A Tiara of Milk This spring sale VAN HAM is due to live up to its reputation as leading German auctioneer in the field of Photography. Exceptional highlights are the works of the American photo pioneer Harold E. Edgerton. Even decades after the creation of his snap-shots, in which time seems to stand still, the onlooker cannot help but be fascinated. His famous book "Stopping Time" was an international success. VAN HAM now offers three of his sought-after works, amongst these the two icons "Splash of a Milk Drop on a Plate" and "Bullet through Apple" (Lots 584-586, Taxed: € 1.800 - 2.600). Due to the particularly good results Albert Renger-Patzsch achieved in the last years, he is now a regular favourite in our sales. In this sale he is represented with several original prints of the 1920s up to 1950s, amongst these one of his most renowned pieces "Das Bäumchen" of 1929 which is moderately taxed 14.000 Euro (Lot 748). Noteworthy too is the small series of architectural pictures taken near Chemnitz of the Bauhaus-style ROGO-Works of the 1930s (Lots 754 - 756/ Taxed: € 2.200 - 2.400) as well as several landscape-, nature, and architectural studies of France, North-, and Western Germany (Lots 749 - 753; 757 - 760/ Taxed: € 800 - 2.000). As usual, the Cologne photographers August Sander and the Fotowerkstätte Schmölz are once again included in our repertoire. A beautiful portrait of a girl of 1932 August Sander is on offer. This vintage is taxed 1.600 Euro (Lot 787). Also included are the rare landscape- and architectural studies of the Lower Rhine dating 1932 (Lots 788 - 789/Taxed up to € 1.400). Interesting motifs printed by his son Gunter Sander in the 1970s of his famous work "Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts" are also on offer (Lots 790 - 791/ Taxed: € 1.400). Cologne photographers Hugo and Karl-Hugo Schmölz were renowned for their high-quality architectural pictures and their works are presented in this sale with several original prints of the 1920s (Lots 802 - 811). Noteworthy is especially the beautiful original print of the Stahlkirche, in 1928 which was part of the international fair "Pressa"in Cologne (Lot 802/ Taxed: € 800). The repertoire of photographs of the 1920s to the 1930s contains several other artists, the highlights amongst which are the several brilliant nature studies by Alfred Ehrhardt (Lots 587 - 589/ Taxed € 700 each), the vintage "Ersatzreifen" by Hein Gorny (Lot 618/ Taxed: € 2.200), pictures by Paul Wolff and Alfred Tritschler (Lots 859 - 869/ Taxed: € 600 - 900) and the beautiful original print "Taverne am Meer" by Herbert List, dating1937 (Lot714/ Taxed: € 2.500). The photographer Rudolf Holtappel captured the German economic boom during the 1960s and 1970s with impressive shots of the Ruhr area (Lots 658 - 661). His original prints taxed with 400 to 600 Euro are in no aspect inferior to that of Chargesheimer and contemporaries. Traditionally well represented in the sale are large format prints of the photo-school Otto Steinert, amongst these excellent works by Toni Schneiders (Lots 812 - 815/ Taxed: € 1.200 - 1.800), Peter Keetman (Lots 672 - 678/ Taxed: € 1.400-2.200) and Ludwig Windstosser (Lots 853-856/ Taxed: € 1.400-1.600). Amongst the internationally renowened artist are, for example, the beautiful tree study "Winter, forest detail" by Ansel Adams (Lot 525 / Taxed: € 2.500) and several works by Mario Giacomelli (Lose 611 - 613/ Taxed: € 1.400 - 1.600). Exquisite people- and city studies can be found in the original prints by Henri Cartier-Bresson, amongst these two pictures from the series "La Basilicata", dating 1952 (Lots 570 - 571/ Taxed each € 2.400), as well as one shot from the 1960s, depicting two fishermen (Lot 573/ Taxed: € 3.500). Contemporary art is represented in this sale with an interesting and diverse spectrum. The sought-after C-print "The Dove" by the artist Loretta Lux, born in Dresden and currently living in Dublin, is taxed between 12.000 and 14.000 Euro (Lot 718). An exquisite three-piece work "A romes-Roses-Iris" by Marie-Jo Lafontaine dates 1995 and is taxed with 6.000 Euro (Lot 701). Interesting for collectors are the architectural studies by the Swedish photographer Miriam Bäckstöm (Lot531 - 532/ Taxed € 1.800 each). A high-quality album of the Cologne based photographer Boris Becker is moderately taxed with 1.200 Euro (Lot 543). The C-print "Interieur (INT 03)" by Thomas Ruff is estimated at 1.500 Euro (Lot 781). Also worth mentioning are the distinguished architectural studies of the photographer Candida Höfer, amongst these "BNF Paris XVIII 1998" (Lot 650/ Taxed: € 6.000), "Städelschule Frankfurt am Main 1993" (Lot 651/ Taxed: € 3.000) and "Wartesaal Düsseldorf 1981" (Lot 652/ Taxed: € 2.400). The lavishly created "The Book of Life" by Robert and Shana Parkeharrison, taxed with 12.000-16.000 Euro (Lot 763) is also not to be overlooked. Successfully represented in the photography sales of VAN HAM since fall 2007 and also on offer in this sale, is a range of precious photo-literature. One highlight, for example, is the unique book design, Photographs 1938 - 1990, created by Ferenc Berkó and Karl Steinorth (Lot 506/ Taxed: € 5.000).