The Art of New German Car Photography: autoalbum 06
We do have a soft spot for strays, meaning the sort of “oddities” that take some special effort to let into the house. Not that this fine German publisher needs help—they’ve been at it for five generations, in various forms—but their books have little visibility in the US.
Let’s start by saying the publisher’s motto is “Print is not dead”—which will win hearts and minds right there. Even more so when you look at their often enough award-winning output: high-end, creative work in the Art, Photo, Design, and Lifestyle genres.
And let’s put another thing out there: this massive oversize (24.5 cm x 32 cm) 328-page book is . . . $45. Even if you only consider the digital work, paper, ink, printing, and binding (heck, a ribbon bookmark!) it’s so much book that publishers who struggle to crank out b/w paperbacks at that price point may stop trying. It probably helps that publisher Oliver Seltmann’s brother runs a printing house (founded in 1870).
Let’s start with the most straightforward “car lovers” image, the 1947 Cisitalia 202. About 170 were made and MoMA chose one as its first car to put on permanent display. This particular example resides in California. This is one of the few images that has a caption pertaining to what’s shown.
©J. Konrad Schmidt
A Porsche 911. Big deal, right? Look again. And again. Did you notice the center-fill fuel cap? This 911 is a big deal—it is a one-off by Singer Vehicle Design from 2016, the “Malibu” that made waves in 2020 when it was offered by RM Sotheby’s for $875,000. That car is painted a shade of aqua blue called Mintarrini so this photo, pretty as it is, hardly suits.
©Willie von Recklinghausen
Now, this isn’t a book in the conventional sense, with words, and a point to make, a brick in the house of knowledge. It is what creative types would call a lookbook, a showcase of an artist’s style or body of work, in this case 50 photographers. (If you are a photo researcher you’ll also see in it the type of catalog that stock houses used to print, lavish affairs that are just about forgotten in these digital days.) The title says “car” but there’s also the odd motorcycle, airplane, toy car and, harumph, photos with no transportation-related item in any shape or form. The book jacket calls it “the ultimate reference guide for the creative industry” and to that end lists the photographers’ agents at the back.
©Anke Luckmann
The press release however isn’t doing the book any favors. Sure it’s true that “hardly any industry is undergoing more change than the automotive industry” but if the book did illustrate that, it is entirely coincidental. It—kind of—is “a real feast for the eyes for all car lovers” but it’s not so much the car lovers as the students and practitioners of design or visual communication who will find food for thought here. For some people it may just be a doorstop. Off with their heads.
Ok, car spotters, what’s the car? Windshield frame, door handles, dashboard vents, outside mirror . . . you got this. On the other hand, look at the next one.
©Tom Grammerstorf
Unless you live and breathe concept cars you can spend all day guessing.
© Alex Rank
Absent any text whatsoever (with the exception of fewer than 5 photo captions), it is left to the viewer to connect the dots, imagine the story behind the images, or even identify the model or make of cars. “Car lovers”. . . well, it’s a stretch. The work is shown in alphabetical order of last name, both on the Table of Contents and then again the Index.
Some of the photos have scannable QR codes but you’d have to be pretty bored to consider the Youtube videos they take you to enlightening.
Alright, alright, we all jump with joy.
©Magnus Winter
Copyright 2025, Sabu Advani (Speedreaders.info
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