Double Click: Twin Photographers in the Golden Age of Magazines

by Carol Kino

A riveting dual biography of the McLaughlins—identical twin sisters who became groundbreaking photographers in New York during the glamorous magazine golden age of the 1930s and 40s—for fans of Ninth Street Women and The Barbizon.

The McLaughlin twins were trailblazing female photographers, celebrated in their time as stars in their respective fields, but have largely been forgotten since. Here, in Double Click , author Carol Kino provides us with a fascinating window into the golden era of magazine photography and the first young women’s publications, bringing these two brilliant women and their remarkable accomplishments to vivid life.

Frances was the only female photographer on staff in Condé Nast's photo studio, hired just after Irving Penn, and became known for streetwise, cinema verité-style work, which appeared in the pages of Glamour and Vogue. Her sister Kathryn’s surrealistic portraits filled the era’s new “career girl” magazines, including Charm and Mademoiselle . Both twins married Harper’s Bazaar photographers and socialized with a glittering crowd that included the supermodel Lisa Fonssagrives and the photographer Richard Avedon. Kino uses their careers to illuminate the lives of young women during this time, an early twentieth-century moment marked by proto-feminist thinking, excitement about photography’s burgeoning creative potential, and the ferment of wartime New York. Toward the end of the 1940s, and moving into the early 1950s, conventionality took over, women were pushed back into the home, and the window of opportunity began to close. Kino renders this fleeting moment of possibility in gleaming multi-color, so that the reader cherishes its abundance, mourns its passing, and gains new appreciation for the talent that was fostered at its peak.

Pulling back the curtain on an electric, creative time in New York’s history, and rich with original research, Double Click is cultural reportage and biography at its finest.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Photography, Memoir, New York, Art

432 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2024

Reviews

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Double Click, journalist Carol Kino takes aim (pun intended) at the American magazine and photojournalism industry of the 1940s and 1950s, through the central figures of two New Yorkers, identical twin photographers Frances "Franny" and Kathryn "Fuffy" McLaughlin. The twins, raised in upscale social circles (JFK was one of their Choate Rosemary Hall classmates), developed an interest in photography after being gifted an expensive camera by their aunt, and after college, both found success in various publishing houses - Franny at Condé Nast and Fuffy for various other career-girl-focused magazines of the era. Double Click focuses on the twins' twenties as they became established photographers, and also includes a large ensemble cast of other prominent fashion and journalism figures of the era, delineated by a cast of characters section at the end of the book. Both twins went onto have long careers as photographers, and I wish the book had focused more on the longevity and evolution of their careers (and less on their odd, sometimes incestuous love affairs).

My statistics:
Book 176 for 2024
Book 1779 cumulatively

[Malka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The subject matter was really interesting — I especially enjoyed learning about the time period, the emergence of women in the world of photography, and the politics of the fashion magazine business. But what I loved the most was Kino’s writing … snappy, witty, a little snarky, and loads of fun!

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here were subjects about which I knew nothing. Frances and Kathryn (mostly known as Fuffy) McLaughlin were twin sisters born in 1919 who became highly successful photographers mostly in the world of fashion magazines in the 1940s. Those magazines - Vogue, Junior Bazaar, Glamour, Mademoiselle, and Charm - are all popular culture mainstays I have never seen. (Well, yeah, Vogue and Mademoiselle lasted long enough that I've seen them, but not the ones covered in the book.)

The twins ran in crowds of famous and creative people - while at Pratt Institute, where they honed their artistic talents, they went on a couple dates together with a young John F. Kennedy. Their careers were separate, even though they stayed in close touch and knew many of the same people. These magazines, aimed at women and teenagers, covered the changes in American life that was going on as WWII required women to take jobs on the domestic front. They also, as I now know but never thought about before, included enormously creative photographers in every issue.

Kino tells the story of the magazines and these twin photographers with plenty of anecdotal detail though not much analytical insight. Or perhaps she has the insights, but lets the reader figure out what things mean from the events described. Kino doesn't have much access to actual thoughts and feelings of Fuffy or Franny, so there's not really a sense of them much deeper than telling us what they did and who they did it with. But those accomplishments, and those anecdotes, are compelling, and the history of these magazines and the changes they underwent over the years is fascinating in itself.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about twin sisters Frances Abbe and Kathryn McLaughlin -Gill who became famous photographers as they rose through ranks of men during the early years of fashion photography and the beginnings of women’s fashion magazines in the 1940’s. Really well researched and written; if you appreciate art, photography and fashion this is a great read.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the lives of the McLaughlin twins are at the core of this story, this blossoms into a wonderful historical review of the New York fashion and magazine industry, the transition from the Great Depression into World War II then the aftermath into the 1950's.

Photography had become much more popular in this time period, and the McLaughlin's became skilled photographers after completing college in the late 1930's. The exodus of citizens, especially males, to go and fight overseas created some opportunities for women that led to many joining the workforce. But when the boys came home the women were encouraged to retreat into domesticity.

There's a big cast of characters in these stories, so you might want to jump into the end chapter by the same name to help keep them all straight. I didn't discover it until I'd read the rest of the book!

This is the history of my parents and their sibling's generation and triggered many memories and provided great insights. It's a big book, but the author has done such a thorough job that you won't want to walk away.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

his book should appeal to a certain audience but could alienate others.

For those interested in the magazine industry, especially the early fashion magazine business, or those Nostalgic for earlier times, this book will prove satisfying.

For thwho prefer more modern times with a more diverse exposure, this book will serve as a reminder of how insular things were in the 1940’dsand how difficult it could be to attain success if you do not have the right look or the right last name. She placed some reminders in the text that WW2 was going on and the presence of antisemitism in the fashion industry.

I found the McLaughlin twins a tad privileged, reckless, and not much of a role model. They had talent, but seemed lucky and shrewd. The author portrays them honestly, as she does with that era.

The narrative is told chronologically which can be a little boring at times. You do get a strong flavor the era and the fashion industroy then.

As alwas, I listened on audio. Carlotta Brentan was qute good, sounding cheery and bright and engaged with the material' throughout.

[Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Double Click - double intriguing, Carol Kino’s book is an expansive incisive, beautifully written excavation of the lives of Frances & Kathryn McLaughlin, identical twins, born artists, against the backdrop of women in US, who went to work during WWII, who were meant to be housewives, they had extraordinary internal talent, fierce love of working, double naturals with a camera, incisive eye(s) , worked their way up the ladder in fashion publications with beautiful glam fashion photos, in a man’s world, indomitable drive and unconventional outlooks, sexually liberated, brilliant women who created and worked into their eighties, near the end of their lives. Read and enjoy!!! Enlightening and inspiring!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a silly amount of time while reading this to realize I was actually familiar with these photographers, having gone on a deep dive into Francis McLaughlin Gill's work after picking up some 1950s issues of Vogue and becoming enchanted by her photography for the magazine. So it was interesting to read up these people having already been struck by their talents beforehand.

But - alas - it ultimately wasn't that interesting. I think their lives are of the type that must have been immense fun to live, but don't necessarily make for the most gripping hundreds of pages. I do highly recommend looking up their work though, as it is incredible!

My thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book about the lives and careers of the Mc. Loughlin twins, Frances and Kathryn. When they were children they were given a box camera which they shared and In their earlier years they both knew that their future lay in the field of photography
They took their studies very seriously and worked hard at each stage of their development.
The opportunity to establish their careers in magazines came during the war when the men were called to military service.
It was fascinating to follow their personal lives, they had many interesting friends in the art world.
A beautifully written book and an insight into the world of photography as a career when women were able to explore opportunities that were not available to an earlier generation.

[F Sterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Read
It's a great read of the 30s, 40s and 50s through the glittering, bohemian lives of twins who were the first female photographers of Vogue. I'm emmersed in the excitement in the 30s of this new medium called photography and a strong women's movement in the 1930s. Who knew? And there is so much more.

I've followed Carol Kino since she was a culture writer for the New York Times. Her writing is consistently a good and rich read. if you don't know her work, now is a good time to become acquainted with it. . .

[BookTrib.com]

Travel back in time to New York, during the glamorous #magazine golden age of the 1930s and 40s, with DOUBLE CLICK by Carol Kino, who tells the riveting dual #biography of the McLaughlins—identical twin sisters who became groundbreaking #photographers.

Read the full review on BookTrib.com

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book a "five", but some of the details about mid-1900's magazine staff were too much information for me. The crux of the book is these remarkable twins who were smart, ambitious, progressive AND pretty. They were certainly ahead of their time and, in the end, said there were not too many obstacles. One attributed their success to "luck". It was so much more than that!
Also interesting too me were the paths they crossed with people whose names are familiar to me.

[Natalie Frank]

An excellent look at an interesting pair of twin photographers who have been largely overlooked outside of the photography world. They are fascinating women, overlapping with some of the most important and dazzling figures in fashion and art, of their century. A must read. Kino is a stunning writer. Engrossing, witty and empathetic. I highly recommend this book.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sprawling, covered way more than just the set of twin sisters and magazine photography as billed, felt like author tried to document everybody and everything around the two of them their whole lives. Great photo sections naturally; but after ambling slowly through the McLaughlin twins' youth, the pacing then HURTLED through motherhood and old age within the last 50 pages.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about two twins who were also photographers. I thought the premise of the book sounded good. It’s a bit too wordy for me .
Thanks to the publisher and Net galley for the early copy

[Margery Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For lovers of fashion, magazines, beautiful twins and romantic entanglements, this lively book will keep you turning page after page.

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned about the twins and was reminded of a golden era of publishing and advertising. Made me a bit nostalgic.