Gotfryd, Alex. Appointment in Venice by Alex Gotfryd.

Doubleday, 1988. First edition in hardcover, fine with fine protected dust jacket.  43 plates with Gotfryd’s mysterious monochromatic photographs in Venice, Italy, of a woman in black, portrayed by a beautiful model, Lynn Kohlman.  The photos are based on a recurring dream of the photographer and he and Kohlmann went to Venice to recreate it in a cinematic sequence, shot during a November when the city was enshrouded in fog. A fine example of the “directorial mode” genre of photography.  Summary: 

Appointment in Venice by Alex Gotfryd (Doubleday, 1988) is a photographic artist’s evocative visual meditation on the city of Venice, Italy, grounded in mood, atmosphere, and psychological resonance rather than conventional travel documentation. The book is comprised of 43 black-and-white photographs taken by Gotfryd during the misty dawn hours of November, when the city appears quiet, empty, and hauntingly beautiful. The images capture Venice’s deserted streets, damp pavements, crumbling walls, and silent canals in soft focus and subdued light, creating a dreamlike sense of place.

Rather than simply portraying architectural landmarks or touristic scenes, Gotfryd’s photographs depict lone figures — often a woman or two in flowing dark coats and hats — moving through the fog-shrouded city. This visual motif underscores themes of solitude, mystery, and the human condition, inspired by a recurring dream that compelled the photographer to undertake this project. In his introduction, he explains that this dream motif served as the conceptual foundation for the work, encouraging viewers to experience the images as a kind of psychological journey or “appointment” with Venice’s spirit.

Overall, Appointment in Venice blends personal vision with atmospheric street photography, presenting an introspective and poetic portrait of the city that emphasizes mood, memory, and the evocative power of light and shadow.

Alex Gotfryd (circa 1932-1991) was a Polish-born photographer and long-time art director for the major publishing house Doubleday, where he oversaw the visual design and production of hundreds of book covers annually, including the shaping of iconic covers like Peter Benchley's Jaws. Having survived the Holocaust as a child, he later established himself in the American publishing and photography scenes. Beyond his influential editorial design work, Gotfryd was an accomplished fine-art and travel photographer noted for his atmospheric, introspective, and cinematic style; his visual works were featured in collaborative books such as Egypt: The Eternal Smile (1980) alongside author Allen Drury and his own evocative photographic monograph Appointment in Venice (1988).