Download or read book Glamour of the Gods written by Robert Dance and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Glamour of the Gods is a survey of Hollywood portraiture from the industrys golden age, the period from 1920 to 1960. All the photographs are drawn from the extraordinary archive of the John Kobal Foundation in London. John Kobal was the last centurys pre-eminent authority on Hollywood photography and was the first collector and later author who systematically sought to understand photographys important role in creating and marketing the great stars central to the Hollywood mystique. Garbo, Dietrich, Cooper and Bogart are among the famous faces featured and in many cases these are the career defining images of their era. Most of the reproductions are from the archives original vintage prints. Film historian Robert Dance has written about John Kobals important place in Hollywood history and offers a lucid overview of the still and portrait photographers place in the Hollywood studio system. Critic and historian John Russell Taylors introduction draws from his memory of many years of friendship with Kobal. Robert Dance is co-author of Ruth Harriet Louise and Hollywood Glamour Photography (2002, California) and Garbo: Portraits from her Private Collection (2005, Rizzoli). He has also written many articles on early Hollywood history and lectured widely.