Jacobi, Lotte. Lotte Jacobi: Theater & Dance Photographs.

Countryman, 1982. Introduction by Cornell Capa. First edition. Stiff wraps with illustrated dust jacket, 47 pages.  [Identified subjects of Jacobi's superb portraits include Anna May Wong, Howard Kreutzberg, Peter Lorre, Rene Clair, Lauritz Melchior, Hans Richter, Emil Jannings, Kurt Weil, Lotte Lenya, Niura Norskaya (Jacobi's best selling photograph), Clair Bauroff, et al. Near fine with small crimp on spine.

Lotte Jacobi was a pioneering German-American photographer celebrated for her intimate, humanist portraits and experimental photography. Born into a multi-generational family of photographers, she studied phototechnology and cinematography in Munich before taking over her family's Berlin studio, where she famously documented the vibrant avant-garde culture and intellectual circles of the Weimar Republic. Fleeing Nazi Germany, Jacobi immigrated to New York City and established a successful studio on 57th Street, continuing her portraiture of prominent artists, writers, and public figures for the next two decades. During her career, she expanded her artistic range into abstraction by creating "photogenics"—innovative, cameraless light drawings on photosensitive paper. Jacobi later relocated to rural Deering, New Hampshire, where she spent the final decades of her long, prestigious career operating a gallery, engaging in local politics, and further exploring the natural world through her lens.

Book Summary:

Lotte Jacobi: Theater & Dance Photographs is a distinctive monograph published by the Countryman Press. It compiles the stage imagery and performance portraiture of German-American photographer Lotte Jacobi, capturing the avant-garde spirit of Weimar-era Berlin and mid-century New York.

The volume highlights Jacobi’s unique ability to translate the kinetic energy of live performance into a static, intimate visual medium:

• The Golden Age of Berlin: The book heavily focuses on Jacobi's work when she ran her family's studio in Berlin. Granted rare backstage access, she documented the cultural explosion of the era, photographing legendary performers and directors like Peter Lorre, Lotte Lenya, Emil Jannings, and Max Reinhardt.

• Capturing Movement: Rather than relying on rigid, posed studio shots, Jacobi favored an active, humanized approach. Her dance photography—which featured modern dancers such as Claire Bauroff, Pauline Koner, and Hanya Holm—sensitively emphasizes the geometry, abstraction, and fluid dynamics of the human body in motion.

• The Artistic Transition: In addition to her straight documentary theater work, the publication touches on her time in New York after fleeing Nazi Germany. It shows how her fascination with performance eventually evolved into her famous "photogenics"—a series of cameraless, abstract light drawings on photosensitive paper that frequently integrated the flowing silhouettes of dancers.