First edition of WAIKIKI by Henry Wessel (2011)

First impression 

Large format hardback in fine condition 

A few superficial marks to dust jacket, now in a removable protective sleeve

Some very slight toning to extremities of pages

Otherwise, pages clean, binding firm 

About

Waikiki, one of Honolulu’s most famous neighbourhoods, had already become a crowded tourist destination when Wessel photographed there in the late seventies and early eighties. This book contains Wessel’s edit of these pictures and is a record of American leisure at this time: of surf, sand and inexhaustible pleasure-seekers. Yet Wessel equally explores the contradictions of Waikiki – concrete hotels invading pristine beaches, culture encroaching on nature. Despite all the fun in the sun, Wessel’s subjects are often distanced and dissatisfied, suggesting an underlying unease.