In1958,thefirsteditionofRobertFrank'sTheAmericanswaspublishedinParis.LesAmericainscontainedFrank's83photographsinthesamesequenceasallsubsequenteditions,withtheimageontherighthandpage,butjuxtaposedwithhistoricaltextsaboutAmericansocietyandpolitics,gatheredbyAlainBosquet.Thefollowingyear,inthefirstAmericanedition,theFrenchtextswereremovedandanintroductionbyJackKerouacwasadded.Overthesubsequent50years,TheAmericanshasbeenrepublishedinmanyeditions,innumerouslanguages,withavarietyofcoverdesigns,andeveninarangeofsizes.Itisthemostfamousphotographybookeverpublished,anditchangedthefaceofthemediumforever.RobertFrankdiscussedwithhispublisher,GerhardSteidl,theideaofproducinganeweditionusingmodernscanningandthefinesttritoneprinting.ThestartingpointwastobringoriginalprintsfromNewYorktoGottingen,Germany,whereSteidlisbased.InJuly2007,FrankvisitedGottingen.Anewformatforthebookwasworkedoutandnewtypographyselected.AnewcoverwasdesignedandFrankchosethebookcloth,foilforembossing,andtheendpaper.Mostsignificantly,ashehasdoneforeveryeditionofTheAmericans,Frankchangedthecroppingofmanyofthephotographs,usuallyincludingmoreinformation.Twoimageswerechangedcompletelyfromtheoriginal1958and1959editions.