In 2001, Truman Capote’s stylish homage to Brooklyn was brought back into print, but not until 2014— more than fifty years after they were taken—were the original photographs commissioned to illustrate the essay discovered by the late photographer’s son. Also found among the negatives were previously unknown portraits of Capote; none of the photos had ever been published. 

Now, with the publication of Brooklyn: A Personal Memoir, with the lost photographs of David Attie, the words and images are united for the first time.

With an introduction by George Plimpton and afterword by Eli Attie.

Truman Capote (1924–1984), the novelist, journalist, and celebrated man-about-town, is best known as the author of Other Voices, Other Rooms; The Grass Harp; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; and In Cold Blood.

David Attie (1920–1982), a commercial and fine art photographer, began his photographic career as a student of influential Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch, who gave Attie his first professional assignment: to create a series of photo montages to illustrate Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Attie’s work appeared in Vogue, Time, Newsweek, and Harper’s Bazaar, among other publications. He produced two books of photographs, Russian Self-Portraits, and (together with Chuck Close, Robert Mapplethorpe, and others), Portrait: Theory.

George Plimpton (1927–2003), the originator of “participatory journalism,” was the editor of The Paris Review. His books include Paper Lion, Out of My League, The Bogey Man, Open Net, The Curious Case of Sidd Finch, and The X Factor.

Eli Attie is a television writer and producer. He served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, and then as  Vice President Al Gore’s chief speechwriter. Attie was a longtime writer on the series The West Wing and House. He grew up in New York City, is a graduate of Hunter College, and lives in Los Angeles.