Unknown Weegee [Hardcover]

Luc Sante (Author), Cynthia Young (Author), Arthur 'Weegee' Fellig (Author), Weegee (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2006

The viewing public's image of Weegee is of the prototypical New York tabloid news photographer: tough, garrulous and on the scene, ready to cover two murders in one night. But the inventive Jewish immigrant Arthur Fellig (1899-1968), who assumed the self-mocking nickname Weegee, was also one of the most original and creative photographers of the twentieth century. His work for The New York Times, the Herald Tribune, World-Telegram, Daily News, Post, Journal-American and Sun, his images of the masses at Coney Island, the confrontation of wealth and poverty at opening night at the opera, and the aftermath of brutal crime scenes are, by now, classics. But beyond the iconic images that have been so widely circulated, what do we know of Weegee the photographer--his history, his methods, his meaning? Drawing on ICP's unique archive of nearly 20,000 prints by this celebrated master, Unknown Weegee presents 120 photographs that have never been made available to the public. They reveal a politically astute and witty social critic and attest to the seriousness and self-consciousness of his photographic endeavors. With essays by Luc Sante and ICP curator Cynthia Young.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Steidl/International Center of Photography (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 386521312X
• ISBN-13: 978-3865213129
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardboiled snapper, November 14, 2006

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unknown Weegee (Hardcover)

A fine book of Weegee photos though the title is somewhat misleading. The International Center of Photography has over eighteen thousand of his photos so there could easily be dozens of books with exactly the same title. Of the 111 photos in the book probably less than half were actually published and they were certainly not printed with a 175 screen on glossy paper as they are here.

The photo selection is excellent and a typical cross-section of Weegee's output, down and outs sleeping in doorways, fire and crime scenes, cops and suspects, strippers, animals, the weather, celebrities (fortunately not too many) and plenty of photos of folks just looking at some street drama. Some of these photos will really grab you, for instance, page fifty-four shows the inside of a movie house in Washington DC, with a wooden partition, seat high, running from the back to the front to segregate the white and colored audience. There surely can't be many photos that record this. The front of the book has four essays, two are contemporary and the others historical, Paul Strand's is from 1945 and Ralph Steiner wrote his in 1941. Both are interesting because to them Weegee is basically a news photographer but each recognised the creative potential in his work back then.

My only criticism is the rather sloppy editorial format. The list at the back of the book gives technical details about the 111 photos but they are not printed in the same sequence as this list so the reader has to scan through it to find out a bit of information for a particular photo. Art book publishers really should try harder.

This is a worthy addition to the books in print about Weegee, if you are new to his work check out the inexpensive 'Weegee' (ISBN 0714842249) by Kerry Purcell with fifty-five of his best photos and nicely each one has a detailed caption about the image, or try 'Weegee's New York: Photographs 1935-1960' (ISBN 3823854712) a large, beautifully printed paperback with 335 super photos.