It is not easy to find a great selection of out of print and rare Photography books. The best publications sometimes barely hit the market only to disappear into libraries of first edition collectors or special dealers. I always hoped to find somebody who would be a photographer, understand the passion for photography, and somehow manage to track down these rare books and make them available to others who are interested for realistic prices, not some lottery winner specials.
I was really lucky to run into Vincent Borrelli a few years ago. He is not just a Bookseller for out of print, rare, used, antiquarian and hard to find books, he is a Photographer himself, a quite excellent one, I might add. He had his work exhibited in the MoMA, among other places. He lives and understands the Art so well, that each purchase turns into an adventure and educational experience.
It was Vincent Borrelli who expanded my horizon when I was looking for a catalogue of one of Andreas Gursky's exhibition catalogues. He told me more about the class around Bernd and Hilla Becher, the couple who's students now dominate what we know as Contemporary German Photography. Their other students were Axel Hütte, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth and the stunning Candida Höfer. I had never heard of Höfer's work, but the recommendation was coming from somebody with a very refined taste. I really agree.
If you are looking for any special or rare photography-book, try contacting Vincent Borrelli and ask him about it. Be ready to widen your horizon. And yes, it is quite possible that he has this out of print book you were looking for. I just found Candida Höfer - Zoologische Gärten, a book I could not find for quite a while. I also found another superbly rare limited edition book, Candida Höfer's Zwölf - Twelve , Limited Edition (with print) There are only 100 of these books out there. And so we have another full circle.
I will place a permanent link to Vincent Borrelli in the links section of the site later. I am really glad I found him.