Das Einfränkler-imperium
Irene Stutz (Scheidegger & Spiess, 2007)
This book, which was developed from a thesis project for a visual communications degree from Zurich University of the Arts by the author, Irene Stutz, tells the history of Schnellphoto AG, the Swiss photobooth company that ran photobooths around the country for more than four decades.
The book, which is equal parts history and photography, illuminates the story of Christoph and Martin Balke, the brothers who ran Schnellphoto, through essays, interviews, and a stunning series of mostly black-and-white photographs of not only the photobooths themselves, but of everything that orbited the world of the photobooths: offices, manuals, equipment, spare parts, maps, charts, letters, and files that grew up around the photobooths at Schnellphoto.
The book also includes hundreds of photobooth photos, most in that uniquely Swiss horizontal orientation, as well as advertisements, newspaper articles, cartoons, and other ephemera related to the booths.
Thanks to Irene and Tobias for arranging to get us a copy of the book.
Contributed by Brian
