The Book of Bread, published in 1903, is a work at the intersection of culinary science and visual art. Though the images were commissioned by Owen Simmons, a leading figure in British baking and co-founder of the National Bakery School, the true creative force—the anonymous photographer—remains uncredited. The visual presentation enhances the work beyond its practical origins, making it a notable example of early photographic documentation
The project is rooted in the context of industrial progress and scientific inquiry, with Simmons serving as the director and conceptual guide. His aim was to bridge the gap between the bakery and the laboratory, providing an empirical and artistic exploration of bread as a subject of study and beauty. Yet, it is the photographs themselves that steal the spotlight, presenting bread loaves and cross-sections with a precision and aesthetic that rivals modern conceptual art.
The anonymous photographer employed advanced techniques for the time, including silver bromide printing and chromolithography, to achieve fidelity and vividness. Each loaf, presented against stark backdrops of deep black and subtle bluish-gray, becomes a sculptural object suspended in a space that feels both clinical and surreal. These choices imbue the bread with a striking visual tension, blurring the lines between utilitarian documentation and fine art.
More recently, The Book of Bread has been reappraised as a key early photobook—featured in The Photobook: A History, Vol. I and spotlighted in Photobook Phenomenon (CCCB/Fundació Foto Colectania, 2017). Deluxe (1902) and trade (1903) editions, combining silver-bromide prints with photomechanical plates and chromolithographs, now circulate in museum and rare-book contexts. Its visual logic echoes in later artists’ books, notably Kenneth Josephson’s The Bread Book (1973), sustaining scholarly and collecting interest.
