I love reference books. And photography. So it should be no surprise that I'm fond of the "Life Library of Photography." It doesn't hurt that I'm frugal and these books are both common and cheap at thrift stores.
There are at least two different versions of these books, and my collection is a mixed bag. The older versions are slightly larger and have silver covers, while the smaller, newer versions have black cloth covers. The later books seem to be a little better built. Either way it's a great set of books that doesn't take up a lot of shelf space. Some of the technical information is dated, but you'll never get tired of looking at things like Walker Evans' "Love Before Breakfast."
Since I've put my collection together piecemeal over the years from various secondhand stores, I'm missing a few volumes - notably, the Index. I think however, that I've put together a list of what a complete set would contain.
- Index
- Documentary Photography
- Photography as a Tool
- Caring for Photographs
- The Art of Photography
- The Print
- Photographing Nature
- Color
- Light and Film
- Photojournalism
- The Camera
- Special Problems
- Great Photographers
- The Studio
- Photographing Children
- Travel Photography
- Frontiers of Photography
- The Great Themes
- Photography Year 1973
- Photography Year 1974
- Photography Year 1975
- Photography Year 1976
- Photography Year 1977
- Photography Year 1978
- Photography Year 1979
- Photography Year 1980
- Photography Year 1981
- Photography Year 1982/83
- Photography Year 1996
- Photography Year 1997
- Photography Year 2000
Since I don't own the Index, I'm not sure if these go in any particular order, but I think the list is complete - 17 books and 13 yearbooks, plus the Index. If someone has an Index and would like to chime in, feel free.
I also own an older copy of "Photography" by B. London,J. Upton,J. Stone, a popular textbook which was originally adapted from this series of books.