Philippe Halsman's Jump Book
Philippe Halsman
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1986, 96 pages
ISBN 0-8109-2338-6

Philippe Halsman was one of the world's greatest portrait photographers. He photographed over 100 Life magazine covers, and three of his most famous portraits, of Albert Einstein, Adlai Stevenson, and John Steinbeck, were used on US postage stamps.

In the course of a career in which he photographed hundreds of celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, politics, business, and science, he hit upon the idea of asking each subject if could photograph them jumping. Most readily agreed, although some refused.

This book, first published in 1959, presents the best of these jumping portraits. It is a sensational collection of extremely unusual portraits. Included is what is perhaps his most well-known jumping portrait, of Salvador Dali, wherein the artist gleefully jumps amid flying cats, hovering furniture, and a stream of water.

The book is today somewhat dated, in that some of the people photographed will be unknown to modern readers, but that does little to diminish the astonishing impact of these portraits.

Halsman wrote the text himself, explaining how he first decided to ask his portrait subjects to jump, and relating many interesting stories about how people reacted to his request in various ways.

He also claims to have invented the new science of "Jumpology," stating that when a person jumps the mask they present to the world falls away and their true selves are revealed. He then proceeds to analyze several of his jumping portraits, so readers can decide for themselves if he was being facetious or serious.

This unique book is highly recommended.