Brassaï

First edition copies of Brassaï's first two books, inscribed to Emiel van Moerkerken.

• Sold as a set of 2 books.
• Brassaï (Hungarian-French).
• Paris de Nuit:
• Paris: Édition Arts et Métiers Graphiques, 1932.
• 76 pages.
• Quarto.
• Includes black-and-white photographs printed in gravure by Draeger.
• Inscribed by Brassaï on the first page with a gelatin silver photograph by Emiel van Moerkerken mounted on the front cover, verso.
• Bound in photo-illustrated spiral-bound card covers, titles printed in red.
• Voluptés de Paris:
• Paris: Paris-Publications, 1934.
• 48 pages.
• Quarto.
• With 46 photographs, printed in relief halftone by G. Desgrandchamps.
• Inscribed on rear cover.
• Bound in printed card covers, red, title in white and black.

Brassaï was furious that Morand's name was printed on the cover in a typeface almost twice the size as the rest of the text, suggesting that Morand was the book's author. Contemporary reviews of Paris de Nuit pointed out that Brassaï's photographs were far superior to Morand's text, with Le Temps stating, "When the name of Paul Morand will be long forgotten, Brassaï's photographs will still be living and precious documents."

Voluptés de Paris is Brassaï's scarcest title. Disappointed after the publication of Paris de Nuit (1932) failed to bring either the extra income or new commissions that he had hoped for, Brassaï began publishing some of his more risqué photographs in magazines such as Scandale, Secrets de Paris and Paris Magazine. The publisher of Paris Magazine was Léon Vidal, who also owned Librairie de la Lune and the Diana Slip lingerie company; for a time, he was Brassaï's best customer. In August 1932, Vidal and Brassaï signed a contract to publish a book called Paris Intime, intended to be similar in format to Paris de Nuit with a text by Pierre Mac Orlan. The project drifted as the relationship between Brassaï and Vidal deteriorated, and two years later, Vidal published Voluptés de Paris without any involvement on Brassaï's part. Brassaï disowned the book, as inferred in the inscription, and when many of these photographs were later included in The Secret Paris of the Thirties (1976), he claimed that this would be the first time they were published.