Lotte Jacobi: Theater & Dance Photographs

Lotte Jacobi; Cornell Capa (Intro) Lotte Jacobi: Theater and Dance Photographs, Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press, 1982. Slim plain cream-colored softcover inside pictorial dust jacket. 47 pp., 41 b/w plates, 8.5" x 6"

From publisher's jacket flap: "Berlin was a magic place for the arts in the twenties and early thirties, and no more so than in theater and dance. Fortunately for us, in the midst of this brilliant world, a young woman destined to become one of the best portrait photographers was just beginning her long illustrious career. Fourth generation photographer (her great grandfather had been taught by Daguerre), Lotte Jacobi photographed the brightest personalities of Berlin (and later New York), many of them her friends, in a direct and honest way that remains surprisingly fresh even today. In this book, along with Lotte's reminiscences of each, are revealing portraits of Peter Lorre, Lotte Lenya, Emil Jannings, Anna May Wong, Rene Clair, Lil Dagover, Claire Bauroff, Pauline Koner, Hanya Holme, and many others. Theater and Dance Photographs is a remarkable record of a remarkable time."

This exquisitely printed volume succeeds in revealing Jacobi's keen eye and the broad range of her imagery, at times vibrant, kinetic and others introspective, penetrating, all through her consistently deft use of light and shadow. Although a small volume, this book nicely presents the powerful essence of Jacobi's photography.