Jakob Tuggener: Books and Films

Factory conditions, country life and the glamour of high society were among the key themes of German photographer Jakob Tuggener (1904–88); he was also fascinated by railroads, ports, ships, car races and airshows.

From the mid-1930s Tuggener made book maquettes of all these subjects, each crafted meticulously by hand and featuring up to 150 original photos. None of these was published in his lifetime except Fabrik (1943), which has formed the basis of his international reputation and was reprinted by Steidl in 2011. Many of Tuggener’s subjects are also the focus of his short films, whose style oscillates between the documentary and fantasy. Books and Films comprises facsimiles of 12 of Tuggener’s maquettes, dating from 1936 to 1982, as well as a selection of his 16mm films on DVD. Both these silent black-and-white films and his photobooks contain no text, as he intended. This comprehensive publication is the first opportunity to grasp the immense scope of Tuggener’s work.