A Night in London. Photographs by Bill Brandt. Introduction by James Bone. Country Life, London, Editions Arts et Métiers Graphiques, Paris, and Charles Scribners Sons, New York, 1938. 72 pp. Small quarto. First edition (published simultaneously in French and printed with bilingual captions). Black-and-white photo-illustrated wrappers. 64 gravure reproductions.
Very Good; a very fragile book; front joint lightly abraded and detached along about two-thirds of its length (rear joint securely attached along entire length); lightly rubbed; 1/2" surface crease to lower-front corner
I photographed pubs, common lodging houses at night, theatres, Turkish baths, prisons and people in their bedrooms. London has changed so much that some of these pictures now have a period charm almost of another century.
Bill Brandt
"Brandt's second book, A Night in London, was published in London and Paris in 1938. It was based on Paris de Nuit (1936) by Brassaï, whom Brandt greatly admired. The book tells the story of a London night, moving between different social classes and making use--as with The English at Home--of Brandt's family and friends. Night photography was a new genre of the period, opened up by the newly developed flashbulb (the 'Vacublitz' was manufactured in Britain from 1930). Brandt generally preferred to use portable tungsten lamps called photo-floods. He claimed to have enough cable to run the length of Salisbury Cathedral. James Bone introduced Brandt's book and described the new, electric city: 'Floodlit attics and towers, oiled roadways shining like enamel under the street lights and headlights, the bright lacquer and shining metals of motorcars, illuminated signs…'"--V & A Museum
Also includes:
Camera in London. Photographs and introduction by Bill Brandt. From the Masters of the Camera Series. Focal Press, New York and London, 1948. Small quarto. First printing. Hardbound in photo-illustrated dust jacket. Black-and-white reproductions.
Near Fine+ in Very Good dust jacket; lightly rubbed with a few scuffs; minor bump to base of spine; jacket edge worn with small chips; slight loss to front panel (about 1" x 1").
"By temperament I am not duly excitable and certainly not trigger-happy. I think twice before I shoot and very often do not shoot at all. By professional standards I do not waste a lot of film; but by the standards of many of my colleagues I probably miss quite a few of my opportunities. Still, the things I am after are not in a hurry as a rule. I am a photographer of London."--Bill Brandt
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