Hubert's Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus - Softcover

Gibson, Gregory

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156033089 ISBN 13: 9780156033084

Publisher: Mariner Books, 2009

Synopsis

From the moment Bob Langmuir, a down-and-out rare book dealer, spies some intriguing photographs in the archive of a midcentury Times Square freak show, he knows he's on to something. It turns out he's made the find of a lifetime--never-before-seen prints by the legendary Diane Arbus. Furthermore, he begins to suspect that what he's found may add a pivotal chapter to what is now known about Arbus as well as about the "old weird America," in Greil Marcus's phrase, that Hubert's inhabited.
Bob's ensuing adventure--a roller-coaster ride filled with bizarre characters and coincidences--takes him from the fringes of the rare book business to Sotheby's, and from the exhibits of a run-down Times Square freak show to the curator's office of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Will the photos be authenticated? How will Arbus's notoriously protective daughter react? Most importantly, can Bob, who always manages to screw up his most promising deals, finally make just one big score?

About this title

Review:

""Hubert's Freaks"is a page-turner, charged with anecdotes about junk-shop hustlers and eccentric collectors."--"Time Out New York"(four stars)

"[A] tale of remarkable suspense."--"Los Angeles Times"

""Hubert's Freaks "is a page-turner, charged with anecdotes about junk-shop hustlers and eccentric collectors."--"Time Out New York" (four stars)

"[A]tale of remarkable suspense."--"Los Angeles Times""

From the Back Cover:

"A page-turner of the first order."--"Boston Globe"""From the moment Bob Langmuir, a down-and-out rare book dealer, spies some intriguing photographs in the archive of a midcentury Times Square freak show, he knows he's on to something. It turns out he's made the find of a lifetime--never-before-seen prints by the legendary Diane Arbus. Furthermore, he begins to suspect that what he's found may add a pivotal chapter to what is now known about Arbus as well as about the "old weird America," in Greil Marcus's phrase, that Hubert's inhabited.

Bob's ensuing adventure takes him from the fringes of the rare book business to Sotheby's, and from the exhibits of a run-down Times Square freak show to the curator's office of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Discovering the photographs turns out to be just the beginning; they must be evaluated and authenticated before they can be sold. This leads Bob into New York's high-end art world, a subculture that makes freak shows seem tame by comparison.

As the story continues in this updated edition, canceled auctions, disappearing buyers, and and lawsuits beset the Hubert's Museum archive. Can Bob, who always manages to screw up his most promising deals, finally make just one big score?"[A]tale of remarkable suspense."--"Los Angeles Times""[A]n irresistible and canny mash-up of Bohemian slumming and high-art posing."--"Toronto Star"

SEE AND HEAR MORE AT hubertsfreaks.comGREG GIBSONis the author of the critically acclaimed"Gone Boy: A Walkabout"and "Demon of the Waters: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Whaleship Globe." An antiquarian-book dealer, he lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts."

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0156033089
• ISBN 13: 9780156033084
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 282