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Parr, Martin : Saddam Hussein Watches

Chris Boot, London, England, 2004

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 36 pages. Collection of watch photographs. One of Martin Parr's finest achievements. Limited Edition of 500 copies. The first and only edition. There is no ISBN. The Limited Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Chris Boot Limited Design SMITH: Oversize-tabloid format. Pictorial softcovers with bold red titles on the cover and enlarged image of Saddam Hussein on back, as issued. Photographs conceived and directed by Martin Parr. There is no text. Shiny gold bag with black titles and luxurious wrinkling on the cover and back, as issued. Printed on pristine-white, thick uncoated stock paper in Italy to the highest standards. The quality of the whole production is exemplary in every respect. Without DJ, as issued. Published in conjunction with the D'Arles Photography Festival in 2004, of which the photographer was the main attraction. Presents Martin Parr's "Saddam Hussein Watches". Luxury wrist watches and other time pieces bearing the image of Saddam Hussein, souvenir-reminders of a corrupt and brutal regime whose time finally ran out. As a collection, it is best seen in light of Parr's other published collections of postcards, vintage photographs, and Christmas cards. Like much of the latter, Saddam Hussein's taste is generously described as kitsch, of the most expensive kind. And for someone who appeared to despise the West so much, he nevertheless coveted, and appropriated for his own use, what he perceived to be her status symbols (so there are also a few, cheaply produced American rip-offs of the watches, produced as souvenirs of the Iraq War and Saddam Hussein's fall). Meanwhile, Parr's oblique, indirect, and witty approach leaves a strong aftertaste. An absolute "must-have" title for Martin Parr collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed in black pen-marker on the back of the original gold bag by Martin Parr. It is signed on the bag itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is now collectible. This is one of few such signed copies of the Limited Edition still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: The shiny gold bag is unopened and integral to the book. In order to see the actual content, it must be opened very carefully so as not to ruin the book's collectible value. A rare signed copy thus. 35 color plates. The most influential and most important British photographer of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER MARTIN PARR TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).

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