I took refuge in the past this week and it confirmed everything I already knew , if the truth be told the seventies were shit but being a teenager in the seventies was fantastic !
I mention this today because I was reading the Daniel Meadows “Living Like This “ book, last weekend , Mr Meadows lived in a double Decker bus during his photographic tour of Britain in the seventies, more importantly for me, he photographed Tyneside and Walker, he shot views I grew up seeing as a kid. Daniel was probably one of the first serious documentary photographers to record this part of the world in the 1970’s, blazing a trail just before Side Gallery, The only disappointing element of this book , is the quality of reproduction and paper, this publication looks like it was produced on a very tight budget and printed on 1975 bog paper . Perversely these low production values now contribute to the unique charm and authenticity of this 45 year old photographic artifact.
The quality problem inspired me to search for a more recent , better quality edition of this warm & honest depiction of Britain , without success, the pictures are great but the printing does get in the way !
My search was not a total failure, as I discovered Now And Then , 1970 - 2015 which went some way to quenching my thirst for this work, although I would still like to see a better quality 2nd edition of” Living Like This”, with a budget !
Both books are great reads, “Living Like This” reflects the evolving nature of British Photography at the time of the books creation and is richer for it , Now And Then was published last year to coincide with the exhibition of the same name . Both books are very different and of their time !
Despite everything I’ve said if I could only keep one of these reads, my tattered version of “Living Like This” would probably retain its space on my bookshelf, the new copy of Now And Then is much better but it lacks the authenticity & 1970’s pioneering ethos of Living Like This !
I ended up getting more or less what I was looking for from Now And Then and a bit more, it is much better but “much better” isn’t always best !
Now And Then, England 1970-2015 By Daniel Meadows , Printed by The Bodleian Library, 2019.
Until next time , keep it real !
