Rail Magic

This collection of 74 photographs was produced by Swiss photographer René Groebli and is a remarkable example of early subjective photography. First published as a series of fifteen images in 1949 – a personal project that was met with dismissive criticism at the time – he returned in the 1990s to his early fascination with French steam locomotives and the romanticism of travel by rail. The resulting book is a dynamic visual document featuring pictures of his first train journey between Paris and Zürich, taken using either a Leica III F with a single lens or with a twin-lens Rolleiflex. Groebli’s working style is clearly inspired by his experience with moving images and his love of cinema.