SUMIHARU WATANABE / Face of Washington Square

Sumiharu Watanabe
Face of Washington Square (Washington Hiroba no Kao), 1965
First edition
Softcover in publisher's printed slipcase with original obi, unpaginated
26 x 18.5cm
Hashimoto Yuyudo, Tokyo

Condition: Very Good. Complete with the publisher's original slipcase and obi. The slipcase shows moderate age toning, light rubbing and scattered shelf wear, with minor wear to the extremities. The book itself is clean and well preserved, with a sound binding, bright pages and only light handling wear. A handsome, complete example of this increasingly scarce photobook.

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Published in New York in 1965, Face of Washington Square is the first and only photobook by Japanese photographer Sumiharu Watanabe. Made while living in New York in the early 1970s, the book offers an intimate portrait of Washington Square Park and the eclectic community that gathered there during a period of profound cultural and social change. Watanabe's quietly observant photographs move between candid street scenes and lyrical moments of everyday life, capturing the spirit of downtown Manhattan with remarkable warmth and sensitivity.

Long out of print and increasingly difficult to source, Face of Washington Square has become one of the most sought-after Japanese photobooks documenting New York, prized for its understated vision and its unique position within the history of both Japanese and American photography.