Back-to-back Bodine!

Jennifer Bodine, daughter of legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine [above] and curator of his life’s work, will deliver a slideshow/lecture based on her latest book, Bodine’s City: The Photography of A. Aubrey Bodine, beginning at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday, April 14, in the Poe Room on the second floor of the main branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library on Cathedral Street in downtown Baltimore. Bodine’s City collects more than 150 Bodine prints highlighting the photographer’s artistic eye. Writer and photographer Jim Burger will introduce the program.

This free event is part of the ninth annual CityLit Festival, a daylong celebration of the region’s thriving literary scene and its heritage. For more information, visit the CityLit Festival website.

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The following week, Ms. Bodine will join the Friends of the Mencken House to discuss and sign copies of Bodine’s City from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at the Mencken House, 1524 Hollins Street, in Baltimore, Maryland. “Sage of Baltimore” H. L. Mencken and Aubrey Bodine were colleagues at the Baltimore Sunpapers, and the two men maintained a close, longstanding friendship. Attendees of the April 21 event will also be able to tour the Mencken House & Garden, which are normally closed to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, visit www.menckenhouse.org or www.aaubreybodine.com, or e-mail menckenhouse@gmail.com or jbb@aaubreybodine.com.

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SMILE, HON represents at 9th annual CityLit Festival

BALTIMORE, Md. – Count Eight-Stone Press (ESP) among the horde of local imprints represented in the Literary Marketplace at Baltimore’s ninth annual CityLit Festival, held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. this Saturday, April 14, 2012, at the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Central Branch in downtown Baltimore. Stop by the ESP table to meet William P. Tandy, editor and publisher of ESP’s long-running, critically acclaimed Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore! series, and pick up the latest issue, or peruse the back catalogue and a variety of Smile, Hon merchandise.

Hailed as “a can’t-miss event on the city’s cultural scene” by Baltimore Magazine, CityLit Festival is a collaborative effort between CityLit Project and the Pratt Library. This year’s Festival headliners include Kwame Alexander, Edward Hirsch, Thomas Lux and Benjamin Busch. Jennifer Bodine, daughter of legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine and curator of his work, will deliver a slideshow lecture on her latest book, Bodine’s City: The Photography of A. Aubrey Bodine, highlighting her father’s artistic eye. (Read William P. Tandy’s review of Bodine’s City in Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore! No. 15.)

For more information, visit the official CityLit Festival website.

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Tribune Co. to auction Sun collection of 7,000+ Bodine prints

A Baltimore Sun photographer for nearly 50 years, A. Aubrey Bodine documented life in Baltimore and around Maryland from the 1920s until his death in 1970. Decades before Photoshop and desktop publishing, Bodine perfected his technique in the darkroom. His photography was exhibited the world over, winning many regional, national and even international competitions; he was, in fact, the first American photographer to have a solo exhibition in the former Soviet Union. Today, his name, for many, is as synonymous with the city as the Orioles and Old Bay.

This Saturday, November 17, The Baltimore Sun (or rather the Sun's parent entity, the Chicago-based Tribune Company) will auction off the paper's collection of more than 7,000 original Bodine prints at Alex Cooper Auctioneers in Towson, Maryland. Jennifer Bodine, the photographer's daughter and curator of the website AAubreyBodine.com, would like nothing more than to see this collection remain intact and properly cared for so that future generations might continue to appreciate this fantastic window into mid-20th century Baltimore. Nevertheless, there's a very good chance that Saturday's auction will effectively scatter the collection to the winds of time. [Read more here.]


Thanks to Jennifer's generosity and support, her father's work has repeatedly graced the pages (and even a few covers) of Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! over the last several years. She will appear on Midday with Dan Rodricks (88.1 WYPR-FM) beginning at 1:00 p.m. this Thursday, November 17, to discuss the upcoming auction and its implications, as well as her new book, Bodine's City: The Photography of A. Aubrey Bodine.

If you like (dare I say even love) this city, please take a moment to peruse Aubrey Bodine's work...

ATTN: Maryland history/photography enthusiasts!

The following is an urgent plea from Jennifer Bodine, daughter of legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine and founder and proprietor of AAubreyBodine.com:

The Baltimore Sun is auctioning its library of 7,000 A. Aubrey Bodine pictures at Alex Cooper Auctioneers at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, November 19, 2011. If anyone knows an angel who would buy the collection and donate it to the Maryland Historical Society, UMBC or the Maryland State Archives, please step up. This is important to Maryland history. Bodine's photographs in this auction are a 50-year set of snap shots (artistically created) of Maryland history. They belong in a proper, climate-controlled environment and should be accessible to the people of Maryland.

A. Aubrey Bodine shot for The Baltimore Sun from the 1920s up until his death, in 1970. Regular readers of Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! will no doubt recall his many photos that, thanks to Jennifer, have graced several issues of Smile, Hon. This month marks the release of Bodine's City: The Photography of A. Aubrey Bodine (Schiffer Books).

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Bodine to promote new book at Baltimore Book Festival

BALTIMORE, Md. - Jennifer Bodine - daughter of legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine and proprietor of www.AAubreyBodine.com - will be on hand to promote the October 2011 release of her latest book, Bodine's City: The Photography of A. Aubrey Bodine (ISBN: 9780764338441), September 23-25 at the 2011 Baltimore Book Festival. Bodine will be in the Schiffer Books booth all day, for all three days of the Festival.

"Most of these 154 images were shot on assignment and within a four-mile radius of where he lived or worked," says Bodine, who previously published another collection of her father's work, Bodine's Chesapeake Bay Country (ISBN: 9780870335624). But while "the subject of these pictures is exclusively Baltimore," Bodine notes that Bodine's City - which includes "award-winning pictures, popular images and ones that have not been seen since the one day they ran in the newspaper" - is "not a Baltimore picture book."

"The reason these photos transcend their geographical bounds is that Bodine’s subject matter varied wildly, demonstrating the versatility of Bodine as an artist," she explains. Though generally defined as a Pictorialist, her father was "much more than one defining label. He photographed people, animals, buildings, harsh weather conditions, textures, geometric patterns, maritime images and city scapes."

The elder Bodine shot feature photography for the Baltimore Sunday Sun from 1927 until his death in 1970. Throughout his career, Bodine published books, wrote articles, judged salon competitions, won awards from all over the world, corresponded with other photographers around the globe and lectured along the Eastern Seaboard, all while holding down a full-time job for a major city newspaper. His work continues to appear regularly in a variety of publications, including the award-winning zine, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore!.

Offering reprints, gift cards and more, AAubreyBodine.com allows visitors to peruse the site's nearly 4,000 photographs individually or by selecting from 250 distinct categories.

For more information regarding review copies, personal appearances and other inquiries, e-mail Jennifer Bodine at jbb@aaubreybodine.com, or call 1-800-556-7226.

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Cover Story

Hon: Past, Present & Future had no sooner hit newsstands everywhere when a gentleman contacted me to say that, lo and behold, the woman pictured in the cover photo (taken in 1969 by legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine) is not only his mother, but that, true to the irrepressible Hon spirit, she is still very much alive!

Sensing a story, writer Caryn Coyle immediately set out to meet Maryann Boggio Alcaraz (pictured) and learn more. Coyle documents her findings in "That's My Mom on the Cover of Hon!"...

SMILE, HON, YOU'RE IN BALTIMORE! No. 12, Coming Soon from Eight-Stone Press

Coming soon from Eight-Stone Press: Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! No. 12...

[Cover: "Wheels of Industry". Photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine. Copyright © Jennifer B. Bodine. Courtesy of www.aaubreybodine.com.]

Coming Soon: SMILE, HON No. 12

Coming soon from Eight-Stone Press: Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! No. 12...

[Cover: "Wheels of Industry". Photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine. Copyright © Jennifer B. Bodine. Courtesy of www.aaubreybodine.com.]

A. AUBREY BODINE Slideshow/Lecture October 18 at the Pratt Main Branch

BALTIMORE - Jennifer Bodine, daughter of legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine and proprietor of AAubreyBodine.com, will present a slide-illustrated talk about the life and work of her father, whose photographs captured the essence of life in Baltimore and Maryland from the 1930s and beyond, beginning at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, October 18, in the Poe Room of the Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. (Copies of Bodine’s Chesapeake Bay Country will be on sale following the program.) Jeff Korman, Manager of the Central Library’s Maryland Department, will also talk about the work of the Federal Writers Project in Maryland and Maryland, A Guide to the Old Line State.

Bodine Slideshow/Lecture on October 18 in Baltimore

Jennifer Bodine, daughter of legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine and proprietor of AAubreyBodine.com, will present a slide-illustrated talk about the life and work of her father, whose photographs captured the essence of life in Baltimore and Maryland from the 1930s and beyond, beginning at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, October 18, in the Poe Room of the Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. (Copies of Bodine’s Chesapeake Bay Country will be on sale following the program.) Jeff Korman, Manager of the Central Library’s Maryland Department, will also talk about the work of the Federal Writers Project in Maryland and Maryland, A Guide to the Old Line State.