Time Exposure

[Cecil Beaton. Peter Quennell]


Time Exposure is the first retrospective of Beaton's photographs. The book is filled with over 300 of Beaton's photographs, taken between 1923 and 1940. There are portraits, fashion photographs and travel shots, several of which are rarely reproduced elsewhere. Peter Quennell, the writer and critic, provides the commentary and captions. In his text, he observes a vanished world, one full of artifice and posture that is mirrored in Beaton's work. The final chapter acknowledges the new outlook brought in by the War. Beaton's portraits of political leaders, and photographs of London's bomb damage, evacuees and the RAF are an abrupt change from the society portraits of the twenties and reflect the new concerns of both the people and the photographer.


Cecil Beaton. With Commentary and Captions by Peter Quennell. B. T. Batsford, Ltd. London. May 1941. First edition. Hardback, large octavo; orange cloth-bound boards, orange top-edge, dust jacket. viii, 136 pages. Illustrated profusely with black and white photographs. English. 230 x 170mm. 0.5kg. . Very good, in very good dust jacket; light wear at top forecorners and head and base of spine, creasing and small closed tears to rear top edge, neatly repaired to verso, not price-clipped; no inscriptions.