Jim Heimann, Sins of the City. The Real Los Angeles Noir. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999. Paperback, 160 pp. 25,5 x 19 cm. Pictorial wraps with flaps. Illustrated throughout with crime and crime-related b&w photographs from the 1920s to the 1950s, culled from archives and special collections.
First edition, first printing. A near fine copy
Contents
- Mean Streets
- Murder & Mayhem
- Glamourland
- Kooks, Crazies & Redemption
- Headline Crime
- Vice
- Notes, Bibliography, Photo Credits
The photographers
Note on the photographs: Many of the photographs that appear in the book were taken from archives and special collections that have become depositories for newspaper 'morgues', the equivalent of an in-house photo library. Their quality reflects the original use. Retouching, crop marks and low-grade paper reveal the quick and dirty nature of photographs intended for immediate publication. Age has deteriorated some of the emulsion, while some show cracks from storage. Few retain the physical quality of what could be calles art prints. Prints from commercial photographers are almost always accompanied by original negatives. While visuals captured in both studio and on-the-spot conditions differ in technical traits, the aesthetic level of the images from both sources is of indisputable gallery quality.