The Sheep and the Goats [SIGNED LIMITED EDITION WITH ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH]

Heidelberg / Berlin: Kehrer Verlag, 2018. First edition. Hardcover. Fine condition. Signed R. J. Kern with hand-numbered limitation, 2/50, on front free endpaper. Laid in an original color inkjet print of a photograph (7 5/8 x 11 1/4"), signed and hand-numbered 1/25 by R. J. Kern, tissue guard. Large Quarto. Unpaginated (52 photographic plates) with eight leaves of text separating the two suites of photographs at the center. Laid in official R. J. Kern color photo-postcard, with printed contact info, hand-written and signed R. J. Kern, expressing gratitude for the support of his work.

Original photo-illustrated boards with embossed gray lettering on cover and spine (with National Geographic issue November 2017 containing his photo-essay). Book and magazine housed in two separate pouches of a specially designed limited edition tof gray felt briefcase, lined with gray velvet and images of a goat and a sheep printed to inside flap, string-tied around mother of pearl buttons, with two additional velvet lined pockets on back of briefcase housing two plastic bags, connected by woolen string, containing sheep wool and goat hair. Magazine with additional wool bookmark with mother of pearl button tied to top, positioned at R. J. Kern's contribution to this issue.

Extravagant production of two series of photographs taken by R. J. Kern: "The Bovidae" depicts animals and their environment in the countries of Kern's ancestors, Norway, Iceland, Ireland and Germany, while "The Unchosen" chapter depicts animals in rural America, focusing on Minnesota, the home of the photographer. The fifty-two photographs, thirty-two in part one, are reproduced photo-lithographically.

"Animals have always been a canvas onto which mankind projects emotions or ideas. Kern's personal examination of his ancestry in Ireland, Germany, Norway, and Iceland resulted in an artistic project in which goats and sheep represent issues of identity and history. From the biblical story of Eve and the snake to the contemporary book and movie, "Life of Pi," animals have long connoted the polysemy of "nature": both man's intrinsic qualities and the pure actions of the animal world. In this way, Kern's photographs are part of a long cultural history in which animals act as metaphors, most notably in the pastoral tradition." (Lisa Volpe).

The enclosed issue of National Geographic contains a story and color photographs by R. J. Kern entitled "The Unchosen. The competition is fierce at the county fair animal contest in Minnesota. Few are winners. What happens to the others?" Proof. A Photographer's Journal (page 105). The photographs have been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 2017/18, the Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, 2018, and the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, USA, in 2108, and they have been awarded the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2017.