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Creator of American photographic illustration One of the forgotten masters of early 20th-century photography is Lejaren a Hiller, a pioneering advertising illustrator* [PRINTER'S ARCHIVE]. Lejaren Hiller. Sutures in Surgery. (''History of Surgery''). Davis Geck, inc. c1927-1932. Unique collection of 25 original metal printing plates of Hiller's photographs. Size : Approx. 6 1/4 x 6 3/4 (image): 2 1/4 x 6 (text) variations. Together with a reference book on the series titled, Surgery through the ages A pictorial chronical by LEJAREN A HILLER, Hastings House (1944). (Some pages have defective printing of plates added as a reference for the collection.) Arguably one of the most important medical advertising campaigns in photographic history, a masterpiece of TABLEAUX VIVANT imagery. Hiller's images were used in advertisements, promotional material, calendars, prints, etc., by Davis Geck, a surgical/medical device company, who went on to issue books and portfolios over the following decades. Condition is acceptable, generally good to very good, though expect normal signs of wear from a working printer's plate (envelopes are very worn) ; many have separate text plates and headings, often adhered to backing paper. 1 image is marked NG, no good. Titles include: AZTEC EMPIRE SUSHRUT a 600 BC ANTYLOUS Greek surgeon in Rome 200 A.D. ARCHIGENES of APAMEA Surgeons of ancient Egypt AETIUS of AMIDA circa 500 AD Select References: *PHOTOGRAPHY VIEW: WHEN TABLEAUX VIVANTS FLOWERED IN THE MAGAZINES By Gene Thornton. NYT March 2, 1986 https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/02/arts/photography-view-when-tableaux-vivants-flowered-in-the-magazines.html "One of the forgotten masters of early 20th-century photography is Lejaren a Hiller, a pioneering advertising illustrator who took himself seriously as an artist, and rightly so, according to his own ideas of what art is." Sutures and spirits: the photographic illustrations of L Hiller, by Doug MANCHEE. Lejaren Hiller (18801969) "pioneered advertising photography for an industry dominated by text and an occasional line drawing...Best known for his large and exquisitely detailed studio sets that often depicted historical scenarios or exotic foreign lands." https://muse.jhu.edu/book/58746 The Concise Focal Encyclopedia of Photography page 258 9. Seizing the light a social and aesthetic history of photographyby Robert Hirsch "... an early successful artistic campaign, now considered sexist, Surgery through the Ages done for Davis and Geck Inc., makers of surgical sutures...great moments in medical history that appeared in medical journals and hug in hospitals and physicians offices throughout the country. [Univ. of Pittsburgh ] "Falk Librarys historical collection includes a portfolio of 32 reproductions titledSutures in Ancient Surgery, published circa 1931. The illustrations belong to a larger series of tableaux vivants [living pictures] created by Lejaren Hiller for the company Davis Geck, an American manufacturer of surgical sutures. Hiller worked on them between 1927 and 1950. Its not certain how many prints he created overall, but the original illustrations were donated to the Art Institute of Chicago. Some of the illustrations appeared inSurgery through the Ages, published in 1944; others were issued in portfolios similar to the one in Falk Library; some were reproduced in medical journals; and many adorned walls of hospitals and physicians offices across the country." Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Photography and Medical Books, Part 2. Health Sciences Library System, Univ. of Pittsburgh. "Medical History's Moment in Art Photography (1920 to 1950): How Lejaren a Hiller and Valentino Sarra Created a Fashion for Scenes of Early Surgery," by B. O. Hansen. Published 2017, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Keywords: Art, Photography, Printing. Book Arts, Medicine, Medical, Surgery, Art Deco. Design, Archives