Between the Covers

Unbound. Gelatin silver photograph. Image measuring 9½" x 6½" on 10" x 8" paper. Four small pieces of tape residue on the verso, moderate creasing, very good or better. Captioned on the back, presumably in the photographer's hand: "Samuel Beckett December 1980 / Photo by Herbert Mitgang," followed by a New York City address. Mitgang was a columnist and book critic for *The New York Times*. On January 25, 1981, Mitgang published a piece in *The New York Times* Book Review titled "Beckett in Paris"; the piece ends thusly: "As we walked outside, I suggested to Beckett that his photographs always made him appear too somber, and asked if he would allow me to take a few pictures. Relaxed, he stood in front of a street sign that read: 'SORTIE de SECOUR - ne pas encombrer' (Emergency Exit - do not block). Beckett weighed the words aloud. 'That's appropriate,' he said with a smile." A heavily cropped version of the portrait (showing only six letters of the sign) appears in the article, making this print all the more interesting.

Item #563842