mounted on Masonite, 1949, printed circa 1953 (Black White and Things, pl. 31; Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans, pl. 56)

Christie's New York, 7 November 1978, Lot 350
Acquired by the Gilman Paper Company from the above
Sotheby's New York, 15 February 2006, Important Photographs from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Including Works from the Gilman Paper Company Collection, Sale 8165, Lot 95

New York, Limelight Gallery, 1955

There is wear at the edges of this slightly warm-toned early print, with some minor emulsion loss and worn and creased corners. When examined in raking light, there is faint crackling and a number of small, faint scratches visible on the surface. Also visible only in raking light is some light scuffing in the lower left quadrant. There is a faint sepia stain about 1/4 by 3/8-inch at the lower left center edge. According to the catalogue entry for the Christie's New York auction from which this photograph was purchased, prior to its inclusion in the Gilman Paper Company Collection, on 7 November 1978, Lot 350, the print offered here was exhibited at Helen Gee's pioneering Limelight Gallery in 1955. The Christie's catalogue entry describes an inscribed exhibition label on the reverse of the photograph; present in 1978, this label is now missing (and was absent when the print was offered in the Sotheby's New York, auction of Important Photographs from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Including Works from the Gilman Paper Company Collection on 15 February 2006).
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

It is believed that the print offered here was exhibited at Helen Gee’s pioneering Limelight Gallery in 1955.  Limelight Gallery was one of the few venues to stage exhibitions of photography in the 1950s, and Gee provided the perpetually cash-strapped Frank with a welcome opportunity to show and possibly sell his work.

This image appears in Robert Frank’s early book, Black White and Things. The volume is divided into the three sections suggested by the title; ‘Horse and Cart / Paris’ appears as the first in a sequence of four horse images at the end of the book’s ‘Things’ section.   With its selective editing and creative sequencing of a number of evocative images, Black White and Things presages Frank’s seminal volume, The Americans, published in 1958.