“Left Bank Waiters” by Paul Goldfinger. Our image was discovered on-line by the London publisher “Octapus.” They obtained permission from me to use the photo for the dust cover, as did the Canadian and New York publishers. The book was first released in 2022 in Europe.
This is how the American. (New York) cover is designed. My name is inside the cover:
This is what another version of the cover will look like.
The book is being distributed by Simon & Schuster and published in the US by Pegasus Books. Different publishers are also involved from England and from Canada. All used this photo for the dust covers.
The latest news (2023). is that we have granted permission to an Eastern European publisher in Poland who wants this image on their cover for the Chisholm book.
“An evocative portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.
A waiter’s job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door . . . is hell.
Edward Chisholm’s spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you beneath the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world—and right into its glorious underbelly.
He inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep and dive bars; scraping by on coffee, bread and cigarettes, often under sadistic managers, with a wage so low you’re fighting your colleagues for tips. Your colleagues—including thieves, narcissists, ex-soldiers, immigrants, wannabe actors, and drug dealers—are the closest thing to family that you’ve got.
It’s physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn’t matter because you’re in Paris, the center of the universe, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be in the world.”
The write-up below is by the publishers:
About the author…
“Edward Chisholm was born in England and moved to Paris after graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. A resident in the City of Lights for seven years, Chisholm spent the first four of them working all manner of low-paid restaurant jobs, from waiting and bartending, while trying to build a career as a writer.
“Now Chisholm makes a living as a freelance writer. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Financial Times magazine. He lives in England.”
About the cover photograph by Paul Goldfinger: We were in Paris, but we arrived too early for dinner at a Left Bank restaurant near the Sorbonne. We found these waiters shmoozing in the street.
Paul Goldfinger’s photographs have been published on book covers, advertisements, calendars, newspapers, medical journals, magazines, newspapers, museums, libraries, art galleries, and Internet sites.
His images are shown regularly at Blogfinger.net (Ocean Grove, New Jersey, USA). You can scroll through the posts or click on our gallery. Paul specializes in street photography and documenting life-styles in Ocean Grove and the Jersey Shore.
His on-line gallery is available at Blogfinger.net. And his photos can be purchased at “Art on the Porch”–a yearly town-wide exhibit in historic Ocean Grove, New Jersey, USA.
“I love the idea that book browsers in many countries will be seeing my image on the cover of Chisholm’s book and that it will help draw readers to the book. I hope that they will enjoy the photograph and perhaps will open the cover to find my name. And yes, these publishers do pay for the use of my image.”
DEANNA DURBIN. From her album The Old Refrain:
Bookster. I always am happy when someone admires one of my photos. Your date is correct: July 1991.
We arrived too early for dinner, as so many Americans do, and this was the scene we found.
Having you pinpoint the location is wonderful for me. Thank you, Paul Goldfinger, photographer.
I loved this book, and I was certain I recognized the spot where the cover photo was taken. Then I recognized Pizzeria Positano and it became clear!
Rue des Canettes, photographer standing at about number 14 (current site of Hotel La Perle). The Levi’s signage on the right (west) side of the street fixes this at about 1990 or 1991. I was living in Paris at the time and frequented that casual clothing shop.
This is a wonderfully evocative photo of a moment in time that still lives in my memory.
Paul,
Your articles, pictures & music are exceptionally wonderful today. BLOGFINGER is like the modern version of Life & Look magazines.
Thanks Jeneba.
I love the idea that people in bookstores all over the civilized world will see my Paris left bank waiters photograph on the dust jacket of “A Waiter in Paris.”
My photo credit is hidden on the front flap of the jacket, so as soon as they open the cover they can see my name. But I don’t think too many will want to know that information. Maybe I should go back to Paris and do some more black and white photography.
But for now I am a legend in my own mind.
—Paul
This is one of my all time favorite street photographs. Wonderful to see it again.
I L O V E D that book! I stared and stared at that cover and never realized who took the photo! It is so evocative of my fond memories of the book and the city.