The secret Paris of the 30's

Brassaï

The Secret Paris of the '30s is one of the most evocative photographic memoirs ever published. For years it was known that Brassai had taken a series of 'secret photographs' which could not be published because of their daring nature. Alone, or in the company of friends, he discovered the forbidden Paris of the 1930s - its brothels, whores, gay nightclubs, pimps, and opium dens - the sordid yet bewitching bas-monde where high society mingled with the underworld. These images are accompanied by Brassai's own text, in which he describes the extraordinary conditions under which he took his photographs.