Home Front: Alfred T. Palmer’s WWII Photography

Author(s): Mary M. Cronin and Bruce Berman

ISBN: 9781625451033
New
£30.00
The first book to explore the pioneering work of an American WWII photographer who took Home Front imagery for federal propaganda agencies.
QTY:
Trust Badge
  • Alfred T. Palmer was an innovator in the use of lighting and a pioneer in the use of color; his photographs were seen by millions of Americans and Europeans

  • A unique book on WWII in its focus on American Home Front propaganda photography, rather than combat photography

  • Discusses in unparelleled detail the visual aspect of American war propaganda

As Americans prepared for, and then entered, World War II, the nation was awash with government propaganda. Armed with his Graflex, Speed Graphic, and 35-mm cameras, Alfred T. Palmer shot many of the images that appeared in these patriotic appeals. His photographs were used by the National Defense Advisory Commission, the Office of Emergency Management, the Office of War Information, the War Production Board, the War Shipping Administration, and the US Maritime Commission.

Palmer’s work reveals his technical prowess. He was masterful in his use of lighting and was a pioneer in the use of color photography, bringing a visual weapon to America’s arsenal to counter Nazi propaganda. His images portray a country transformed into an economically wealthy, socially coherent, and energetic nation whose citizens—including women and ethnic minorities—were depicted as vitally important to the war effort.


BOOK ISBN 9781625451033
FORMAT 235 x 165 mm
BINDING Paperback
PAGES 192 pages
PUBLICATION DATE 20 April 2025
TERRITORY World
ILLUSTRATIONS 108 colour photographs

 

 







Mary M. Cronin is a professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at New Mexico State University. The author of six previous books on various aspects of journalism history, she is most interested in studying press performance during wartime. Prior to her academic career, Cronin worked as a reporter, an assistant news editor, and as a copy editor at various newspapers.

Bruce Berman has been a professional photographer for over five decades and works in the documentary style. He has done work for the Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Time, Newsweek, and other national and international publications. His personal work is oriented toward people in small communities and the land that surrounds them. Berman is as an associate professor at New Mexico State University where he teaches photojournalism.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THE FOLLOWING BOOKS

ALSO BY THE SAME AUTHOR