n nOne of the twentieth centurys most celebrated and prodigious photographers, Jacques Henri Lartigue captured the exuberance of Belle poque Paris during his childhood. Lartigue focuses solely on the artists adolescence, featuring classic images of motor cars and high fashion alongside previously unpublished photographs from his archive.n nOn his eighth birthday, in 1902, Lartigue was given his first camera. By the next year, he was developing his own photographs. His handheld Kodak camera allowed the young photographer the flexibility to capture his eccentric family at home and document the social rituals of Pariss upper echelons. He was the first artist to utilize the immediacy of the snapshot, often capturing his subjects mid- gesture, as in real life, creating a new visual language for the twentieth century. Through his work, he painted an intimate portrait of the social and cultural atmosphere of Paris before the outbreak of the First World War.n nAuthor Louise Baring brings the artists early work to life through vivid historical accounts, as well as personal observations and memories from Lartigues childhood diaries. This book is a must-have for all fans of photography and twentieth-century French culture.n