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Boas, Gary Lee (Photographer); McCormick, Carlo & Musto, Michael (Contributors) : Starstruck: Photographs From A Fan

Dilettante Press/Distributed Art Publishers, Los Angeles, CA, 1999

ISBN 0966427254

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 300 pages. Retrospective collection of photographs. One of the most important photography books of our time. The First Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the 2000 and 2005 Editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The flexi-boards are sometimes classified as "softcover" by dealers. The First Edition is now rare. A brilliant production by Gary Lee Boas and Dilettante Press: Oversize-volume format. Pictorial flexi-boards with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Gary Lee Boas. Text by Carlo McCormick and Michael Musto. Printed on pristine-white, archival stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Gary Lee Boas' "Starstruck: Photographs From A Fan". The single most important collection of its kind in the history of Western photography: A dedicated fan's amateur photographs of celebrities. Gary Lee Boas was not a paparazzo like Ron Galella (while he relentlessly pursued his subjects, he was not paid to do so, and his "scoops" were lucky "chance" encounters) nor was he a celebrity portrait-photographer like Annie Leibovitz (while all of his subjects enjoyed being photographed by him, often inviting Boas to pose with them, including a rare photograph of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis posing graciously with Boas, all of his pictures are informal snapshots rather than formal portraits). Boas lived the life of the fan whose commitment was religious in its fervor. He ended up documenting for posterity the modern celebrity worship that photography has made possible. The idea of celebrity is centuries-old, much older than most people realize (the best book on the subject, "The Frenzy of Renown", recounts how such immortals as Mozart, Shakespeare, and Chopin cultivated their cult followings). Boas' distinct advantage over his predecessors was that he could take pictures. "Starting in 1966 at the age of fifteen, Gary Lee Boas would travel from his hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia and New York City, where he would wait outside theaters, parties, and restaurants in hopes of photographing famous people. He captured everyone from silver-screen goddesses and Broadway legends to beauty queens, rock stars, politicians, porn stars, and the Pope. The result is the most fascinating portrait of contemporary culture, taken from the remarkable perspective of a fan" (Publisher's blurb). Boas' two biggest catches were Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Greta Garbo. If you are wondering why these two figures, then you are probably not interested in photography or celebrity. An absolute "must-have" title for Gary Lee Boas collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in blue pen on the title page by Gary Lee Boas. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. 300 color plates. "Starstruck: Photographs From A Fan" was selected as one of the greatest photography books in "The Photobook". One of the most remarkable photographers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. . ISBN 0966427254.

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