No other photographer has caught the sensations, scandals and catastrophes of the 1930s and 1940s in New York City with his camera as captivatingly as Weegee. He was always directly on the spot when it happened and documented the events and the onlookers. All the works come from the N.E.A. agency archive, which was only rediscovered in 2012; most of the vintage prints are being published for the very first time in this volume.

Weegee (1899–1968) was the first photographer to receive official permission in 1938 to listen in live to the New York police radio. From then onwards he sometimes even arrived at the trouble spot before the police and took countless photographs. From the hardened police officer to the loud-mouthed crook; from the midnight boozer to the dancing jazz musician; from a dramatic conflagration to the celebrations at the end of the Second World War: Weegee immortalised all these moments in unforgettable pictures.

The volume also shows a hitherto unknown side of the famous photographer – happy people enjoying themselves. The works are complemented by the exciting story of the rediscovery of the archive, which was missing for decades.