Les Américains

In 1955, Robert Frank travelled across the USA. A cowboy, a tattooed man napping in a park, the suffering of a woman at the funeral of someone dear to her, a shoeshine man, a highway, women clinking glasses… In 1958, just 83 of his images were published, to general indifference.

Over time, the book became a classic. Mocked as sad, perverse or even subversive by the American press at the time, the book’s importance has grown over the years. Photographers, critics and the general public came to hail Robert Frank’s work as truly innovative.

The book is in no way a reportage. It is less the story of one man’s journey across the USA than a collection of notes jotted down in haste by a tormented soul.

This reprinted edition comes with the text by Jack Kerouac featured in the first US edition of the book.