Paul Outerbridge, Jr.

platinum print, circa 1924-25 (Photographs, p. 86; Singular Aesthetic, pl. 191)

This print, on medium-weight paper with a matte surface, is in generally good condition. The lighter areas in the upper portion of the image appear to be somewhat age-darkened. There is very minor edge and corner wear. On the reverse there is peripheral age-darkening.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The photographs in this and the following 12 lots come from the family of Lois Weir Outerbridge, Paul Outerbridge's second wife.  They have descended in the family from Lois Weir Outerbridge, the photographer's widow, to her son Burt Weir's children.

Prior to her marriage to Paul Outerbridge, Jr., in 1945, Lois was married to Virgil Weir. The Weirs' only child, Burt Weir, married Margaret ('Rickie') Lipen in 1946.  Paul Outerbridge had no children of his own, and Burt's wife Rickie, now Rickie Richley, recounts that she and Burt Weir and their children became, in many ways, the family that Outerbridge never had.  From their home in San Francisco, the Burt Weir family would travel to Laguna Beach and spend their summers with Lois and Paul Outerbridge.  After Outerbridge's death in 1958, Rickie became a partner in the dress shop formerly operated by Lois and Paul under the name Lois-Paul.  When Lois passed away in 1979, Rickie ran the shop for the next 12 years, closing it in 1991, the year of the shop's 50^th anniversary.   

Rickie Richley remembers:

'Paul Outerbridge was quite the English gentleman, raised by a father from Bermuda.   Paul was quite reserved, never laughing out loud, but smiling broadly.  He came to the art colony of Laguna Beach in the mid-1940s, when he was in his mid-fifties, and shortly thereafter married Lois Weir, who had operated her own dress boutique in the Laguna Beach Hotel since 1941.    

'Paul would spend about 4 to 5 hours each day in the shop, seated at his table near the entry door, where he typed articles about color photography [Outerbridge contributed a monthly column on color photography to U. S. Camera magazine from 1954 until his death in 1958].   Adjacent to the door was a rack of coats.  As a woman customer would be leaving the shop, Paul would arise, take a coat from the rack, and say to the woman, "Madam, this coat would be perfect on you.  It matches your eyes."  Women could not resist him.  He frequently sold the coats.

'Paul had a black mustache which he groomed regularly.  Standing in front of a mirror, he would take out a red Maybelline mascara box, remove the brush, wet it, and cover any white hairs in his mustache with mascara.' 

'Despite his reserve, Paul had a sense of fun.  One day, for instance, Paul was in the shop and knew that Lois would be arriving momentarily.  A parking space became available right in front of the shop.  Paul grabbed a rocking chair from the shop, placed it in the parking space, and started rocking.  A man stopped his car and told Paul to get out of the way, that the parking spaces were reserved for moving vehicles.  Paul answered, as he rocked away, that he was moving.  He very calmly saved the space for Lois.

'At another time, Paul and Lois bought a baby goose at a fair, believing that it was a duckling.  It grew and grew.  They kept it in the yard.  One day the goose walked into the house through an open door and got too close to the hearth of a burning fireplace, scorching its feet.  Paul wrapped the goose in a towel and drove it to Paul's physician, who treated the webbed feet successfully.  But imagine: you are sitting in your doctor's office, waiting, and in walks a man with a goose wrapped in a towel under his arm, and matter-of-factly takes a seat, to wait for the doctor.' 

Rickie Richley remembers Paul Outerbridge's keen involvement in all aspects of Lois-Paul Originals, especially in the sales area.  She has related that Paul accompanied Lois to fashion industry trade fairs, where Lois performed the role of designer and Paul the role of salesman.   Mrs. Richley has spoken of the prestige of the Lois-Paul line, and remembers season after season when all of the windows at Bullocks Wilshire, one of Los Angeles's leading department stores at the time, featured Lois-Paul Originals. 

Mrs. Richley well remembers the classical statue head which appears in the photograph in Lot 99, the photograph also used on the cover of the present catalogue.  It was for many years displayed in the Lois-Paul shop at the Laguna Beach Hotel, and has since disappeared (see note to Lot 99).    

Having no grandchildren of his own, Paul Outerbridge enjoyed the company of Burt and Rickie Richley's two children.  Rickie Richley recounts, for instance, Paul and her daughter's going on outings together, just the two of them, which her daughter remembers with fondness.  The Richley family remained close to Paul Outerbridge until the end of his life, and was with him when he passed away in 1958. 

Paul Outerbridge's career as a commercial photographer began in 1922.  He quickly became very successful, working with Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar.  In the 15 November 1925 issue of Vogue (Vol. 66, No. 10), Outerbridge contributed six photographs to an article entitled 'The Perfume of the Couture.'  The image offered here depicts a bottle of perfume from The House of Worth. 

For studies related to the present image, cf. A Singular Aesthetic, pls. 38, 190, 192, 198, and 203.