Weegee's New York: Photographs, 1935-1960

I am a sucker for/fan of those old vintage '30s, '40s, and '50s NYC photos and movies where the men wore hats, ties, and suits and the women dressed up. This book has all of that: a definite must have for the aficionados of the way we used to look, act, and dress, as well as those who love photographic crime story images. This is NYC from Weegee's camera and it is a NYC that, although I am too young to have lived in that era, projects a thousand words with each riveting image. This book sits on my coffee table. I will purchase similar books to lay around my apt. and provide guests with items that guests will have a hard time resisting.

With 335 photos, this large size paperback is one of the better books you'll find of Weegee's work. Divided into eighteen photographic chapters (with one image per page) it really is an impressive selection, especially as it covers his output from 1935 to 1960. The chapter on crime has the largest selection (thirty-one) with the predictable dead and bloodied bodies surrounded by police and public. Weegee claimed he (and several Speed Graphic cameras) covered hundreds of murders for the New York tabloids, he knew that that the only thing that mattered to the 'tabs' were the headlines and photos, the story could fill any space that was left. The other chapters cover ordinary New Yorkers in mostly nighttime settings. The perfect complement to this book is Miles Barth's 'Weegee's World' (ISBN 0821226495) which admittedly does have many of the same photos but also has three long essays about this unique photographer. I have another book about Weegee, a very poor reproduction of his 1945 title 'Naked City' (ISBN 0306812045) and again most of the photos are in the New York book. ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This book is amazing piece of amercian history. New York history. Frozen moments of ordinary people and their enviroment. Really must have one...