The Secret Paris of the '30s

The Secret Paris of the '30s is one of the most evocative photographic memoirs ever published. For years it was known that Brassai had taken a series of 'secret photographs' which could not be published because of their daring nature. Alone, or in the company of friends, he discovered the forbidden Paris of the 1930s - its brothels, whores, pimps, and opium dens - the sordid yet bewitching bas-monde where high society mingled with the underworld. Brassai's photographs reveal a milieu previously known only through books such as the novels of Henry Miller (a frequent companion on his nocturnal rambles): the seamy, grimy yet infinitely exciting reality that tourists still think of when they seek 'Paris by night'. These fascinating images are accompanied by Brassai's own text, in which he describes the extraordinary conditions under which he took his photographs.