New Orleans and Its Living Past by Laughlin, Clarence John and David L. Cohn

First edition. #553 of 1050 copies, signed by both Laughlin and Cohn.

Born in Louisiana, photographer Clarence John Laughlin (1905-1985) is best known for his photographs of the American South and his beloved New Orleans French Quarter. After working as a photographer for Vogue (with then-editor Edward Steichen) and for the National Archives in Washington, D.C., Laughlin returned to New Orleans in 1946, where he worked extensively and "developed what he termed as his own 'visual poetry' by borrowing elements from modern photography-such as strong compositions and highly glossy printing techniques-and imbuing his images with mysterious symbolism" (metmuseum.org).

Mississippi native David L. Cohn (1894-1960) was a prolific nonfiction writer with intimate knowledge of the Mississippi Delta. Much of Cohn's best work saw him striving to understand his home region-of which he said, "The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg." Cohn also worked in politics as a speechwriter for Democratic party leaders such as McGovern and Lyndon Johnson.

REFERENCES: Cobb, James C., ed. The Mississippi Delta and the World (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995); Clarence John Laughlin at all-art.org; The Unborn 1941 at metmuseum.org

CONDITION: Light wear to covers; contents clean and bright.