Luciano D'Alessandro - Capri così [book dummy with prints]

Interesting specimen which I believe is a menabò — that is, a preliminary print prototype — of the volume Così Capri (Milan: Editphoto, 1972) published by photographer and journalist Luciano D’Alessandro.

A photographic collection consisting of 122 pages, including approximately 121 photos: some are reproductions of historical images, while others are original photographs by D’Alessandro.

As can be seen in the attached images, in this initial version the title appears as 'Capri così'. The images in the mock-up are photographic prints on satin paper, typical of the 1960s and 1970s, glued onto cardboard that serves as the page.

For the layout, D’Alessandro collaborated with photographer Giuseppe Alario and the bookbinding company 'A. Fiore Napoli,' as can be seen from additional details visible in the attached documentation.

In the attached photos, there is a photographic index, of which 102 are original shots by Luciano D'Alessandro, while 19 are archive photos.

The 19 archive photos depict Capri in the early 1900s, showcasing only its urban views and photos of local people more or less posing. An era when the tourism boom had not yet occurred.
While Luciano D'Alessandro's 102 original photos are mostly shots from the 1960s and 70s depicting Capri with its islanders leading a humble life characterized by hard work on the rugged, steep fields of the island, they also capture moments of children's play, convivial gatherings around rustic tables, and social interactions through religious processions. These scenes of simple, humble life are contrasted with photographs of the arrival of tourists at the port and moments of high society, which have attracted personalities from the film industry and wealthy magnates from around the world since the 1960s. In short, it is a fascinating anthropological and socio-cultural journey through the island of Capri.

Provenance: family inheritance. This book was inherited; it was part of a family collection, like many other items I offer on the Catawiki platform.

My father was a drawing and art history teacher, passionate about figurative art, and throughout his life (from the 1950s to the 2000s) he collected these objects from private individuals, antiquarians, or art and antique fairs.