The Secret Paris of the '30s

Rating:
Summary: Views of Paris nightlife in the early 1930's
Review: Divided into 19 sections, each including a short essay on one subject (ex.: The Street Fair) with accompanying illustrations. Photographs include full-page printed to the edge of the paper (unfortunately also to the spine of the book), full-page with border, half and quarter page. Copyrights on most of the the photographs, listed in an appendix, range from 1931-33, a few are 1934.

Most of the 150 photographs are very good duotone reproductions, a few are less than great. My copy is a softcover, publ. by Thames & Hudson, 2001, labeled Printed in Italy on the back cover.

The subjects range from public toilets and their various uses, through petty underworld figures, gay nightclubs, prostitutes and brothels, bums, to backstage at the Folie-Bergere and an upper-class opium den. One interesting section deals with the annual "Balls" (read orgies) organized by the Schools of Medicine and the Arts on the Left Bank for their students. All get a sympathetic and nonjudgemental treatment. Overall an fascinating, but fragmented glimpse of Paris night life in the early 30's.

Rating:
Summary: Views of Paris nightlife in the early 1930's
Review: Divided into 19 sections, each including a short essay on one subject (ex.: The Street Fair) with accompanying illustrations. Photographs include full-page printed to the edge of the paper (unfortunately also to the spine of the book), full-page with border, half and quarter page. Copyrights on most of the the photographs, listed in an appendix, range from 1931-33, a few are 1934.

Most of the 150 photographs are very good duotone reproductions, a few are less than great. My copy is a softcover, publ. by Thames & Hudson, 2001, labeled Printed in Italy on the back cover.

The subjects range from public toilets and their various uses, through petty underworld figures, gay nightclubs, prostitutes and brothels, bums, to backstage at the Folie-Bergere and an upper-class opium den. One interesting section deals with the annual "Balls" (read orgies) organized by the Schools of Medicine and the Arts on the Left Bank for their students. All get a sympathetic and nonjudgemental treatment. Overall an fascinating, but fragmented glimpse of Paris night life in the early 30's.

Rating:
Summary: If you don't have it - get it.
Review: Don't let the title put you off, there is very little in this book that would shock a modern audience. Times certainly ain't what they used to be. Brassai's photos and writings of a time now long gone however will slowly infuse in you a strange and somewhat uncomfortable nostalgia for a time long before you were born and places you wouldn't visit had you been born. Removed so far in time, it's all very safe - perhaps.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing snapshot of a time long forgotten...
Review: The photographs and stories in this book are truly remarkable. The underground world Brassai allows the reader to navigate is one that will leave a mark on your heart and tear at your soul. From lonely streetwalkers to the many faces of Parisian nightclubs, this amazing photographic journey gives a modern audience a true glimpse of what life was like in the 30s.