Photographer Arnold Genthe, most famous for documenting street life in Chinatown and the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, opened a portrait studio in the late 1890s that attracted a number of famous personalities, including presidents and movie stars. On meeting Jack London, he was immediately impressed, and he took many photos of he writer, including these from 1904, part of his series Athletic Studies. In his memoir, As I remember, Genthe wrote of his friend: Jack London had a poignantly sensitive face. His eyes were those of a dreamer, and there was almost a feminine wistfulness about him. Yet at the same time he gave the feeling of a terrific and unconquerable physical force. When he built his boat, the Snark, which he had designed himself for his trip to the South Seas, some of the naval officers at the Bohemian Club insisted that it was not seaworthy. He wont get as far as Hawaii, said a commander. If he strikes the tail of a typhoon, that boat will go down to the bottom like a flash. The boat may go down, said I, but Jack London never will. That was the impression he gave one. California Magazine, May/June 2009
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 22:08:07 +0000
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