Photobooks have only recently been recognized as an important part of the history of photography and art. Certain exhibitions and publications have contributed to this international appreciation.

Among the first are Fotografía Pública / Photography in Print 1919-1939, an exhibition organized by Horacio Fernández at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, in Madrid, in 1999; and the Open Book from 1978 to the Present, prepared by Andrew Roth at the Hasselblad Center, in Göteborg, in 2005; and in the two volumes of The History of Photobooks by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, published by Phaidon in 2004 and 2006.

This can be explained by the absence of monographs and exhibitions dedicated to the subject. However, Latin American photobooks have a long and relevant history, also dating back to the 1930s, in which many of the most important Latin American photographers have participated. These include Mexicans Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Agustín Jiménez, Emilio Amero, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Guillermo Kahlo, Agustín Casasola, Nacho López, Enrique Bostelmann, Pedro Meyer and Graciela Iturbide, as well as Martín Chambi (Peru), Horacio Coppola, Grete Stern, Gustavo Thorlichen, Marcos López, Sara Facio-Alicia d’Amico (Argentina), Sergio Larrain (Chile), Alfredo Boulton, Bárbara Brandli, Fina Gómez, Daniel González, Paolo Gasparini, Claudio Perna, Thea Segall (Venezuela), Hernán Díaz, Nereo López (Colombia), Mayito, Ernesto Fernández and Iván Cañas (Cuba). In Brazil, excellent photobooks have been published by Claudia Andujar, Maureen Bisilliat, Stefania Bril, Mario Cravo Neto, Marcel Gautherot, George Love, Jean Manzon, Miguel Rio Branco, Peter Scheier, Dulce Soares, Otto Stupakoff and Bob Wolfeson, among many others.