Robert Frank’s The Americans was first published on May 15, 1958 by Robert Delpire in Paris. It featured 83 of Frank’s photographs taken in America in 1955 and 1956, accompanied by writings in French about American political and social history selected by Alain Bosquet. Delpire’s Les Américains formed part of the Encyclopédie essentielle series, which presented foreign countries to a French audience. Each of Frank’s photographs in this edition is placed on a right-hand page, with the texts on the left-hand pages.

The first English edition of The Americans was published in 1959 by Grove Press in New York. It presented the same photographs as the Delpire edition, however a text by Jack Kerouac replaced the French writings. The book begins with Kerouac’s introduction, followed by Frank’s photographs in the same sequence as the Delpire edition. On the left-hand pages are short captions from Frank, which describe the location.

Since 1959 The Americans has been reprinted by different publishers, in multiple languages and formats. Frank has had varying influence on these editions; some were printed without his input, approval or knowledge. In July 2007 the Steidl edition of The Americans was printed. Frank was involved in every step of its design and production. The 83 photographs were scanned in tritone at Steidl’s digital darkroom from vintage prints in Frank’s collection, which revealed that many images in past editions were actually crops of the originals. For the Steidl book Frank studied and revised these crops and in many cases included the full photographs; in only a few cases the Delpire and Grove Press compositions remain.

The Steidl edition also reproduces two photographs printed from negatives different to those used for all previous editions. These photographs depict the same two subjects as in other editions (Metropolitan Life Insurance Building–New York City and Assembly Line–Detroit), but from a slightly different perspective.

Kerouac’s text and Frank’s captions remain unaltered from the Grove Press edition, the typography however was redesigned. As well as revising the book’s design, Frank also chose the paper, endpaper and book linen. He opted for a thread-stitched book, and conceived a new dust jacket made from the same paper as in the book (Xantur 170 g from Scheufelen, Germany), sealing it with a simple varnish. Frank personally oversaw printing on July 18, 2007, inspecting and approving each sheet at Steidl’s press in Göttingen.

In January 2009 the National Gallery of Art, Washington, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of "The Americans" with an exhibition that will examine both the construction of the book and the photographs themselves. All 83 photographs published in "The Americans" will be presented in the order established in the book, providing a detailed examination of the book's roots in Frank's early work and the impact on his later art.

"Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans" will be touring the following US museums:

National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. January 18–April 26, 2009

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, May 17–August 23, 2009

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September 20–December 27, 2009

"Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans"

Edited by Sarah Greenough

ISBN 978-3-86521-748-6

Co-published by National Gallery of Art and Steidl

in conjunction with the exhibition

作为摄影史上最有影响力的摄影书之一,罗伯特·弗兰克的《美国人》,于2008年6在中国发行了中文版。

这本中、英、德三语的五十周年纪念版,由德国史泰德出版社精心设计和制作,并由年逾八旬的瑞士摄影师罗伯特·弗兰克亲自监督。

“史泰德出中文版是一个具有深远意义的的决定,反映了中国在艺术和摄影全球性话语中的不可或缺的重要性,”艺术书商罗伯特·伯纳欧如是说。

罗伯特·弗兰克的《美国人》的第一版本出版于 1958 年5月15日。这本由法国出版人德尔皮尔出版的书主要是弗兰克1955年到1956年在美国拍摄的83幅照片。《美国人》的英文版本于1959年由GROVE 出版社在纽约出版。它和德尔皮尔版本展示了同样的照片,但是导读（序言）是由美国著名作家杰克·克鲁亚克 (JACK KEROUAC) 写的。

今年全面推出的史泰德版本《美国人》中,弗兰克全程参与了设计和制作的每一步骤。这些选自弗兰克收藏最佳相片中的83幅摄影作品,在史泰德数码暗室里重新扫描底片,揭示了许多老版的图片原来是修剪过的。对于史泰德版本,弗兰克都仔细查阅和修正这些修剪过的图片,绝大部决定恢复原样。同时,史泰德版本选入了两张从没发表过的作品。虽然两个主题与其他版一致（大都会保险公司大厦——纽约以及生产线——底特律）,但是角度稍微不同。

克鲁亚克的导读以及弗兰克的标识都与 GROVE 出版社的版本保持不变。这次版本由弗兰克在德国哥廷根史泰德出版社亲自监督印刷,并对每一页进行审核。