Studio Glamor

I recently bought a hard-cover edition of the brand new Bonnie and Clyde biography Go Down Together by Jeff Gunn. Since I am (slowly) reading about five different books right now, I haven't gotten very far; I've covered Clyde's harrowingly destitute childhood, but that's about it. I can, however, already recommend it very highly as an engaging and well-written piece of historical literature.

Go Down Together gets extra brownie points for its nice collection of illustrations, mostly rare photographs that relate to the principals' early lives. One of my favorite pictures is a 1925 (or thereabouts) studio portrait of a teenage Bonnie Parker, an item the low-born girl would have had to really save up for. It's a gorgeous picture, and worth contrasting with the famous snapshots of her clowning around with a shotgun. Those pictures were taken about twelve years later, and you can see the effects of a stressful and difficult life on twenty-something Bonnie. The woman in those pictures had aged quickly and no longer had any illusions about life.

The photographic gem below was purchased the same day as the Hawaiian vacation group shot, and from the same vendor. I don't have any information on the woman, but the picture struck me with its simple beauty and wonderful little details (look at those sleeves!) as well as its clarity.