WEEGEE [FELLIG, Arthur]. Naked City. New York: Essential Books, 1945.

WEEGEE [FELLIG, Arthur].
Naked City.
New York: Essential Books, 1945.

8vo (234 × 164 mm), pp.3‚ 246, [2] (pagination begins on front free endpaper). 229 black-and-white photographs printed in gravure, text by Weegee and William McCleery. Design by Henry Stahlhut and Michael Polvere. Self-endpapers as issued, photo-illustrated at the front, plain to rear. Beige cloth-covered boards, spine and upper side lettered in blue; spine-ends and tips lightly rubbed, page edges darkened. Photo-illustrated dust-jacket; several nicks to top and bottom edges, small chips to tips, tears to centre of spine, creasing and chip to head of spine taking out first stroke of Weegee's name, a second thumbnail sized piece just holding. A very good copy.

First edition of Weegee's key book, a bittersweet chronicle of New York in the first half of the twentieth century. A 'photobook masterpiece. one of the great documentary photobooks' (The Photobook). Weegee was a regular contributor to PM Picture News. In his foreword to Naked City, PM's editor William McCleery writes that ‚'Persons looking on Weegee's incredible photographs for the first time find it hard to believe that one ordinary earth-bound human being could have been present at so many climactic moments in the city's life. The simplest explanation of the phenomenon is that true love endows a man with superhuman qualities, and Weegee is truly in love with New York'.

Regards sur un siecle de photographie a travers Le Livre (82); The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century 118-121; The Photobook: A History vol.I 145; The Open Book 142-143; 802 photo books from the Auer collection 307

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