Three original photographs of Truman Capote and Goddard Lieberson, taken by recording engineer and photographer Fred Plaut

New York: Fred Plaut, 1955. Three vintage borderless double weight photographs of author Truman Capote and Colombia Records vice president Goddard Lieberson, taken by Columbia Records recording engineer and photographer Fred Plaut, with Plaut's photographer stamp on the versos, circa 1953-1955.

In 1953 Capote made his first spoken word recording for the 1953 "Columbia Literary Series," a twelve lp box set of noted authors reading short stories, essays, and novel excerpts, conceived and edited by Lieberson, then Columbia Records vice president. Capote's contribution to the set was his 1948 short story, "Children on Their Birthdays." Capote's only other spoken word recording for Columbia Records was in 1955 for a 10" lp for Columbia Masterworks of the 1950 short story "House of Flowers," published in 1950 in the literary journal Botteghe Oscure VI and reprinted in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in 1958. It is one of these two recording sessions, likely the former as we find no evidence Lieberson was involved with the latter, that are the probable settings for the photographs found here. Either date would also correspond with the address in Plaut's photographer stamps on the versos, "319 East 50th St. New York 22 NY," which uses the "22" New York postal zone, in use from the 1940s until 1963.

Lieberson, president of Columbia Records from 1956-1971 and again from 1973-1975, was a modern day impresario in the record business, and was responsible for the introduction of the long-playing record (lp) by Columbia in 1948. One of Lieberson's greatest legacies was the production of over fifty original cast recordings of Broadway shows, which included "My Fair Lady," "The Sound of Music," and "West Side Story." Lieberson was also a pianist and composer, and studied under George Frederic McKay at the Eastman School of Music in the 1930s.

Plaut was Columbia Records chief recording engineer and worked at Columbia from the 1940s through the 1960s. Plaut engineered sessions for some of Columbia's most noted albums, from the original cast recordings of "South Pacific" and "West Side Story," to jazz classics such as Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" and the Dave Brubeck Quartet's "Time Out." Plaut was also a noted photographer, who, while working for Columbia, photographed thousands of candid portraits of musicians, actors, artists, and writers, including Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Glenn Gould, Igor Stravinsky, Edgar Varèse, and many others. Plaut's photography appeared in numerous major magazines in the US and internationally, as well as being credited on over 80 album covers.

2) approximately 9.5 x 7.5 inches. 1) 9.5 x 6.5 inches. Near Fine.