"The Spirit Of Paris" 1937 PORTHEIM, Paul Cohen
$250
PORTHEIM, Paul Cohen
[119] pp.
B.T. Batsford Ltd
1937
9" x 6"
w/ wraparound jacket design by Cecil Beaton
In May 1937 B.T. Batsford posthumously published Paul Cohen-Portheim’s The Spirit of Paris. The guide to the French capital had first been published in Cohen Portheim’s native German in 1930 and this new English edition complemented his The Spirit of London, issued by Batsford two years earlier. The book encourages the Parisian visitor to see beyond the usual tourist destinations and night spots, and to emulate instead the daily lives of the capital’s residents. 134 photographs, including four by Beaton and several by Brassaï, illustrate the text. The Spirit of Paris is significant for its attractive wrap-around dust jacket design by Beaton. It features a collage of Parisian landmarks and street scenes in a bright palette of colours. A few months later Beaton would publish his own book with Batsford, Cecil Beaton’s Scrapbook, with a similar impactful wrap-around jacket.