  The reaction $\gamma p \TO K^+\Lambda(1520)$ was measured in the energy range
from threshold to 2.65 GeV with the SAPHIR detector at the electron stretcher
facility ELSA in Bonn. The $\Lambda(1520)$ production cross section was
analyzed in the decay modes $pK^-$, $n \bar{K}^0$, $\Sigma^{\pm}\pi^{\mp}$, and
$\Lambda\pi^+\pi^-$ as a function of the photon energy and the squared
four-momentum transfer $t$. While the cross sections for the inclusive
reactions rise steadily with energy, the cross section of the process $\gamma p
\TO K^+\Lambda(1520)$ peaks at a photon energy of about 2.0 GeV, falls off
exponentially with $t$, and shows a slope flattening with increasing photon
energy. The angular distributions in the $t$-channel helicity system indicate
neither a $K$ nor a $K^\star$ exchange dominance. The interpretation of the
$\Lambda(1520)$ as a $\Sigma(1385)\pi$ molecule is not supported.
