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Josephine Baker
An excellent documentary book on the life and career of singer Josephine Baker from the slums of St. Louis to New York, Paris and London. The book contains several color and black-and-white photos of Josephine, stage shots and posters of her performances. A great addition to any library.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 29, 2018
A stunning coffee table book filled with pictures and art media. Josephine Baker is one of the most talented but underrated stars of the 1920's, 1930's, & 1940's. This book mostly covers Miss Baker's career but it does touch on the most important points in her adult life. The author is obviously a fan, so this book reads like a love letter to Miss Baker.
Josephine Baker is a visual celebration of the legendary performer.
I highly recommend this book(if you can find it).
Read-A-Thin May Challenge: Read a book that was gifted to you by your mother or is related to your mother in some way.
Josephine Baker is a visual celebration of the legendary performer.
I highly recommend this book(if you can find it).
Read-A-Thin May Challenge: Read a book that was gifted to you by your mother or is related to your mother in some way.
September 15, 2020
“Alexa, play music by Josephine Baker.”
That request has begun a number of my exercise sessions. Listening to her sing is such a joy ... and her voice is still wonderful in the later recordings.
JOSEPHINE BAKER is a collaboration between Bryan Hammond and Patrick O’Connor. Hammond is a researcher and bookseller who developed a fascination with Josephine Baker in 1963. Since that time, he has been collecting memorabilia ... and this book is chock full of photographic images from his massive collection. (For me, the book was worth purchasing for that alone!) Patrick O’Connor is a magazine editor and he provides the details of her life. Together they provide an overview that is more “surface” than many would want from a biography, yet it is also one to be proudly displayed on a coffee table.
Josephine Baker is one of those legendary entertainment icons who embodied the term, Star. Through the years, I’ve seen several film clips of her performances as well as three motion picture features. One thing is certain ... whenever she is on the stage or on the screen, it is difficult to shift a gaze to anyone else. She is there to provide entertainment, and she excels at doing that.
Several items of note came to mind while I was reading and enjoying the images:
* The attendee of a musical cabaret or stage review today may be surprised by the amount of nudity... mostly female, but sometimes male, too ... found in these Revues of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Scenes were not graphic, although Las Vegas has nothing on them (no pun intended ... well, maybe just a bit of one);
* Josephine Baker found France to be much more welcoming as far as race relations than her birth country, the United States. Considering her “star status” when she returned to the U.S., it is astonishing that she and her fellow performers would often be denied accommodations. In one infamous incident at the Stork Club, waiters brought her party their drinks, but refused to bring their meals;
* She sometimes made misguided efforts and comments, yet she was tireless in advocating for racial equity, even adopting children of various nationalities who became known as her “Rainbow Tribe”;
* She received national attention and awards in France after World War II for her active participation in the French Resistance.
Josephine Baker could also be incredibly harsh and, although it is not identified as such in the book, shows signs of the beginnings of dementia in the latter quarter of her life. Still, as her health seriously deteriorated, she was still performing and, from the reviews, gave the full measure of herself to her audiences. It must have been a thrill to see her.
For a person with only a casual interest, JOSEPHINE BAKER may not contain enough to merit adding to a reading list. For the Reader who is fascinated with her and /or the period and culture(s) in which she worked, it is an enriching keepsake. It may not go far enough “below the surface” for those who want to be immersed in her life and the period. At the same time, the picture images are astonishing.
That request has begun a number of my exercise sessions. Listening to her sing is such a joy ... and her voice is still wonderful in the later recordings.
JOSEPHINE BAKER is a collaboration between Bryan Hammond and Patrick O’Connor. Hammond is a researcher and bookseller who developed a fascination with Josephine Baker in 1963. Since that time, he has been collecting memorabilia ... and this book is chock full of photographic images from his massive collection. (For me, the book was worth purchasing for that alone!) Patrick O’Connor is a magazine editor and he provides the details of her life. Together they provide an overview that is more “surface” than many would want from a biography, yet it is also one to be proudly displayed on a coffee table.
Josephine Baker is one of those legendary entertainment icons who embodied the term, Star. Through the years, I’ve seen several film clips of her performances as well as three motion picture features. One thing is certain ... whenever she is on the stage or on the screen, it is difficult to shift a gaze to anyone else. She is there to provide entertainment, and she excels at doing that.
Several items of note came to mind while I was reading and enjoying the images:
* The attendee of a musical cabaret or stage review today may be surprised by the amount of nudity... mostly female, but sometimes male, too ... found in these Revues of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Scenes were not graphic, although Las Vegas has nothing on them (no pun intended ... well, maybe just a bit of one);
* Josephine Baker found France to be much more welcoming as far as race relations than her birth country, the United States. Considering her “star status” when she returned to the U.S., it is astonishing that she and her fellow performers would often be denied accommodations. In one infamous incident at the Stork Club, waiters brought her party their drinks, but refused to bring their meals;
* She sometimes made misguided efforts and comments, yet she was tireless in advocating for racial equity, even adopting children of various nationalities who became known as her “Rainbow Tribe”;
* She received national attention and awards in France after World War II for her active participation in the French Resistance.
Josephine Baker could also be incredibly harsh and, although it is not identified as such in the book, shows signs of the beginnings of dementia in the latter quarter of her life. Still, as her health seriously deteriorated, she was still performing and, from the reviews, gave the full measure of herself to her audiences. It must have been a thrill to see her.
For a person with only a casual interest, JOSEPHINE BAKER may not contain enough to merit adding to a reading list. For the Reader who is fascinated with her and /or the period and culture(s) in which she worked, it is an enriching keepsake. It may not go far enough “below the surface” for those who want to be immersed in her life and the period. At the same time, the picture images are astonishing.
October 7, 2021
I read a short blog piece recently which mentioned Josephine Baker. It struck me then that I knew very little about her life, except that she moved to Paris from the US and had been active during World War II. I borrowed this from the library to rectify my ignorance.
It’s a coffee table sized book illustrated throughout with photos, posters, pamphlets, tickets and illustrations, all from Bryan Hammond’s collection. Words are by Patrick O’Connor. It’s clear that both were huge Josephine Baker fans. The history of Josephine is meticulous, bordering on forensic. O’Connor is clear in his introduction that he wants to focus on her performances, as she contributed to four volumes of memoirs during her lifetime. And that it does. From her birth, to the horror of the East St Louis riots (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_St...) where whites massacred the black population, to her ultimate escape to Paris where her career in music hall began to take off.
Some of the imagery and quotes are difficult to read. Images and quotes from the 19020s/30s are horrifically racist. And even some of the main body of biographical text would not get past a publisher these days. (Maybe ‘should’ would be a better word.) Not that it is plentiful but there are way too many ‘exotics’ than I was comfortable with. Getting past this though, the level of detail regarding her career, her activism, the people involved in her life and shows, where and what she performed, all of it set against a backdrop of the rise of Nazi Germany, the fall of Europe, her love-hate relationship with the US, her marriages and growth of her family, to the bankruptcy and rise of the civil rights movement in America…it’s documented in tremendous detail.
Josephine Baker was a pioneer and a trail blazer. Her story is an inspiration and entirely exceptional. It’s difficult to imagine how she could go from having a ‘normal’ life in Paris but every time she returned to America’s apartheid, her liberty was continually restricted. If I have any criticism (beyond the racist depictions) it’s that I didn’t get a real sense of Josephine Baker the person. The author does set this out during his introduction however, the purpose of this book was to document her shows…and that’s exactly how the reader perceives Josephine Baker…from a distance like you’ve just watched her ‘show’ without getting inside her mind. I left with more of an understanding of her kids’ inner thoughts (which doesn’t take up too much of the book) compared to the insides of the performer-activist’s mind. Her life was incredible though, and I’m compelled to read her memoirs to get closer to her inner self.
It’s a coffee table sized book illustrated throughout with photos, posters, pamphlets, tickets and illustrations, all from Bryan Hammond’s collection. Words are by Patrick O’Connor. It’s clear that both were huge Josephine Baker fans. The history of Josephine is meticulous, bordering on forensic. O’Connor is clear in his introduction that he wants to focus on her performances, as she contributed to four volumes of memoirs during her lifetime. And that it does. From her birth, to the horror of the East St Louis riots (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_St...) where whites massacred the black population, to her ultimate escape to Paris where her career in music hall began to take off.
Some of the imagery and quotes are difficult to read. Images and quotes from the 19020s/30s are horrifically racist. And even some of the main body of biographical text would not get past a publisher these days. (Maybe ‘should’ would be a better word.) Not that it is plentiful but there are way too many ‘exotics’ than I was comfortable with. Getting past this though, the level of detail regarding her career, her activism, the people involved in her life and shows, where and what she performed, all of it set against a backdrop of the rise of Nazi Germany, the fall of Europe, her love-hate relationship with the US, her marriages and growth of her family, to the bankruptcy and rise of the civil rights movement in America…it’s documented in tremendous detail.
Josephine Baker was a pioneer and a trail blazer. Her story is an inspiration and entirely exceptional. It’s difficult to imagine how she could go from having a ‘normal’ life in Paris but every time she returned to America’s apartheid, her liberty was continually restricted. If I have any criticism (beyond the racist depictions) it’s that I didn’t get a real sense of Josephine Baker the person. The author does set this out during his introduction however, the purpose of this book was to document her shows…and that’s exactly how the reader perceives Josephine Baker…from a distance like you’ve just watched her ‘show’ without getting inside her mind. I left with more of an understanding of her kids’ inner thoughts (which doesn’t take up too much of the book) compared to the insides of the performer-activist’s mind. Her life was incredible though, and I’m compelled to read her memoirs to get closer to her inner self.
April 9, 2022
Great collection of photos and memorabilia. Lots of names, dates, places. More details, less story telling. Sometimes hard to read because of the density of details.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews