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Klein, Kelly (Editor); Rice, Anne; Ray, Man; Mapplethorpe, Robert; Weber, Bruce & Other Contributors.
UNDER WORLD ("UNDERWORLD") .
New York City, NY:
Alfred A. Knopf,
1995.
Hardcover.
First Edition/First Printing.
Unpaginated.
Fine/Fine.
Collection of photographs on subject. One of the most beautiful photography collections of its kind ever assembled. The first and only edition. A brilliant production by Kelly Klein and Sam Shahid: Oversize-volume format. A tall and thick book. Pictorial hard boards with white titles on spine, as issued. All of the images are meticulously selected, brilliantly sequenced, and carefully annotated by Kelly Klein. The various contributors constitute a Who's Who of 20th-century photography. Introduction by the novelist Anne Rice. Printed on thick uncoated stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. In black pictorial DJ with white titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Kelly Klein's fascinatingly, intriguingly, and dazzlingly erotic collection of images of underwear in various stages of wear: About to be worn, barely worn, and un-worn. The photographs include those by the truly great, the lesser-known, and even a few anonymous photographers. The contributors include Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Imogen Cunningham, Steven Meisel, Man Ray, Bettina Rheims, Helmut Newton, Sally Mann, Kurt Markus, Bruce Weber, Jerome Zerbe, Ellen von Unwerth, Andre Kertesz, Arthur Elgort, Louise Hahl-Wolfe, Herbert List, Eve Arnold, Brassai, Robert Mapplethorpe, and sixty-three others. Best-known as a former supermodel, a designer in her own right, and a fashion/lifestyle trendsetter who was once married to the greatest living American fashion designer, Calvin Klein, Kelly Klein has produced four collections that now enjoy a cult following: "Pools" (1992), "Under World" (1995), "Cross" (2000), and "Emotion" (2005). "Pools" and "Under World" are about the sensations and sheer joy of The Good Life, life as civilized pleasure. "Cross" and "Emotion" explore the inner life, a spirituality which comes from religious iconography yet expresses a deeper purpose and meaning (that is no longer necessarily or exclusively religious). Kelly Klein's achievement is quite simple: She persuasively and very beautifully shows that our outer and inner lives are parts of our human-ity, and are therefore blessed, not trivial, pursuits. Calvin Klein single-handedly revolutionized the way we think about underwear: That it is fashionable, sexily so, and that being scantily dressed is often more arousing than letting it all hang out. It helps to be married to him because this book is a brilliant concept perfectly realized. The best collection of its kind, it has been ripped off innumerable times, but thus far, remains unsurpassed. A "must-have" title for Kelly Klein collectors. This presentation copy is very boldly and beautifully signed, dated, and inscribed in black marker on the title page by the editor: "Love, Kelly 2004". The recipient is named and is a leading contemporary fashion figure. This title has been out-of-print for a very long time. This is the only such signed and inscribed copy available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A rare, one-of-a-kind association copy thus. 154 plates. Some of the world's greatest photographers. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER KELLY KLEIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0679435794. $200.00 |
