Observations (book)
| Observations | |
|---|---|
 First edition slipcase |
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| Author(s) | Richard Avedon & Truman Capote |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Photography |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date | 1959 |
| Media type | Print Hardback |
| Pages | 151 pp |
| ISBN | n/a |
| OCLC Number | 1455816 |
Observations is a collaborative coffee table book with photography by Richard Avedon, commentary by Truman Capote and design by Alexey Brodovitch. It features a slipcase with color, all-capitalized lettering; the book itself is further housed in a clear acetate/glassine slip cover and is printed with the same bold design as the slipcase in black-and-white. Simon and Schuster published the work in 1959 having it printed using the rotogravure method in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Contents |
Conception [edit]
Avedon and Capote started collaboration on the book in 1945.
Contents [edit]
Observations contains numerous portraits of famous people of the twentieth century, including Pablo Picasso, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Katharine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Mae West.
Reception [edit]
Isak Dinesen was initially insulted by Capote's description of her, but forgave him shortly before her death in 1962.[1]
Kerry William Purcell contends the book's design represents the pinnacle of Alexey Brodovitch's book designs.[2]
The book is a sought-after collectors item and typically sells for hundreds of dollars, even when not in ideal condition.
References [edit]
- Notes
- ^ Clarke, Gerald. Capote: a Biography (1998) Carroll & Graff. ISBN 0-7867-1661-4 p. 306-307
- ^ Purcell, Kerry William. Alexey Brodovitch (1999) Assouline. ISBN 978-2-84323-116-2 p. 170
- Bibliography
- Clarke, Gerald (1988). Capote, A Biography (1st ed.). New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-241-12549-6.
- Stanton, Robert J. (1980). Truman Capote: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1st ed.). New York: G K Hall & Company. ISBN 978-0-8161-8108-7.
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