If I ever made it as an author, I’d wear a beret (to show I am cosmopolitan) and be carrying a mop (to illustrate my kinship with the working classes.)

I was reminded of all of that upon finding this great infographic. I’ve seen many of these techniques in action on dustjackets over the years.

With many of the images focused on the classes, trades, societal roles and occupations of the era, the collection of Sander’s work offers an invaluable insight into the society of the time. Photography enthusiasts or German history buffs would be lucky to get their hands on any of these fascinating volumes.

About the image:

“Attributed to Harry Burnett while Yale Puppeteers were working in their theater, Teatro Torito, on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, California, circa 1931. The photo was taken by Harry Burnett at Cal Tech in Pasadena where Albert Einstein was teaching. Einstein saw the puppet perform at the Teato Torito and was quite amused. He reached into his jacket’s breast pocket, pulled out a letter and crumpled it up. Speaking in German, he said, “The puppet wasn’t fat enough!” He laughed and stuffed the crumpled letter up under the smock to give the puppet a fatter belly. This is a wonderful photograph that Harry treasured. Harry Burnett also kept the letter in a frame and loved to retell the story and at the end give his pixish laugh.”

We’ve all seen the photo of Einstein sticking his tongue out, or perhaps the one of him in fuzzy slippers, but the puppet one was new to me.

Here are a couple of other pictures of Albert Einstein we have for sale on the site:

Original photograph of young Albert Einstein with Konrad Habicht and Maurice Solovine, ca. 1903

Mounted photograph of Einstein smoking a pipe, ca. 1932-1934.

Original signed photograph of Albert Einstein and wife Elsa Einstein, dated by Albert 1931.

There was a lovely book-themed wedding in Seattle last month. Take a gander at the amazing book arch that the happy couple were married beneath.  You can see more amazing images at the Rubin Photography website (and thanks for allowing us to post the images). I wonder what they did with it after the wedding?

This selection from Assouline Publishing ranges from Cecil Beaton to Penthouse and from Rene Magritte to Coca-Cola.

Now an adult and an artist, Shapton finds that having spent so much of her early and developmental years both longing for greatness and moving through water has impacted her thoughts, her inspirations and her perspectives. Swimming Studies explores, wistfully and from the comparative comfort of land – the influence and pull that water, swimming and competing have had on her life.

Beautifully and simply stated, with accompanying photographs and art, it’s a gorgeous book. For anyone who has hung desperately on to a part of their life that has lost its personal significance and been unable to let go, this book is for you.

Have you heard of Harry Whittier Frees? Born in 1879, Frees was an American photographer who became well-known for his recognizable and unusual style of photography. Specifically, he posed animals in human scenarios – riding bicycles, painting on easels, sitting in a ferris wheel at the fair. Real, live animals, which he also dressed in tiny elaborate outfits. As these staged photographs were of animals and frequently included clever or cute captions, many have mused that Frees should be considered the father of LOLcats. In his book Animal Land on the Air, Frees expounded in great depth upon the individual natures of the kinds of animals he photographed, and how their traits made them more or less easy to work with:

“Rabbits are the easiest to photograph in costume, but incapable of taking many “human” parts. Puppies are tractable when rightly understood, but the kitten is the most versatile animal actor, and possesses the greatest variety of appeal. The pig is the most difficult to deal with, but effective on occasion. The best period of young animal models is a short one, being when they are from six to ten weeks of age. An interesting fact is that a kitten’s attention is best held through the sense of sight, while that of a puppy is most influenced by sound, and equally readily distracted by it.”

Huh. Kudos for kittens.

Frees eventually garnered some attention for his weird and adorable work, and had some success in the arenas of postcards and children’s books. I can only imagine the depth of the man’s patience, in such a technologically different era, in capturing each of those shots so perfectly, entirely at the mercy of a warm and squirming puppy. I imagine many shoots were suddenly paused on account of an overwhelming urge to cuddle.

My personal favorite is this shot, of a very somber looking Edward Gorey – with his enormous teddy bear:

I’m drawn to this photobook, Dancing with Cats by Burton Silver and Heather Busch, in the way that I have to look at a car crash on the side of the road as I’m driving by. Clearly that cat has some sweet moves but as for the ginger-haired woman…. what dance move is she actually doing?

Ninety seven color photos of insane people dancing with cats.

Check out Cedric Bethwick-Swenton’s remarkable review on Amazon.co.uk.

Shocking and often surreal, these are powerful books.