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The Appalachian Photographs of Doris Ulmann
9" X 11" Preface by the late Jonathan Williams, who put this beautiful and significant collection together for The Jargon Society of Highlands, North Carolina, and an introduction by the renowned folk collector, John Jacob Niles who accompanied Ms. Ulmann on many of her Appalachian travels. 63 full-page photographs, all striking images! For years this book sold for three figures on the used book market.
- GenresPhotographyNonfiction
Paperback
First published May 1, 1971
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 5, 2017
A Photographer Of Appalachia
I discovered photographer Doris Ulmann (1882 - 1934) and this rare book, "The Appalachian Photographs of Doris Ulmann" (1971) by chance. I have access to a large, specialized library with a unique collection. I was interested in learning about the mountain people of Appalachia, and found in the library the specific book I wanted: Horace Kephart's classic work "Our Southern Highlanders" (1913,1922). Ulmann's book of photographs waited silently on the shelves next to Kephart's volume. What was I to do?
Although she photographed a number of prominent people and professions during her career, Ulmann, a native of New York City, specialized in portraits of vanishing American cultures, especially among America's southern rural poor. She photographed southern African Americans from the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, and the mountain people of Appalachia. Ulmann's photographs of the Sea Islands people were the basis of a book called "Roll Jordan Roll" (1933) with a text by Julia Peterkin. This book is now rare. Ulmann's Appalachian photographs were used in a book called "Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands" (1937) accompanying a text by Allen Eaton. The book was reprinted in 1973 but is now out of print. A biography of Ulmann, "The Life and Photography of Doris Ulmann" by Philip Walker Davis was published in 2001.
A frail, independently-wealthy woman, Ulmann traveled to and photographed Appalachia for several months each year from 1927 to 1934. She was accompanied by her long-time friend, John Jacob Niles (1892 - 1980), a famous American folklorist and collector of folksongs. Always fashionably dressed even under harsh conditions, Ulmann had a difficult time of it. Niles, a Kentucky native, helped Ulmann navigate through the mountains. He packed food for her, protected her from the elements, stayed with Ulmann during her illnesses and his own, and on more than one occasion, carried Ulmann on his back across a stream. While Ulmann photographed her subjects, Niles collected folksongs, such as "Barbara Allen" and "Pretty Polly". Niles wrote a lengthy introduction to this volume in which he described his friendship with Ulmann. He offered the following summary of Ulmann's approach to her art.
"She believed that all the people she photographed had one thing in common - a quality that could be called genuineness. But of all the people she photographed I believe the ones she loved most were the old mountaineers with white whiskers, the patriarchal types, and their ancient wives, though she also made many photos of young mountain men and women and their endless children. It was in the faces of the old men and women that she saw what attracted her the most - the care and trouble of their lives, but also the ultimate serenity. To record their images she was prepared to do hours of work."
This book also includes an introduction by Jonathan Williams, a British poet who was responsible for the initial selection of the photographs included in this collection. Williams quotes Ulmann's own understanding of her art, in language that is close to that of Niles:
"I have been more deeply moved by some of my mountaineers than by any literary person. A face that has the marks of having lived intensely, that expresses some phase of life, some dominant quality or intellectual power, constitutes for me an interesting face. For this reason the face of an older person, perhaps not beautiful in the strictest sense, is usually more appealing than the face of a younger person who has scarcely been touched by life."
The qualities that Ulmann sought to capture in her mountaineers are on display in this collection of 63 photographs. Most of these photographs are from the mountain regions of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia. They are all portraits with Ulmann focusing on the face and on its expression. The subjects include wizened, elderly men and women, singles and couples, preachers, weavers, carvers, miners, and children. There are several photographs of mountain fiddlers, singers, and other musicians, perhaps reflecting Nile's influence. She shows a gaunt, proud, independent, and rural people. Many of the photographs show subjects of a highly reflective character. Ulmann's photographs captured the people of Appalachia just before the more famous photos of the region were taken by photographers, such as Walker Evans, under the sponsorship of the Farm Security Administration. Her photographs show a toughness and a lack of sentimentality that are her own. They capture a vanished world.
I was fortunate to come across this book and to learn something of both Doris Ulmann and the Appalachian mountain people. I hope this review will encourage readers to explore further one or both of these fascinating subjects. They capture something rare, little-known, and valuable about the United States.
Robin Friedman
I discovered photographer Doris Ulmann (1882 - 1934) and this rare book, "The Appalachian Photographs of Doris Ulmann" (1971) by chance. I have access to a large, specialized library with a unique collection. I was interested in learning about the mountain people of Appalachia, and found in the library the specific book I wanted: Horace Kephart's classic work "Our Southern Highlanders" (1913,1922). Ulmann's book of photographs waited silently on the shelves next to Kephart's volume. What was I to do?
Although she photographed a number of prominent people and professions during her career, Ulmann, a native of New York City, specialized in portraits of vanishing American cultures, especially among America's southern rural poor. She photographed southern African Americans from the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, and the mountain people of Appalachia. Ulmann's photographs of the Sea Islands people were the basis of a book called "Roll Jordan Roll" (1933) with a text by Julia Peterkin. This book is now rare. Ulmann's Appalachian photographs were used in a book called "Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands" (1937) accompanying a text by Allen Eaton. The book was reprinted in 1973 but is now out of print. A biography of Ulmann, "The Life and Photography of Doris Ulmann" by Philip Walker Davis was published in 2001.
A frail, independently-wealthy woman, Ulmann traveled to and photographed Appalachia for several months each year from 1927 to 1934. She was accompanied by her long-time friend, John Jacob Niles (1892 - 1980), a famous American folklorist and collector of folksongs. Always fashionably dressed even under harsh conditions, Ulmann had a difficult time of it. Niles, a Kentucky native, helped Ulmann navigate through the mountains. He packed food for her, protected her from the elements, stayed with Ulmann during her illnesses and his own, and on more than one occasion, carried Ulmann on his back across a stream. While Ulmann photographed her subjects, Niles collected folksongs, such as "Barbara Allen" and "Pretty Polly". Niles wrote a lengthy introduction to this volume in which he described his friendship with Ulmann. He offered the following summary of Ulmann's approach to her art.
"She believed that all the people she photographed had one thing in common - a quality that could be called genuineness. But of all the people she photographed I believe the ones she loved most were the old mountaineers with white whiskers, the patriarchal types, and their ancient wives, though she also made many photos of young mountain men and women and their endless children. It was in the faces of the old men and women that she saw what attracted her the most - the care and trouble of their lives, but also the ultimate serenity. To record their images she was prepared to do hours of work."
This book also includes an introduction by Jonathan Williams, a British poet who was responsible for the initial selection of the photographs included in this collection. Williams quotes Ulmann's own understanding of her art, in language that is close to that of Niles:
"I have been more deeply moved by some of my mountaineers than by any literary person. A face that has the marks of having lived intensely, that expresses some phase of life, some dominant quality or intellectual power, constitutes for me an interesting face. For this reason the face of an older person, perhaps not beautiful in the strictest sense, is usually more appealing than the face of a younger person who has scarcely been touched by life."
The qualities that Ulmann sought to capture in her mountaineers are on display in this collection of 63 photographs. Most of these photographs are from the mountain regions of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia. They are all portraits with Ulmann focusing on the face and on its expression. The subjects include wizened, elderly men and women, singles and couples, preachers, weavers, carvers, miners, and children. There are several photographs of mountain fiddlers, singers, and other musicians, perhaps reflecting Nile's influence. She shows a gaunt, proud, independent, and rural people. Many of the photographs show subjects of a highly reflective character. Ulmann's photographs captured the people of Appalachia just before the more famous photos of the region were taken by photographers, such as Walker Evans, under the sponsorship of the Farm Security Administration. Her photographs show a toughness and a lack of sentimentality that are her own. They capture a vanished world.
I was fortunate to come across this book and to learn something of both Doris Ulmann and the Appalachian mountain people. I hope this review will encourage readers to explore further one or both of these fascinating subjects. They capture something rare, little-known, and valuable about the United States.
Robin Friedman
October 8, 2018
Interesting background and very interesting photos of Appalachia in the late '20's and early 1930's.
Read at Dan's home in Cincinnati Ohio.
Read at Dan's home in Cincinnati Ohio.
October 11, 2013
The Appalachian Photographs of Doris Ulmann by John Jacob Niles (The Jargon Society 1971) (779.0924) is a compilation of Doris Ulmann's photographs of the people of the Southern Appalachian mountains as selected by her photographic assistant and collaborator John Jacob Niles. This is a wonderful series of truly moving portraits selected for inclusion by the person who knew best this portion of her work. She paved the way for later photographers of the same genre such as the incomparable Shelby Lee Adams. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 10/10/13.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews