Photographs from the Jelitzka und von Mayreck collections
With stories by Michael Köhlmeier and Monika Helfer

As photography conquered America, so-called yard-long photographs became very popular, particularly from the early 20th century to the late 1950s. These panoramic photographs covered a vast spectrum, from presidential inauguration ceremonies to PhD graduations, meetings of representatives, city portraits and ship launches. The catalogue published to coincide with the eponymous exhibition features, for the first time, yard-long photographs from two prominent collections of photographs, namely Vienna’s Jelitzka and von Mayreck collections. While the works on show are contemporary documents of historical and political events, they also reflect the self-image, social differences, living environments, lifestyles, fashions, and behaviours of the persons portrayed. Indeed, these portraits contain countless stories, big and small. Monika Helfer and Michael Köhlmeier were invited to tell their stories about selected photographs.