Capa's Voice

"Robert Capa" Ruth Orkin (1952)

Yesterday I posted my ode to Robert Capa in honour of the 100th anniversary of his birth. One thing I forgot to mention (wait, you ask, there’s something you left out of that rather large post?) was that although I know what Capa looked like, I’ve always wished I could hear his voice. As a fan of silent movies, I’ve had this same wish before with stars who never made it to the talkies (Olive Thomas being the one I would most like to hear). I knew Capa would have a Hungarian accent but beyond that I could only guess as no one had ever found any recordings of his voice. That is, until now.

The International Center of Photography (ICP), which houses the Robert Capa Archives, announced yesterday that a recording of a radio interview with Capa had surfaced on eBay (their chief curator, Brian Wallis, discovered the interview listed with a starting bid of 99 cents!) and that they had purchased it. Even better, they had uploaded the interview to their site for everyone to enjoy. 

The recording took place on October 20, 1947, when Capa appeared on the popular radio morning show “Hi! Jinx” to promote the release of his war memoir Slightly Out of Focus. Entitled “Bob Capa Tells of Photographic Experiences Abroad,” the interview is absolutely wonderful to listen to with the show’s married hosts, Jinx Falkenburg and Tex McCrary, appearing to have an easy rapport with Capa, especially McCrary who starts off by telling Capa he can’t talk with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Capa’s wit and humour come through in the interview in which he discusses his recent trip to Russia with John Steinbeck, the critical response to his book, and, maybe most importantly, explains how he came to take the photo known as “The Falling Soldier,” the only time that he spoke of his most controversial image. He also, reluctantly, talks about how he got his American-sounding name and makes a blatant plug for listeners to buy his book.

As for what his voice sounds like? He has a heavy accent and mixes some words up (friends said he spoke "Capanese") but who cares? It’s likable and warm and pure Capa. I love it.

So thank you ICP for sharing. If you want to hear for yourself the only recording of Capa’s voice, visit the ICP's site here.

American Girl Abroad

"Couple in MG" Ruth Orkin (1951)

Florence, 1951. Ruth Orkin, a young American photographer, was relaxing in the Italian city after finishing an assignment in Israel for Life magazine. At her hotel she met another young American woman, Jinx Allen, who was spending six months touring Europe. The two hit it off and swapped their tales of travelling alone. Orkin thought it would be fun to capture on film what it was like to be a single woman on her own in a foreign country. The result was a series of wonderful black and white photographs with Jinx as the woman traveller.

"American Girl in Italy" Ruth Orkin (1951)

The most famous of the images made that day is “American Girl in Italy,” which has been reproduced as a poster countless times and hung on the wall of many a young woman’s dorm room or flat (I myself had a postcard of it on the front of my dorm room door). There have been various interpretations of the image but as Ninalee Craig (Jinx’s name now) simply says “It’s a symbol of a woman having an absolutely wonderful time!”

"Treasure Tours" Ruth Orkin (1951)

"Jinx and Justin Flirting at the Cafe" Ruth Orkin (1951)

"At the American Express Office" Ruth Orkin (1951)

The other images in the series are just as delightful. Jinx goes for a ride, flirts, takes in the sights, shops, gets her mail, all the time looking strikingly beautiful. They capture the glamour of Italy in the 1950s while stirring up memories for other women travellers. For me, the American Express photo is especially meaningful. When I was travelling around Europe decades after Jinx, the American Express office still served as a home away from home for Americans (I can still recall that the Paris office is on the rue Scribe because I went there so often); it was a place where you could get some money, find out about tickets to your next destination, and pick up letters from friends and family back home in those pre-email days. These images also remind us that regardless of the obstacles we may have encountered while traveling alone through Europe or the moments of loneliness we experienced, it was all one hell of a great adventure.

To see all of the images in the series, visit the Ruth Orkin Photo Archive here.