Naked City by Weegee, Signed First Edition

Naked City by Weegee (Arthur Felig) 

First Edition, First Printing, 1945 

Signed by Weegee

This is a very rare signed first edition, first printing of the Weegee’s most famous photobook “Naked City” published by Essential Books, New York, in 1945. Weegee was among the first to fully realize the camera’s unique power to capture split-second drama and exaggerated emotion. His profound influence on other photographers derives not only from his sensational subject matter and his use of the blinding, close-up flash, but also from his eagerness to photograph the city at all hours, at all levels: coffee shops at three in the morning, hot summer evenings in the tenements, debutante balls, parties in the street, lovers on park benches, the destitute and the lonely. No other photographer has better revealed the non-stop spectacle of life in New York City. Parr & Badger in their book, “The Photobook: A History”, provide probably the best summary: “ Polish-born Arthur Felig, who immigrated to the United States in 1910 and taught himself photography, was dubbed "Ouija" by New York City cops in the 1930s for his uncanny ability to appear at crime scenes before the police did. A tabloid-news photographer for the Daily News, Herald Tribune, and Post, Weegee in many ways created his own legend-"that of the cigar-chomping sensationalist paparazzo." With the over 200 vivid images he assembled in Naked City, Weegee created a "photobook masterpiece…one of the great documentary photobooks".

Containing 239 black and white photogravures and measuring approximately 10” x 8”, the book is bound in grey buckram-covered boards with blue titling stamped on the cover and spine without the scarce dust jacket. The book is in Very Good+ condition with moderate surface wear along the spine and edges.

The book has been boldly signed by Weegee on the title page in green ink. This is an extremely rare book. Currently, it is the only signed copy of this title on the market.

Cited in all three reference works on photobooks:  “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Roth and “The Photobook: A History”, by Parr and Badger, and “The Open Book” by Andrew Roth.

Photographs of the book, signature page, and photographs contained in the book appear below. Please note that although the photographs appear digitized as thumbnails, they are viewable in the photo viewer by running your mouse over the thumbnail. You can also click on the thumbnail to open a separate window where the pictures are viewable as a slideshow.