"The Spirit Of Paris" 1937 PORTHEIM, Paul Cohen

PORTHEIM, Paul Cohen

Paul Cohen-Portheim (1880–1932) was an Austrian artist and travel writer. He was a proficient linguist and spoke a half a dozen European languages fluently. When World War I broke out, he was painting in Devonshire, and found himself interned for the length of the war. This gave him time to read, observe and meditate, especially on his enforced new home. After the war he wrote England, the Unknown Isle and later The Spirit of London, showing his affection for England and London especially. The Spirit of London was the last thing to be published after his sudden death in 1932. 

[119] pp.

B.T. Batsford Ltd

1937

9" x 6"

w/ wraparound jacket design by Cecil Beaton

VG/ VG

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.