The Age of Innocence (Hamilton book)
 Cover | |
| Author | David Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Photography |
| Publisher | Aurum Press |
Publication date | 1995 |
| Pages | 220 |
| ISBN | 978-1854103048 |
The Age of Innocence is a 1995 photography and poetry book by David Hamilton. The book contains images of early-teen girls, often nude, accompanied by lyrical poetry. Images are in a boudoir setting[1] and photographed mainly in colour using a soft-focus filter, with some shots in black-and-white.
Legality
The book is available for sale on Amazon.com,[2][3][4] and in book shops around the world. Whilst the book itself has not been deemed illegal in any jurisdiction, the nature of the pictures within it have caused debate over what constitutes as child pornography[5] in both the US and the UK.
In 1998 Barnes & Noble was indicted on child pornography charges in the US states of Alabama and Tennessee. The charges were against The Age of Innocence as well as Radiant Identities by Jock Sturges. Pro-life activist and then talk-show host Randall Terry has been credited with causing the prosecution, after he encouraged his listeners to locate prosecutors interested in taking the case.[6] The charges were dropped in Tennessee after Barnes and Noble's agreed to move the books to an area that was less-accessible to children. The indictment in Alabama was dismissed by state officials after it was determined the books did not violate state law.[7] The publicity from Randall Terry's efforts were linked to an increase in sales of both books.[6]
In 2005 a man from Surrey, England was charged with being in possession of 19,000 images of children, including images from The Age of Innocence.[4] The collection of images was found by the court to be in the lowest indecency rating. The man's defence, which was dismissed by the court, was that he had a genuine interest in art and that all of the images were sold by websites including W H Smith, Tesco, Waterstones and Amazon.com. Following the conviction W H Smith decided to stop selling The Age of Innocence from their website.[8] A spokesman for Hamilton stated "We are deeply saddened and disappointed by this, as David is one of the most successful art photographers the world has ever known. His books have sold millions. We have known for some time that the law in Britain and the US - our two biggest markets - is becoming tighter each year. But the fact remains that the courts still have to decide on each case."[8] Guardian.co.uk originally reported that is was a "landmark ruling" against Hamilton's photographs however they later clarified that it this was incorrect; there was no landmark ruling rather the defendant had pleaded guilty to specimen charges.[8]
In 2010 a man was convicted of "level one" child pornography for owning four books, including The Age of Innocence as well as a book by Sally Mann, which he purchased from a bookstore in Walthamstow, London. His conviction was overturned on appeal in 2011, with the judge calling his conviction "very unfair" and criticising the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for prosecuting him. The judge concluded that "If the [CPS] wishes to test whether the pictures in the books are indecent, the right way to deal with the matter is by way of prosecuting the publisher or retailer - not the individual purchaser."[2][3][9]
References
- ^ Peres, Michael R (2007). The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography. Focal Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-0240807409. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ a b Sheerer, Hans. "Child Pornography Conviction Tossed For Possessing Books Available on Amazon.com". Justice Denied. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Oates, John (24 February, 2011). "Conviction overturned for abuse images bought from bookshop". The Register. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Hull, Stephen (September 18, 2011). "Waterstones and Amazon are 'selling books which contain illegal child porn'". Daily Mail. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ Schiltz, David A (2009). The Encyclopedia of American Law. Infobase Publishing. p. 82. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ a b Boxer, Sarah (March 4, 1998). "Critic's Notebook; Arresting Images of Innocence (or Perhaps Guilt)". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ Lane, III Frederick (2001). Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age. Routledge. p. 126. ISBN 978-0415931038. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ a b c Warmoll, Chris (14 July 2005). "Hamilton's naked girl shots ruled 'indecent'". Guardian.co.uk. London. Retrieved 17 February, 2013.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Text "Culture" ignored (help); Text "The Guardian" ignored (help) - ^ "Judge criticises CPS for prosecuting man for pictures available in bookshops". The Telegraph. February 24, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2013.