The Golden Age of Photojournalism

Russell "Russ" Melcher came to Europe and photographed the superstars of the time, either during their visits to Paris and France or accompanied them on worldwide trips. He witnessed many world events from film festivals to terrorist attacks. Among those portrayed were royal families like the Windsors, Grace Kelly & the Monegasques, as well as film legends like Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Burt Lancaster, Errol Flynn, Alfred Hitchcock, Sophia Loren, and Brigitte Bardot, and music legends like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, and Yves Montand. In addition, there were political greats such as Charles De Gaulle, Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, the Shah of Persia, American presidents, and many more.

Later, Russ Melcher became director of the legendary photo agency MAGNUM and worked with photo legends Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ian Berry, Bruce Davidson, and Elliott Erwitt, to name a few. This large-format photo book is about the stories behind the images and personalities. Entertaining, humorous, but also profound, Russ describes his way to the perfect photo, his individual perspective, and the importance of photographic storytelling of this Golden Age of Photojournalism.

Russ Melcher is an important witness to that time, but also an American entertainer in Paris who encouraged his protagonists to do things that few photographers could manage, a true and trusted partner to the stars of that era through the ages. The book is organised according to the two decades and Russell's encounters with the stars of the time. Text in English and German.

Author: Russell Melcher was born in 1931 in the USA but spent most of his life living and travelling in Paris. He was a photographer from 1953 to 1962 and a photo agent (MAGNUM director, etc.), becoming an important witness of the heyday of visual world exploration. This 'golden age of photojournalism' was characterised by a strong self-image of photographers as authors and storytellers, by high-circulation magazines such as Life, Time Magazine, Paris Match, Spiegel, Stern, etc., and by a readership for whom these reportages represented a keyhole to viewing the world.

Selling Points:

• When photography made history: The '50s and '60s through the lens of a World Chronicler.
• Legendary photographer and Magnum director Russell Melcher tells the stories behind the images.
• Unique encounters with Alfred Hitchcock, Romy Schneider, Edith Piaf, and many others.

Featuring 160 black and white illustrations.