As the Paris of these images is that preceding 1933 when the book was first self-published in its original form, they are almost impossible to re-take now; the city has seen too many changes. When the allies liberated the city in 1944, Brassaï leaned out of his apartment window to watch—he was, as ever, the fearless voyeur. The images are matte and not particularly contrasty, and I don't think they are shown to their full advantage. We collect information from our users – this is for administration and contact purposes in connection with contributions you may wish to make to the site or your use of certain site features such as newsletter subscriptions and property enquiries. He retained a very individual creative vision, however, commenting: “The surreal effect of my pictures was nothing more than reality made fantastic through a particular vision.

First American edition: the original edition of Paris by Night, published as Paris de Nuit in 1933, contained 64 reproductions of photographs by Brassai, printed in heliogravure. Forms dance in silent, slow movements beckoning you forward, hinting of a meaning slightly underwater, gently out of grasp. Obliged to use photography for his assignments, he initially disliked the medium, but eventually started to appreciate its aesthetic capabilities. Fortunately, I have many more examples of his work in other books in my collection and I still find surprises in some images even after looking at them for a third or fourth or whichever multiple of times I have removed a book from the shelf. There is plenty of atmosphere in the pictures and I particularly like the one of two policemen having a quiet cigarette out side their station.

The current edition has been printed in heliogravure using Brassai's original plates, with the exception of photographs for which the plates have disappeared and which have been reproduced from the 1933 edition: numbers 2, 49, 55, 58, 59 60, 61, as well as the paving-stones appearing on the endpapers. Brass's ability to capture the mysticism of 'Paris by Night' instills a romance and love of fi noir for all. Having tried my hands at night-time photography I never really given full consideration to the fact that the night is not a continuation of the day with different exposure settings, nor is it simply its negative.

FIRST EDITION OF BRASSAÏ’S MASTERPIECE, ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AND BEAUTIFUL OF ALL PHOTOBOOKS.

In the early thirties [Brassaï] set about photographing the night of Paris, especially at its more colorful and more disreputable levels. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Brassai was probably more responsible than most for generating the noir genre associated with Paris but that, I think, was a function of his equipment. Yet it’s their deeply emotive, cinematic quality that transforms his subjects into characters with intergenerational appeal—none more so than the city of Paris itself. When I slowly turn the pages of the 62 duotone photographs this book consists of, based on Brassaï’s original photographic plates, the twilight world slowly draws me into its ‘phantom planes’, and in doing so this world at moments worries me, as If I am with delay soon about to discover something troublesome within its frames. It was almost certainly my first exposure to any of his works although I have bought other books of his photography in the many years since.

The back alleys, metro stations, and bistros he photographed are at turns hauntingly empty or peopled by prostitutes, laborers, thugs, and lovers. Their nocturnal surroundings fascinated the artist, whose photographs are as much an exploration of the technical challenge of portraying darkness as portraits of a hauntingly dramatic night world. One, On the boulevard Saint-Jacques (1930–32), even captures Brassaï in his element: He stands on a snowy Parisian street in a heavy coat and a brimmed hat, cigarette propped between his lips, peering into a tripod-mounted camera.