Parijs Foto's 1950-1954

by Ed van der Elsken

lovely anthology of images of Paris in the 50's. 200+ duotone photo illus. plates. Dutch photographer Ed Van der Elsken, at the time impoverished and himself living in Paris, captured the grit and beauty of Paris in the 1950's - his images reveal the bustling, seamy side of 1950's Saint-Germain as well as erotic and all-too-human glimpses of sexy, beautiful women. Captured here are a very young Brigitte Bardot, Ethel Portnoy, Fernandel, Orson Welles, Edith Piaf, Christian Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli, the cafes and clubs of Montmartre and Montparnasse, plus a large selection of images from the Dutch photographer's renowned book, Love on the Left Bank. One of the most iconic bodies of work in any medium on Parisian life in the early 50s. Includes a section on Australian "femme fatale" Vali Myers, who was featured Love on the Left Bank. "Throughout these years, Van der Elsken and William Klein often seemed to be shadowing one another always emphacizing the expressive over the reportorial and always gravitating to society's margins-to the rebels, the gangsters, the bohemians, the artists"--from Roth, et. al., The Book of 101 Books.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Ed van der Elsken (1925-1990) - the enfant terrible of Dutch photography - was a talented photographer and filmmaker who expressed his encounters with people through photos, photobooks and films across the span of 40 years. Roaming through cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Amsterdam or travelling through Africa and Japan, he was primarily drawn to take pictures of striking characters. His first photobook Love on the Left Bank was published in 1956, instantly making him world-famous. Some twenty photobooks followed. He also made several movies for television, mostly about subjects touching upon his personal life.

Ed van der Elsken was born in Amsterdam in 1925. From 1950 to 1954, he lived and worked in Paris. During this period, he lived with Ata Kandó and her 3 children. He then moved back to Amsterdam and lived there from 1954 to 1971. He frequently traveled for his work, for instance to Bagara, Central Africa in 1957. In the years 1959-1960, he embarked on an extensive trip around the world with his second wife, Gerda van der Veen. Shortly after this trip, their two children Tinelou and Daan were born. During his many travels, Ed van der Elsken made colour photo reportages for the monthly magazine Avenue.

From 1971 until the end of his life, he lived in the countryside near Edam with Anneke Hilhorst and their son John. Throughout this period, he often worked in Amsterdam and traveled to Japan. In 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer. He died in 1990.

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very personal book on city life by the great photographer Ed Van Der Elsken. i first discovered his book "Love on the Left Bank" some years ago, when I first got interested in Situationists/Letterists and every other movement that came from St. Germain des Prés (Hello Boris Vian!).

What i find striking is that as the Beat Era was happening, so was the urge to find a better creative life as well in Paris. Boho culture is Boho culture, and it goes beyond national, international or via a very readable sense of time-line history. When you look at these images from the early 1950's, you think you are looking at Punk era 1977. Its amazing how history repeats itself in such mysterious ways. Beautiful book and its great that I found it at my local used bookstore (Alias East on Glendale).