Graham's photographs possess an element of nostalgia, as well as being pictures of contemporary life on the verge of the road.

The Great North Road may have been superseded, but the photographs reveal its life, and the portraits reflect eloquently the character of the people who still work or travel along its way." Rupert Martin for the Photographer's Gallery in 1983

A1 - The Great North Road was Paul Graham`s first book, published in 1983. Spanning the full length of England and into Edinburgh, Graham travelled repeatedly along the `Great North Road` with a large format camera, to record the people, buildings, and landscape of early 1980`s Britain. Uniting the tradition of social documentary with the fresh approach of new colour, A1 - The Great North Road was transformative on photography in the UK and paved the way for a new generation of British colour photographers to emerge.

Condition:
Very good first edition copy from 1983 (not a later reprint). Some age-related sun yellowing to rear of white cover where it was placed on a shelf with other books (see photos). Small creases to corners of cover and spine - interior clean. Interior fresh and clean. Please examine listing photos carefully.