Robert Capa: Death in the Making

Death in the Making will be a reprint of the original book published in 1938. With images by Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, it was a poignant tribute to the men and women, civilians and soldiers alike, who were fighting in Spain against Franco’s oppressive and fascist insurrection. The book included only one year of images, but covered the spectrum of emotions of a civil war, from the initial excitement to the more harrowing realities of modern warfare. After World War II and the rising fear of Communism in the United States made association with the Spanish Civil War a liability, the book was forgotten. Today Death in the Making is newly appreciated for its call to arms against rising fascist threat. This new publication will replicate the original layout by photographer André Kertész, the original caption text by Capa and preface by writer Jay Allen, but will also dramatically improve the image quality of the first edition. The new edition will also include an essay with new information about the making and the reception of the original book and a complete checklist identifying the author, location and date of each image. One of the most significant revelations is that Death in the Making contained unattributed photographs by Chim, later known as David Seymour, friend and colleague of Capa. The book is a co-publication with the International Center of Photography.

Born in Budapest, Robert Capa left Hungary in 1930 for Berlin, enrolled in the Deutsche Hochschule fur Politik as a student of journalism and political science, and served as a darkroom assistant at Dephot. With the rise of the Nazis in 1933, Capa left Germany for Paris, where he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, Chim and Taro. He worked as a photojournalist, and between 1936 and 1939 made several trips to Spain to document the civil war. As World War II erupted, he escaped to New York, but soon returned to Europe to cover the war, primarily for Life. After the war, Capa founded Magnum Photos agency with Cartier-Bresson, Chim, and George Rodger. He travelled to Hanoi in 1954 to photograph the French war in Indochina; shortly after his arrival, he stepped on a landmine and was killed.