Classic Photo Essay
Max Yavno doesn't get a lot of press these days, but in 1951 he did an extended photo-essay on San Francisco that ranks with the best of its kind. Black and white, large and medium format: lively, fresh pictures that make you want to be there -- there are very few photo books from any era that compare.
Street scenes, homes, hillsides, individuals ... each picture realized on its own terms, not just grouped by categories. Take a look at it. Yavno saw this work snapped up by the Museum of Modern Art, and it deserved it. The book itself is well printed and the text by Herb Caen is unpretentious, funny in places, and unforced. I have a lot of photo books but this is one of the treasures.