Robert Doisneau: Palm Springs 1960 [Hardcover]

Robert Doisneau (Author), Jean-Paul Dubois (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2010

A previously unpublished collection of Robert Doisneau’s color photography provides a unique opportunity to revisit the early years of one of America’s legendary holiday destinations. In 1960, Robert Doisneau was invited by Fortune magazine to cover Palm Springs, the hottest travel destination of the day. Renowned as a playground for the rich and famous, as well as for a silver-haired and well-heeled clientele, it was a world of swimming pools awash with bobbing beehives, martini-fueled parties, and relaxed games of golf, all unfolding against a desert backdrop. There, Doisneau took hundreds of photographs, twenty-three of which were published in the magazine. The rest have been rediscovered in his archives and one hundred are featured here for the first time. Doisneau is best known for his black and white portraits of Parisian street scenes. This rare color collection—which is supplemented with a facsimile reproduction of Doisneau’s original Fortune article—offers a new perspective on his photographic legacy. Accompanying these nostalgic images are extracts from the photographer’s personal correspondence—small masterpieces of derision and self-derision in which he describes being marooned in the "world capital of winter golf"—and an equally amusing introduction written by award-winning French novelist Jean-Paul Dubois.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Doisneau (1912–1994) is one of the world’s most famous and popular photographers. His poetic, touching, and at times nostalgic images have become iconic. He worked as a professional photographer in industry, journalism, and fashion, and later as a freelancer, but his real interest lay in capturing ordinary people in everyday situations on film. Jean-Paul Dubois has written numerous novels including Vie Française (Vintage, 2008).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Flammarion (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2080301292
• ISBN-13: 978-2080301291
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #344,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not fantastic, September 11, 2010

By 

Sean Rohde "moominsean" (phoenix, az USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robert Doisneau: Palm Springs 1960 (Hardcover)

Maybe it's because I've lived in the Southwest for awhile and none of the stuff seen in these photos particularly surprised me, but a lot of what I see in the book I would call interesting curiosities, rather than fine photography. Though I'm endlessly interested in the history of the Southwest and appreciate the stylings of the time, many of the photos are are somewhat mundane and interesting solely because they are shots of that particular era.
If this wasn't Doisneau, most of these photographs would fit nicely in a generic 1960's journalistic or nostalgic picture book. They are pleasant and entertaining for the most part, particular the overhead shots and those involving the buildings of the time (which are pretty much the same buildings there today). So it's decent for what it is, but not much I would call "art"...though there are a couple shots that I enjoyed quite a lot.
As for the book...it's small. And the photos are small (some downright tiny). Photo reproduction is somewhat poor at times, with a fair amount of noise present. The overall quality is similar to what you might get from a print on demand service. But the authors do a good job of putting the photos together, and include some additional information at the end about his visits to America. they did make an effort to "fill out" the book with extra info. Not too keen on the cover design, particularly the font choice, which smacks of 1980 computer type.
Overall, interesting book, though kind of reminds me of a book you would see in the "quick gifts" section at the front of a bookstore. But it's nice to see another side of Doisneau's work. Not sure if it's a keeper, but worth reading through at least once.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save your money!, September 14, 2010

By 

L. Hartwell (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robert Doisneau: Palm Springs 1960 (Hardcover)

Sigh...I wanted to love this book, I really did. My husband ordered it for me after a trip we took to Palm Springs this summer...I pestered him for weeks about it and eagerly anticipated it's arrival. I adore Palm Springs and loved the cover photo and expected a beautiful photo book showing a Palm Springs of a different time. Well, I suppose it does that, but the beautiful images are few and far between, and the rest seems like filler. I love the actual size of the book - it's small and squarish and fits in the hand nicely. But if I had seen the contents in advance, I would have passed on purchasing it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars palm springs in the 1960s, September 7, 2010

By 

EMMALINE (MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robert Doisneau: Palm Springs 1960 (Hardcover)

Robert Doisneau: Palm Springs 1960, is an interesting collection of beautiful colored photographs taken by Robert Doisneau of rich millionaires and their wives holidaying in beautiful Palm Springs in the 1960s. This book is pre dominantly a picture book. My only dissapointment is that the pictures could have been a lot bigger, and pages are left blank, did they run out of photos or something. Robert was sent to Palm springs to photograph rich amercians for a magazine at the time, but what is interesting, the collection largely represents rich middle age americans been photgraphed, did young people at time not visit Palm Springs at all, or did Robert Doisaneau only focus on the rich middle age group. Interesting book but could have added more photos. Love the aerial photo of homes, every home has pool.