Observations: Photographs by Avedon, Comments by Capote
Avedon, Richard. Observations. First Edition. 1959. Photographs by Richard Avedon. Comments by Truman Capote. Slipcase is in good plus condition; book is in very good minus condition. This copy is in far better shape than most, but it shows fraying, small tears, and discoloration. The book itself is in excellent condition, except for a tear in the glassine wrapper.
Despite his close friendship with Cecil Beaton, Truman Capote considered Richard Avedon the greatest photographer, a view shared by many. In 1959, they collaborated on this lavish, oversize coffee-table book containing eighty-two portraits Avedon had originally shot for Harper’s Bazaar (during its rule by the unparalleled triumvirate of Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland, and Alexey Brodovitch). This book contains the origin story for Capote’s swans—his essay, “A Gathering of Swans,” which is accompanied by photographs of Marella Agnelli and Babe Paley, whom he praises as “a creation wrought by human nature … of subtler human interest, of finer fascination, than one nature alone has evolved.” The book sold well when released—a collaboration between Avedon and Capote, how could it not? It should not be in that short of supply. Copies with distinctive and colorful slipcase intact, however, are difficult to come by, making this copy a rare find. This is a large and heavy book; please inquire for international shipping.
“For a swan is invariably the result of adherence to some aesthetic system of thought, a code transposed into a self-portrait; what we see is the imaginary portrait precisely projected. This is why certain women, while not truly beautiful but triumphs over plainness, can occasionally provide the swan-illusion: their inner vision of themselves is so fixed, decorated with such clever artifice, that we surrender to their claim, even stand convinced of its genuineness.”
--Truman Capote