On Reading

Since the late 1950s, photographer David Hurn has taken photographs of people engaged in the act of reading. He had captured moments of repose and absorption in cafes and bars, at dog shows and railway stations, strip clubs, museums, the seaside, film sets, parks and streets. His forthcoming book—On Reading—brings together these images for the first time and is 40 years in the making.

The photographs in On Reading were made across the world—from Hurn’s home country of Wales to across much of Europe to as far afield as Qatar, the US and New Zealand. Many were made whilst on assignment, including a photograph of The Beatles on the set of A Hard Days Night, another at Queen Charlotte’s debutante Ball in London and several at Hay Festivals over the years—but many others were also made as Hurn went about his daily life. The reading material may have changed from books and magazines to mobile phones, but the joy and power of reading remains a constant across the nearly 70 years of photographs contained in the book. 

"In September 1983 I was invited together with 99 other photographers from all over the world, for a midnight-to-midnight 24 hour vigil to photograph London. The result was the book ‘A Day in the Life London’.

Among those guests arriving was one of my photographic heroes, André Kertész.

Kertész was 89 years of age. I suggested that I look after him and that he should concentrate on photographing in Hyde Park. I met up with him for breakfast in a hotel in South Kensington. I told him that one of my favourite books was his, small in size, ‘On Reading’, first published in 1971 - Kertész’s father was a bookseller - after much chatting and laughing, I suggested, that if he gave his permission, I would re-do the book when I was 89. He gave his permission.

This is the result. "

-David Hurn

Following the sell-out success of the limited edition hardcover edition, RRB Photobooks are pleased to present this paperback edition, preserving the magic of On Reading for a wider audience. The title's contents are identical to the 2024 Hardcover publication, save for minor text corrections. Due to be published October 2026, all pre-orders will be signed.

Born in Surrey, England in 1934, but of Welsh descent, David Hurn is a self-taught photographer who began his career in 1955 as an assistant at the Reflex Agency. 
He became an associate member of Magnum in 1965 and a full member in 1967.
In 1973, he set up the School of Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales. 
In 1997 he collaborated with Professor Bill Jay on the textbook, On Being a Photographer, which has been in print ever since. Hurn’s book Wales: Land of My Father, was the result of a self-initiated project attempting to discover what is meant by the phrase ‘my culture’. It observed changes taking place in Wales from 1970 until the book’s publication by Thames and Hudson in 2000. In 2016, Hurn was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society, and in 2020, the he was the recipient of a Lucie Award for Achievement in Documentary. He lives and continues to work in Wales.