maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page1 STEVEN MANFORD BEHIND THE PHOTO THE STAMPS OF MAN RAY maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page2 STEVEN MANFORD BEHIND THE PHOTO The Stamps of Man Ray CARNET DE RHINOCÉROS jr 2006 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page4 An Essay on the Stamps of Man Ray What began for me as a chore : finding good stamp impressions and photographing them, evolved into a playful challenge. How many stamps could I find in the course of my various investigations & inquiries into Man Ray’s life in photography ? How many were there ? Which were the posthumous creations of others ? Were there really any fake stamps ? Such questions provided ample excuse and enough intrigue to revisit several hundred photographs, and my findings so far have been extraordinary. This concise monograph’s purpose is to introduce the highlights of ongoing research and concurrent contemplation of Man Ray’s (and regrettably, ‘others’) handiwork — his handwriting & signatures, the grease pencil marks, custom stamps, printer instructions, dedications, certifications, and of course : the stamps - originals & copies, lifetime & posthumous. Page of Stamps assembled by the Man Ray Trust Though I am reluctant to admit it, often a photograph’s verso becomes more compelling than the black and white image : rich with history, giving their testimony like pages from a diary. maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page6 Photography may not have been Man Ray’s “first love.” Yet, independent of his artistic ambitions in other media, his creative success with photography was unequivocal. He was prolific, ignoring conventions and allowing his ideas and free spirit to put him a bit ahead of everyone else in the medium. From the modest passport photo to the one of a kind cameraless Rayograph, Man Ray negotiated an income and a creative life. Thousands of photographs were made in his lifetime. There are no less than fourteen thousand negatives in public and private hands today. The brilliant photographs did not arise from luck, accidents, or tricks. They resulted from the tireless efforts of a committed artist. Little has been done to understand the significance of the stamps, which is odd since the marketplace has placed an erroneous premium or discount on photographs based on the presence or absence of a stamp. Laziness is another reason since it takes energy & work to evaluate Man Ray’s photographs as unique objects. As I learn more about the stamps, the process of evaluating provenance and authenticating photographs is yielding more authoritative findings. So my hope is for you to find here a compact resource to assess photographs more critically. This provisional inventory of the key stamps should help the custodians of Man Ray photographs and scholars to identify and cite most Man Ray stamps with greater precision. For example, it has been commonplace to see auction houses describe a Man Ray lot as having a Rue Campagne Première stamp. When there are at least six lifetime stamps and one fake stamp, this sort of general cataloguing is not helpful. The devil is in the details. The inexpensive rubber stamps inked and pressed to the back of a Man Ray photo identify the maker, they supply contact information, and claim copyright. As expected from an impecunious artist who changed addresses, who had a long career (and life) – there were many stamps. There has long been confusion about the meaning of these stamps. It is worth summarizing the assertions made by various individuals : The stamping by Man Ray was done carelessly (not true). Man Ray was indifferent to which stamps were used (not true). People other than Man Ray were stamping Man Ray photographs (true). Fraudulent stamps were made and used (true). Stamps function to date the negative (many exceptions). Stamps function to date when the photograph was printed (even more exceptions). One argument proposes that because there was no logic behind the use of the stamps, the stamps ultimately cannot reveal anything which contributes towards the dating of photographs, negatives, ownership, or print use. maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page8 Yet a mere scan of this guide turns such reasoning on its head, given the often significant relationships between the various aspects of a Man Ray photograph. The provenance of a photograph, for example, is essential for interpreting any accompanying stamps. Very often when considered in context, the stamps often tell us where a photograph came from, and when it left the hands of Man Ray, or someone else’s. My initial motivation for gathering impressions of the stamps was to incorporate the information into the appendix of the catalogue raisonné of the Rayographs (currently in preparation). Cataloguing continues as an essential part of my commitment to combining scientific rigor with connoisseurship to my authentication process for Man Ray photographs in general. Some years ago Man Ray’s ‘secretary’ Lucien Treillard produced his inventory of 10 stamps, along with some odd and controversial theories. More recently, The Man Ray Trust put together a group of stamp impressions culled from their substantial holdings. The many additional stamps that they located piqued my curiosity. With Treillard’s one page of inventory as a starting point, the Trust added their additional stamps to Treillard’s typewritten page (see illustrations). When finished the Trust had catalogued 20 stamps, of which 14 are probably lifetime stamps with the remainder being posthumous. Though an impressive effort, my interest was again piqued because the stamps were neither organized nor contextualized in any way. Even more exciting, I knew at first glance that I had other stamps to add to the already crowded page. Gathering and documenting the stamps, which included wet and embossed blind stamps, involved scanning the verso. Sometimes the stamp was on the back of the photo, sometimes the stamp was on the supporting mount. It is not uncommon for a photograph to have no stamp on it. In two instances it was only possible to document them with a camera (thus two stamps are slightly distorted). At present my collection includes about 300 details as well. But the photographs were not the sole source for stamp impressions. This essay draws upon a collection of approximately 1,200 letters from Man Ray. Some of this correspondence and the attached envelopes were stamped. The dating of these letters has aided in pinpointing the lifespan of certain stamps. The oversized reproductions shown herein are taken from un-retouched digital files. The enlargements allow scrutiny of the individual variations : font types, sizes, and spacing. I have organized the illustrations and commentary first into the main chronological periods : Paris (1921-1940), Hollywood (1941-1951), Paris (1951-1976), Posthumous (1976 to present). maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page10 Within those parameters stamps are roughly grouped according to type and use : addresses, name stamps, copyright, facsimile signature stamps, miscellaneous, and posthumous stamps. The material considered here is largely confined to lifetime stamps. Several typical posthumous stamps are noted. It is important to note that not all known stamps are illustrated and discussed here. Stamps were excluded due to suspicions, or if I could not secure a reasonable reproduction. To close my preamble, I offer a disclaimer : The information provided is not represented as either complete or without possible error. As an ongoing research project, with time the sample will grow and the insights should improve. Comments and material from the reader are welcome. For our discussion here there are 27 known lifetime stamps. By lifetime I want to suggest that each of these 27 stamps was made for and used by Man Ray. A sample of 10 posthumous stamps have been included, among those : a 31 bis rue Campagne Première stamp, an edition stamp, printer stamps, copyright stamps, and examples made under the authority of Juliet Man Ray and The Man Ray Trust. Of the 27 lifetime stamps, 19 date from the twenties and thirties. This large number should come as no surprise since the majority of Man Ray’s photographic work was produced in these two decades. Broadly speaking, these stamps chart his rise to prominence as a photographer. They speak to the ascendancy of photography in the popular magazines. In contrast to the present day, the stamps scarcely recognize the Man Ray photograph as a valuable object or as a work of art. The career of Man Ray as a creative and working photographer began years before Paris. Exceptional avant-garde works, such as Moving Sculpture and Dust Breeding were made in New York before Paris. Copying works of art for others further defined him as a working photographer. It is remarkable then to realize that Man Ray had no stamp fabricated in New York. Man Ray reached Paris in July of 1921. He left in the summer of 1940, prompted by the invasion of Paris. Handwriting of Man Ray on verso maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page12 The premiere stamp used by Man Ray is concise, announcing MAN RAY and his home as simply PARIS and PHOTO - the medium of his growing occupation. This stamp, and his early correspondence shows that Man Ray sought identification with his photography from the outset. Fabricated in 1921 while he was still in temporary quarters, the stamp appears on the earliest photographs. Among the items which carry this stamp are : photographs sent to magazines (such as Vanity Fair), portrait commissions, copy work for artists and dealers, and several of the first Rayographs of 1922. Paris was the liberation of Man Ray. The stamp declared that new path. In certain contexts the stamps on a photograph offer scant evidence of authenticity, provenance, print date, or of quality and rarity. But, others can provide solid insights about a photograph, about this artist, and the photograph’s life. There is an ideal impression to find on a Man Ray photograph. While certain stamps have been compromised, having been reused over several decades, or used inappropriately, this stamp had a short yet wonderful life. Inaugurated around the fall of 1921 it seems to have been used through 1922. Therefore, it had a life of little more than one year. With the transition to the more permanent studio address on Rue Campagne Première, and with the creation of new studio stamps, the old stamp became obsolete. Paris, the first Stamp - M1 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page14 Man Ray’s real home was Montparnasse. About June of 1922, he moved from the Hotel des Écoles, on Rue Delambre, to the studio at 31 bis, Rue Campagne Première. Here he flourished. Berenice Abbott, Kiki, Lee Miller, and Marcel Duchamp each worked here. The Art Deco building served as his studio for nearly thirteen years. No opinion will be offered here on the chronological sequencing of the six Rue Campagne Première stamps. We do not know enough to argue an order at present. At least one stamp survived well into the sixties. Some narrowing of dates is possible by looking at his various Paris telephone numbers, among those : ‘Fleurus 29-40’, ‘Gobelins 12-48’, ‘Littré 76-57’, ‘Fleurus 42-69’, and ‘Danton 92-25’. Unfortunately, only the Littré number is represented among the stamps. The Littré stamps (M4 & M7) were in use aproximately between the years of 1929 and 1930. The two stamps with the postal code probably were in use afterwards. M2, illustrated on the facing page may be the first Paris address stamp in use. It certainly was in use by the mid-twenties. First Rue Campagne Première Stamp - M2 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page16 Second Rue Campagne Première Stamp - M3 Third Rue Campagne Première Stamp - M4 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page18 Fourth Rue Campagne Première Stamp - M5 Fifth Rue Campagne Première Stamp - M6 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page20 What is useful, for those not familiar with the stamps is to make some distinctions between each. Focusing on the bis is one way of noting the slight variations. In the first stamp (M2) the bis is large and aligned with the rest of the line. By contrast, in the next stamp (M3) the most closely related stamp, the bis is raised. The third (M4) stamp is easy to distinguish by the inclusion of the telephone number. M2 M3 M4 The last two lifetime square stamps (M5 & M6) incorporate the arrondissement. Focusing again on the bis, the subtle differences are obvious. In the fourth stamp (M5) the bis is all in capitals. It is the only such Rue Campagne Première stamp. In the next stamp (M6) the bis is raised, as in the second and third stamps (M4), while the arrondissement is now in roman numerals. There is one last stamp which is an imitation of the fifth stamp. The bis is different still. This is a posthumously manufactured stamp. While this fake stamp (M28) copies the features of the fifth stamp (M6), including the arrondissement in roman numerals, the bis is raised and is a slight san serif font. Later on, I shall discuss further this problematic Rue Campagne Première stamp. M5 M6 Rectangular Rue Campagne Première Stamp - M7 Fake Stamp - M28 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page22 The subsequent Paris addresses for Man Ray brought new stamps. About the summer of 1935, Man Ray takes up new quarters at 8, Rue du Val-de-Grace. By this time he was a mature and influential fashion photographer. Two address stamps exist, both are equally known. What distinguishes them apart is that one is laid out in three lines (M8), while the latter is laid out in four lines (M9). As he moves, we will see that Man Ray is keeping the same telephone number. The area code DANTON, that corresponds to the numbers 326, was reserved for the neighbourhood between St Germain des Prés and Montparnasse. Man Ray brought this number from the Rue Campagne Première studio (see calling card last illustration). Two Val de Grace Stamps - M8 & M9 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page24 Two years on, about the Spring of 1937, Man Ray acquires a new address, this one nearby at 40, Rue Denfert-Rochereau address. What appears might be one stamp is actually two different stamps. The larger stamp : MAN RAY 40 RUE DENFERT-ROCHEREAU PARIS 5, lacks only his telephone number. An abbreviated version of this stamp is known. It reads simply : 40 RUE DENFERT-ROCHEREAU. Paying close attention one notes that the numbers are dissimilar, as is the spacing between words. Since the telephone number was not part of the new address stamp a separate telephone number stamp was made. The DANTON 92-25 stamp (M12) appears, with the address stamps on photos and stationery. Two Denfert-Rochereau Stamps - M10 & M11 A Letter to Julien Levy - M10 with M12 Telephone Stamp - M12 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page26 A new type of stamp appears around 1934-35. Man Ray was charging substantial fees for fashion assignments. A recognition of this welcome income compelled him to assert some control over the photographs appearing in Harper’s Bazaar magazine. There were other influencing factors which required of him to protect image and copyright. With the publication of his book of photographs in 1934, by agreement with the backer and publisher James Thrall Soby – it was Soby who was to receive the royalties for any subsequent publication of the book’s contents. These factors encouraged Man Ray to have fabricated the COPYRIGHT stamp (M13) and the REPRODUCTION INTERDITE stamp (M14). Undoubtedly, the strangest address stamp briefly locates Man Ray not in Paris, but in London (M15). It is a pleasant surprise to find this rare stamp. The little known story of Man Ray in London is charming. In the summer of 1934, having just purchased a copy of Man Ray’s new book of photographs, the London designer Edward McKnight Kauffer wrote to Man Ray with compliments and a proposal. The invitation is to show his work at the Lund Humphries Gallery. Man Ray shows his photographs at 12, Bedford Square in 1934 and again in 1935. Along with shows London provided Man Ray with numerous sitters, social, and collaborative opportunities. MacKnight Kauffer seems to have thoughtfully managed Man Ray’s representation in London. Two Early Copyright Stamps - M13 & M14 London Adress Stamp - M15 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page28 The sundry name stamps unfortunately have no stories attached. The two small name stamps, the san serif stamp (M16) is used during the Rue Campagne Première residence. The second, a serif stamp (M17) is also used since the first Paris residence and is frequently accompanied by a Paris address stamp. There is also an American embossed blind name stamp (M20), see next page, the most common of the name stamps. First used in the late forties, it will be reused again in Paris. We must mention two facsimile signature stamps in addition (M18 & M19). These are quite small. They have been found on a limited range of items : from editions, to 1960’s or 1970’s prints, to the personal effects of Man Ray (such as books). Viewed in person, neither stamp would be confused with an actual signature. Name Stamps - M16 & M17 Two Signature Stamps - M18 & M19 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page30 The purchase of a small home outside of Paris in 1939 made it possible for Man Ray to work quietly without discussions of war. In August of 1940, Man Ray reluctantly made his way to Portugal. Sailing from Lisbon, Man Ray returned to America. For a few weeks he stayed with his younger sister Elsie Siegler in New Jersey. Then, as the story goes, Man Ray crossed America by car. In the first days of 1941 he moved in to an idyllic Hollywood studio. It was a difficult time. The arrival of Juliet Browner, and his marriage to her brightened this period of exile. Embossed Blind Stamp - M20 The 1245 Vine Street address stamp (M21) appears on nearly all the photographs made in the forties. It is unheard of for a photograph from any other period being marked with this stamp. It is frequently mated with the PHOTOGRAPH BY MAN RAY stamp. Three versions look similar. The first, the letters are the shortest (M22). The second, the letters are taller (M23). The third, the letters are thicker (M24). The fourth, the stamp eliminates the word BY (M25). Vine Street Stamp - M21 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page32 Photograph by Man Ray Stamps - M22 & M23 Photograph by Man Ray Stamps - M24 & M25 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page34 The much anticipated return to Paris waited until 1951. With the beautiful Juliet, they made a home from an odd building at 2 bis, Rue Férou. Located near the Luxembourg Gardens, it would be the studio and home of Man Ray for the last quarter century of his life. In a sense Man Ray had no studio stamp. There is no Rue Férou stamp. One finds, as a consequence, when an address is needed on a photograph, he would write it in – the old stamp’s address crossed out. The closest thing we have to an address stamp is the eccentric ÉPREUVE ORIGINALE ATELIER MAN RAY PARIS stamp (M26). When exactly this homely stamp appears is speculation. The wholesale reprinting of Man Ray’s oeuvre only begins in the sixties. More likely, the stamp dates from this period. Crossed-out Address Stamp by Man Ray Atelier Man Ray Stamp - M26 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page36 A stamp accorded considerable status is the ORIGINAL stamp fabricated to identify the one-of-a-kind cameraless Rayograph (M27). Since a Rayograph was typically made without a negative, each example is unique. But, because Man Ray on occasion photographed the object, thus generating a negative, it was by this means possible to make a second generation Rayograph or an edition (as Les Champs Délicieux). This created problems later for Man Ray. Collectors insisted on knowing that they had the original. New enlargements and portfolios were commonplace in the 1960s. Early on he began infrequently inscribing prints ‘Original’ in his own handwriting. The stamp was a later invention, and a response to market awareness. The absence of a stamp does not call a Rayograph in to question. The stamped works represent a minority. Later in his life collectors, and especially dealers wanted to have their photographs marked. The more demanding asked for handwritten certificates. In addition to the stamp, Man Ray sometimes inscribed the unique photograph ‘sans negatif’. This stamp, as with others were entrusted to Lucien Treillard after the death of Man Ray in 1976. Ostensibly this was done to prevent Juliet Man Ray from mis-stamping the photographs. When Treillard felt a photograph was good, he would stamp the photograph. Sometimes a certificate was given. Only in later years did anyone raise questions about this policy. The Original Stamp - M27 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page38 At various times the Man Ray Trust asked for the return of their property. Many stamps are believed to still exist, and the potential for further misuse persists. The existence of a posthumous Rue Campagne Première stamp (M28) has long been acknowledged among the Man Ray trade. It is nonetheless, a controversial subject. Some consider the posthumous stamping with a stamp easily confused for an early stamp to be an unethical practice. Still others feel it is a deception amounting to fraud. Who authorized the fabrication of the stamp is unclear. What is an absolute fact is that Lucien Treillard had control of the stamp throughout his life, and it was the stamp he favoured. How does one interpret a photograph which carries this stamp ? Photographs bearing the Treillard stamp are not immediately suspect, fraudulent, or assumed to be printed posthumously. This fact cannot be overstated strongly enough. Such a stamp is commonly found. To appreciate the complexity of the matter it is best to sketch out what happened with Man Ray photographs after he died in 1976. The process of organizing the vast inventory of the Man Ray studio was a protracted process. Fake Rue Campagne Première Stamp - M28 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page40 With the simultaneous involvement of Juliet Man Ray, her assistant Jerome Gold, Lucien Treillard, and the brothers of Juliet, the roles of authentication, cataloguing, and collection management were problematic, to put it politely. Various people were stamping photographs. Not everyone had a fair understanding of the stamps, and not every photograph stamped may have been a good photograph. Selectively stamping photographs from the studio was commonplace. Many photographs now carried the Paris ADAGP copyright stamps (M29 & M30) as a means of promoting the payment of royalties. Because the studio only had some stamps – the use of those stamps has skewed the bias towards certain stamps. Up until the death of Man Ray stamps were used with a logic. In the twenties the issue was achieving credit for the work. In the thirties it was ensuring royalties. Much later the stamp served solely to authenticate. Once the stamps fell into the hands of others the merit of those stamps diminishes. Not all the photographs left in the studio, now the Man Ray Trust, are stamped. At intervals the stamping was felt to detract from the value of the photographs. Two Posthumous Copyright Stamps - M29 & M30 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page42 During the preparation of the 1995 Sotheby’s London estate auction Treillard offered to stamp all the consigned photographs. This offer was declined, though some photographs had been stamped previously. The posthumous stamping of Man Ray photographs was done with lifetime and posthumous stamps. Not just studio inventory has been stamped after the artist’s death. Those wishing to have their own photographs stamped would bring them to Lucien Treillard or to Juliet Man Ray. If properly satisfied the photograph might be stamped. This responsibility increasingly fell to the former secretary. With Man Ray’s stamps inaccessible to the legal heirs, Mr. Treillard enjoyed playing the role of expert. Regarding several stamps reading MAN RAY PARIS, their dates of origin are unclear, in fact at least one is posthumous. Perhaps they all are. One example finds them in a single line, the name and city name separated by a dash (M31). In a second and third stamps they are laid out in two lines (M32 & M33). Matched in font PARIS is shifted slightly to the right in the third stamp. The forth is a facsimile stamp made for the Man Ray Trust. It uses this stamp, and incorporates the thirties stamp REPRODUCTION INTERDITE, and adds a signature (M34). Questionable or Posthumous Name Stamps - M31, M32, M33, M34 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page44 The problem with posthumous stamps is they have a tendency to imitate genuine lifetime stamps. Of course, if one does not know what a lifetime stamp is the situation becomes really complicated. As with the above group of stamps, we may have a few lifetime stamps and we may have a few posthumous stamps. The Trust fabricated a number of Archive stamps to mark and inventory their collection. One of the earliest stamps was the JEROME GOLD MAN RAY TRUST STAMP (M35). It seems that during the eighties the two copyright stamps for the agency ADAGP were manufactured though Man Ray had for decades received regular royalty cheques. Many photographs sold by Juliet and the Trust carry one of these stamps. An Early Man Ray Trust Stamp - M35 As a final sampling of the posthumous stamps, there are numerous printer and edition stamps. Illustrated are two stamp impressions declaring a photograph to have been made by Pierre Gassmann (M36 & M37). A celebrated printer, Gassmann printed for Man Ray late in his life, and also made some of the posthumous photographs. Only some of the posthumous photographs made under the direction of Lucien Treillard carry one of these printer stamps. Two Posthumous Printer Stamps - M36 & M37 maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page46 This survey is an introduction to the stamps and the issues. There are minefields aplenty, but those aware of the name Man Ray already know this. The primary task is simply to know what the stamp is, and to identify it completely. So much confusion is engendered by sloppy documentation. We hardly bother to look at the backs of photographs. The necessary tools have not yet been developed by the trade, the photo historian, or professional organizations (such as AIPAD). Most of the posthumous and fake stamps have now been ferreted out. Several of the actual lifetime stamps themselves are unlocated and still believed to exist. This remains an obstacle to preventing further mis-stamping and fraud. There was a logic and methodology to stamping, it endures to the present day. One just needs to ask who had access to Man Ray stamps, and what were the motivations. Many early Man Ray photographs have no stamps at all, some others have misused stamps. The only way to understand a Man Ray photograph, after identifying the stamp(s) is to investigate the history of the object. Steven Manford, Paris, May 2006 Verso of Man Ray maquette Man Ray Serge_maquette geppetti 06/10/13 15:57 Page48 This essay has been printed in 1.225 copies on tueday May the 30th 2006, a six-week belated anniversary of the birth of the poet Tristan Tzara. This notebook can be found at : Librairie Serge Plantureux 4, Galerie Vivienne 75002 Paris
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