Paris de Nuit

SIGNED by Paul Morand atop his 8-page preface. Paris: Edition Arts et Métiers Graphiques, 1933. First Edition. Spiral bound quarto, sixty-four gravure plates. The highest celebrated, most iconic of the great Paris photobooks, printed in a luscious gravure so tactile "that after handling the book one expects to find sooty deposits all over one's fingers. One should think of it as amongst the best produced and influential photobooks ever" (The Photobook, Vol. I). Roth 101. Whereas most night photography of the period celebrates electric light, speed and metropolitan life, Brassai's portfolio expresses a different urban narrative. The Paris he shows, his "little boxes of night," is tawdry, intimate, dark and full of mystery, as though nighttime were its natural hue. As a young man, prefacer Paul Morand bathed in Parisian artistic circles and the high public service. Appointed at the age of 24, attached to the French Embassy in London, he began a career at the Quai which took him all over Europe. He entered literature in 1921 with his first prose work, Tendres Stocks, a collection of short stories prefaced by Marcel Proust. During the 30s, he published numerous books, travelogues, novels, short stories; he also practiced journalism, notably for Le Figaro. A lovely, collectible copy signed by Paul Morand. Book #vC1123. $4850. We specialize in Rare Ayn Rand, history, and science.