Why I launched a new photobook imprint—veteran bookseller and publisher reveals next career move
Foxed Editions co-founded by Rudi Thoemmes focuses on overlooked parts of photographic history
Rudi Thoemmes is a veteran bookseller and publisher with a long history in the publishing industry. He has worked as an antiquarian bookseller, founded Thoemmes Press and RRB Photobooks, and now aims to launch a new imprint called Foxed Editions. This imprint will focus on facsimiles of overlooked historical photobooks and new publications that explore neglected aspects of photographic history.
Foxed Editions will feature titles such as Fred Judge's 1924 study Camera Pictures of London at Night and Thomas Wiegand's 66 Books from East Germany.
Thoemmes believes that the launch of Foxed Editions is not merely a new venture, but rather a convergence of his various experiences in collecting, antiquarian bookselling, and publishing. He has published several thousand reprints through Thoemmes Press, which focused on lesser-known figures and works throughout his career. When considering which overlooked books to recover, Thoemmes relies on the historical importance of the publication, even if it may be subject to change over time.
An example of this approach is his 1906-1913 edited volume Trees of Britain and Ireland, which was virtually unknown in the photography world but has significant historical value.
One of the main reasons for selecting East German photobooks for Foxed Editions was the unique stories they tell on multiple levels. These books provide valuable insights into cultural and comparative aspects of the period, and they offer a largely unexplored territory that can be examined for a relatively low cost. While not all GDR photobooks were directly commissioned by the state, many were produced under official institutions' guidance.
However, these photographers, designers, and editors often created visually sophisticated and subtle works that go beyond simple propaganda.
Foxed Editions also aims to challenge established histories of the photobook that have relied too heavily on a familiar canon of names and landmark publications. Instead, the imprint seeks to shift perspectives by expanding the histories of emerging subjects and highlighting important works that have been overlooked. One example of this approach is the upcoming republication of Camera Pictures of London at Night, which is considered an important precursor to the more well-known books by Harold Burdekin and Bill Brandt.
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