A limited edition of just 1,500 copies, each signed by Jerry Schatzberg, THIN WILD MERCURY features nearly 500 photographs. Many have never been published before whilst others have become iconic, including the shots used on Dylan's most influential album, Blonde on Blonde, released in August 1966.
The stories behind all these images are presented, for the first time, in Jerry's own words.
Jerry Schatzberg: 'A Frenchman, Olivier Coquelin, who ran a popular French discotheque, Le Club, asked me if I was interested in investing in another club he was opening, and I agreed. The music was awful - all French discotheque sounds. We were opening the following night, I told Olivier he couldn't open with that music: 'It's rubbish and it won't work.' He was stunned.
'He told me the other stockholders would be furious and would walk. I asked him if he wanted to be successful or have a bunch of smiling stockholders? He went with it and we bought $100 worth of records. Half the stockholders did walk - they just didn't get it - but it was a huge success.'
Jerry Schatzberg: 'My first breakthrough into the world of photography was working as an assistant to Bill Helburn, a major fashion and commercial photographer, in the early 1950s. My role was to set the aperture, load the film, cock the shutter, sweep and clean the toilets. In those days studios used 4x5 and 8x10 view cameras. For a guy who knew nothing about cameras there was a steep learning curve. After the first week he wanted to fire me. I was all thumbs and nervous - I couldn't do a thing right. But the stylist said, 'Give him a chance.' I worked for him for two and a half years and by the time I told him I was leaving to establish my own studio he offered me part of his business to stay. I was 28 and I felt it was time to move on.'
Jerry Schatzberg: 'One day a woman from a travel magazine called me (I didn't know her). She said she was going to Cuba, and would I be interested in photographing Fidel Castro? That was about a week after Castro entered Havana; it must have been early 1959. I said yes, of course - I just packed up and I went down there in my little black suit. The initial impact was shocking - arriving at an airport where all the soldiers were pointing machine guns at you.
'Catching up with Castro was always questionable. He never slept in the same place two nights in a row. We'd usually catch up with him midday. My colleague had incredible access, but pretty much everybody had incredible access at first.'
In the Seventies, Jerry Schatzberg turned his creative talents to film and immediately became an influential figure in the renaissance of American cinema. His early films - such as Puzzle of a Downfall Child, The Panic in Needle Park, and Scarecrow - are still widely regarded as classic.
The Panic in Needle Park starred Al Pacino in a stunning film debut and won co-star. Kitty Winn, a best Actress award at Cannes. Scarecrow- again starring Al Pacino, this time alongside Gene Hackman - was awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes and Hackman has since called it his favourite film. Stills and on-set photography from Jerry's films are included in THIN WILD MERCURY.
