An outstanding picture book.

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Gorgeously illustrated.

Nantucket Island, once a stronghold for whale hunters after the animals’ oil, used for interior lighting, lost that monopoly when Rockefeller’s Standard Oil started refining crude to make much cheaper kerosene, much to the relief of the whales. The island is only accessible by boat or light aircraft:

In the Atlantic.

Perhaps Robert Gambee’s outstanding book is Wall Street Christmas which beautifully illustrates the corridors of financial power but also supplements each image with details and trivia which make for a fascinating reading and viewing experience.

So when I discovered that Gambee had also published a volume of images taken on Nantucket Island I snapped one up. It’s long out of print but mint copies can be had for pennies.

Not only is the photography up to Gambee’s high standard, full of warm interiors in yellow paint and even warmer woods, there’s a wonderful hidden surprise to be found. You see every third image or so includes a 1950s vintage American automobile, the last era in which America made the world’s finest cars. And, as with the Wall Street book, each image is accompanied by fascinating text which fleshes out many historical facts.

Note the woody station wagon.

The homes are described in detail …. as are the wonderful vehicles. Robert Gambee’s ‘Nantucket’ is recommended without reservation to all photography, vintage car and early American history buffs.

Lots of fun.

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If the original supermodels of the 1950s were Lisa Fonssagrives (later Mrs. Irving Penn) and Wenda Rogerson (Mrs. Norman Parkinson) you will not find them in this book whose focus is on the fashion photography world of the 1970s. Instead it’s models like Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington who feature heavily in the pages of this book and the whole confection is as fun as it gets.

Ostensibly intended to showcase Arthur Elgort‘s large camera collection it focuses on his always light and fun photography for the leading magazines of the day and, yes, it’s the Big Four which feature heavily in its pages. That means Leica, Nikon, Hasselblad and Rolleiflex.

The type is hard to read but you don’t come here for reading. Viewing is the goal. Highly recommended.

A small part of Elgort’s equipment cabinet.