BRASSAÏ (Gyula Halasz, known as), 1899-1984 - WORK - Lot 41

BRASSAÏ (Gyula Halasz, known as), 1899-1984 - WORK "Paris de Nuit", Edition Arts et Métiers graphiques, Paris 1933, 74p. Book. 1st edition, spiral bound, 60 photographs printed in heliogravure, text by Paul Morand. Very good condition, small paper loss on upper left cover and last two pages. Copy from the Simonson sale in Brussels on April 26, 1941. Bibliography: "802 photo books from the M. + M. Auer Collection", p.198, Parr & Badger I p.134, The Open Book p.110, The Book of 101 Books p.76. In 1932, Lucien Vogel, director of "Vu" magazine with which Brassaï collaborated, introduced him to Charles Peignot, director of "Arts et métiers graphiques" magazine. The result was "Paris de nuit", published by Peignot in 1933. From the hundred or so night views taken by Brassaï over the previous two years, 60 were selected to appear in the book, in addition to the two cover images. The text appears on a white background, while the images are printed on a black background using heliogravure. The photograph is used in the form of a slide with a layer of light-sensitive gelatin. It is then screened and applied to a copper plate. The whole is then insolated and subjected to the bite of an acid to etch the darker parts deeply and the lighter parts more lightly. Once under a cylindrical press, the ink is deposited on the paper, producing grays of varying density, depending on the thickness of the ink applied. The screen remains invisible, resulting in very deep blacks where the ink layer is thick, and very thin blacks in the lighter areas. The gravure rendering of Brassaï's photographs is intense and unique. Henry Miller referred to Brassaï as "L'oeil de Paris" for this book, one of the finest works of photography on the capital, if not the finest...