brian cassidy bookselle

11.
[Protest]. MONTFORT, Michael
(Photographer)
[May 1968 Photo Archive]
[Paris], [1968]
106 vintage gelatin silver prints
(with twelve duplicates) trimmed
to sizes ranging from 11.75” x
7.5” to 12” x 9.5”. Various holographic
notations in photographer’s
hand to versos, the most
common being “Paris, Mai 68 ©
Montfort.” A small group of six photographs covering the elections
of 1969 printed double-weight and stamped STERN, the German weekly
magazine. Prints curling slightly; some with minor edge-wear or
creasing at corners. Very good to near fine.
Striking in detail and proximity, this collection depicts the events
of May 1968: barricades in the Latin quarter; the meeting of the Union
Nationale des Étudiants de France at Stade Charlety (where tens of
thousands demonstrated); the occupation of the Sorbonne and Odeon
Theater, etc. The photographs capture scenes of anonymous demonstrators
throwing paving stones and climbing on barricades, riot
police in conflict with protesters, clearing streets, and like. Also:
bystanders, observers, and a number of Red Cross and other aid workers.
Notable as well are images of counter-demonstrators. Several
photographs cover the pro-De Gaulle demonstration along the Champs-
Élysées on May 30th, which signaled the dissipation of the dream of
‘68. Four show a protest outside a factory in Mondeville near Caen,
possibly from January 1968 when a strike at the Renault-owned Saviem
factory later that year precipitated the largest general strike
in French history. Monfort is best known for his collaborations with
Charles Bukowski (SHAKESPEARE NEVER DID THIS, etc.) and had a long
and noted career as a photojournalist. In all, a vibrant overview of
these events, demonstrating the subtleties and passions of this watershed
moment, one that Guy Debord described as “the most important
experience of the modern proletarian movement.”
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