Photography, Reconstruction and the Cultural History of the Postwar European City

Examining imagery of urban space in Britain, France and West Germany up to the early 1960s, this book reveals how photography shaped individual architectural projects and national rebuilding efforts alike.

Tom Allbeson is a Lecturer in Cultural History in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University, UK.

1. Introduction: Contexts and Concepts 2. 'Architecture of Destruction': Visual discourses of ruin photobooks, c.1944-50 3. 'To Re-educate the Eye': Architectural photography and the housing crisis, c.1947-57 4. 'The Face of the City': Photographic Pleasures and the Illustrated press, c.1949-55 5. 'The World of Tomorrow': Photography and Internationalist Visions, c. 1955-62 6. Conclusion: The Transnational Optics of Postwar Reconstruction