"Publishing", as the distinguished publisher Mrs Amanda J Threadbone once averred, "is seldom without risk". Mrs Threadbone should certainly know, given the number of controversies that have surrounded the appearance of so many of the tomes - factual and fictional - which have rolled off the presses of the publishing stable which [proudly? [Ed]] bears her name. Black and White Photography: The Professionals' Secrets by Professor Brian Thrupiece and Len Bailey-Litchfield might just be the daddy of them all. The all new "expert's guide for amateur photographers" purports to be co-authored by and to share the insights of two of Dorset's most famed snappers... But is it all that it's cracked up to be some purchasers are asking. Is it all that meets the eye [surely lens [Ed]]?
Ostensibly a technical manual with "helpful photographic examples designed to inspire the novice", Black and White Photography: The Professionals' Secrets is jam-packed with stunning photographs. But are any of them by Professor Thrupiece?
The fact that the authenticity of most if not all of the photographs is open to question will come as little surprise to many readers - though certainly as a great surprise to one unfortunate print collector - since the latest tome in the Threadbone Press's Photographic Techniques Series [published in collaboration with the Royal Dorset Photographic Society and the Dorset Camera Club] contains photographs allegedly taken in 2024. Given what we know of Professor Thrupiece's recent history there is, as Ron Nasty, editor of the Sydling St Nicholas Sun might say "shurley shome Mmshtake"!
Some evidence of disquiet - even at the publisher's end - comes in the form of the disclaimer which appears at the very beginning of the book. professorthrupiece.com has obtained exclusive access to a proof copy and can reveal its contents:
PUBLISHER’S DISCLAIMER
Whilst the present volume purports to be a joint enterprise undertaken by master photographer Professor Brian Thrupiece [FDRPS] and his sometime darkroom assistant Len Bailey-Litchfield, the intelligent reader will readily appreciate that it is scarcely plausible that Professor Thrupiece’s contribution can be judged a significant one given that almost 20 years have passed since he was last seen, heard from or published in any form [other than "posthumously"*]
* The description must be qualified: that is to say, it is, at best, a loose if convenient shorthand since posthumous denotes a post mortem occurrence whereas there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Professor Thrupiece is anything other than missing presumed disappeared and certainly not in any legal sense deceased.
That same reader will rightly assume, therefore, that the inclusion of Professor Thrupiece’s name on the cover and title page as well as the attribution of several of the photographs herein contained [some dated as late as 2024] is - generously speaking - a ploy on the part of the publisher designed to attract both attention and sales to an enterprise otherwise doomed to sink without trace or, at the very least, head straight to the remainder bins.
Whereas it might appear then that a predatory apology is in order, the publisher emphatically declines to offer one. Anyone buying this book believing it to be in part the work of Professor Thrupiece is clearly demented and, it is to be hoped, far too addled to sue. Never was the time-honoured warning - caveat emptor - more appropriately uttered.
As to that unfortunate print collector - Ms E Zyli-Jewped - some recompense is surely in order. An avid fan of the work of Dorset photographers, she is the proud possessor of an alleged 2024 Thrupiece and has been proudly displaying "Desert Landscape" in her sitting room for the last 3 months. Purchased for an undisclosed sum from Sotherbone's the Fine Art Auctioneers, she is insistant that the work is a genuine Thrupiece, though logic strongly suggests otherwise.
YOUR CHANCE TO OBTAIN A PRE-MASS-PULPING COPY OF BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY: THE PROFESSIONAL'S SECRETS
To obtain your free copy of Black and White Photography: The Professionals' Secrets just text - DONATE £50 - to 0111178787865678. You will not receive an acknowledgement but a copy of the book [if still available] will arrive via your analogue post box in 6-8 weeks.
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