Jennifer Dumas Book order (chronological)

An incredible and utterly unique historical document, this book features selections from the photographic collection of Mell Kilpatrick, a news photographer from Southern California. Active during the 40s and 50s, Kilpatrick relentlessly pursued his profession, capturing images from numerous crime scenes, particularly automobile collisions. An obsessive witness to the post-war explosion of car culture in California, he documented the fatal consequences of speed, technology, and reckless abandon. His work might have remained hidden in his locked darkroom since his death in 1961 if not for collector Jennifer Dumas, who discovered 5,000 negatives and recognized their significance. While Kilpatrick covered various subjects beyond crashes, including everyday life in small towns, the roadside images dominate the collection. They serve as an unsparing archive of human tragedy, revealing countless tableaux of disaster—collapsed cars, hidden or exposed corpses, and the varied reactions of stoic cops and laughing bystanders confronting sudden death. This juxtaposition of the ordinary and the horrific makes Kilpatrick's work a compelling experience.