Untitled Coburn, Alvin Langdon  (American, 1882-1966)

Imogen Cunningham visited London in September 1909, but she and Coburn did not meet. He sent her this booklet he had recently written, The Euxit Camera: An Appreciation, which eulogized the miniature Shew Euxit (pronounced “use it!”) camera, illustrated with four Euxit photographs—three made on a “ramble in the country."

A handsomely produced little booklet dealing with the "Euxit" folding pocket camera made by Messrs J. F. Shew and Co of 88 Nemman Street, London written and illustrated by Alvin Langdon Coburn, will be presented free to any reader of The A. P. sending a postcard request for it to the above address. Four repoductions of pictures by Mr. Coburn are given as separate plates, and the get-up of the brochure is particularly attractive. The Amateur Photographer and Photographic News, v. 51, 1910

"It is not often that we see an advertiser playing a joke in his advertising, but in one of our English contemporaries we noticed a camera company, in advertising a hand camera, with an impossible name, announced in bold-black type, "every lady photographer should have an Euxit Camera." This is immediately followed by "Alvin Langdon Coburn says: ‘after considerable deliberation I have come to the conclusion that the camera most suited to my purpose was the Shew Euxit." Aside from exposing his bad grammar, he might not like to be thrust into the "every lady" class. (source unknown)

The only other know example of this print is located in the collection of the George Eastman House.

Reproduced / Exhibited

Foster, Sheila J, Manfred Heiting, and Rachel Stuhlman. Imagining Paradise: The Richard and Ronay Menschel Library at George Eastman House, Rochester. Göttingen: Steidl, 2007 p. 223