Inscribed. Presentation copy, inscribed: 'To / Jan Murray / A Kertesz / Febr 7 - 1980'.

André Kértesz moved to Paris from Budapest in 1925 and lived there until 1936, when he left for New York to work with the Keystone Agency. A dispute with the nephew of Keystone's founder, Bert Garai, led to Kertész abandoning his contract, and the subsequent lack of money and the outbreak of the Second World War made his return to Paris impossible. Between 1945 and 1962, Kértesz worked under contract for House and Garden; this secured him a living but restricted the time he could spend on personal projects. In 1964, shortly after joining the Museum of Modern Art, John Szarkowski met and championed Kértesz, establishing his position as one of the twentieth century's leading photographers.

First French edition, inscribed in black ink on the title-page; 4to (278 x 214 mm, 11 x 8½ in); black-and-white photographs printed in gravure; plain endpapers, grey cloth-covered boards, titles to spine and upper side in gold, minor sunning to top edge, leaning slightly, photo-illustrated dust-jacket, white, text in black, light wear to edges, lightly marked and rubbed, minor toning to top edge, an excellent copy; 191, [1]pp.