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Philippe Halsman's Jump Book
Illustrious sitters jump as their photograph was taken, and the photographer reflects on the jumpers and non-jumpers
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Philippe Halsman
34 books3 followers(Latvian: Filips Halsmans, German: Philipp Halsmann)
Philippe Halsman was an American portrait photographer. He was born in Riga in the part of the Russian Empire which later became Latvia, and died in New York City.
In September 1928, 22-year-old Halsman was accused of his father's murder while they were on a hiking trip in the Austrian Tyrol, an area rife with antisemitism. Despite his protested innocence, endorsed by many important European intellectuals including Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Jakob Wassermann, Erich Fromm, Paul Painlevé, Heinrich Eduard Jacob, and Rudolf Olden, Halsman spent two years in prison, contracting tuberculosis there. His letters from prison were published as a book in 1930: Briefe aus der Haft an eine Freundin. He was pardoned by the President of Austria, Wilhelm Miklas, and released in October 1930.
Halsman began to take photographs in Paris in the 1930s. He opened a portrait studio in Montparnasse in 1934, where he photographed André Gide, Marc Chagall, André Malraux, Le Corbusier and other writers and artists, using an innovative twin-lens reflex camera that he had designed himself.
He arrived in the United States in 1940, just after the fall of France, having obtained an emergency visa, aided by family friend Albert Einstein (whom he later famously photographed in 1947).
In the course of his prolific career in America, Halsman produced reportage and covers for most major American magazines, including a staggering 101 covers for Life magazine. His assignments brought him face-to-face with many of the century’s leading personalities. In the early 1950s, Halsman began to ask his subjects to jump for his camera at the conclusion of each sitting. These uniquely witty and energetic images have become an important part of his photographic legacy.
Philippe Halsman was an American portrait photographer. He was born in Riga in the part of the Russian Empire which later became Latvia, and died in New York City.
In September 1928, 22-year-old Halsman was accused of his father's murder while they were on a hiking trip in the Austrian Tyrol, an area rife with antisemitism. Despite his protested innocence, endorsed by many important European intellectuals including Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Jakob Wassermann, Erich Fromm, Paul Painlevé, Heinrich Eduard Jacob, and Rudolf Olden, Halsman spent two years in prison, contracting tuberculosis there. His letters from prison were published as a book in 1930: Briefe aus der Haft an eine Freundin. He was pardoned by the President of Austria, Wilhelm Miklas, and released in October 1930.
Halsman began to take photographs in Paris in the 1930s. He opened a portrait studio in Montparnasse in 1934, where he photographed André Gide, Marc Chagall, André Malraux, Le Corbusier and other writers and artists, using an innovative twin-lens reflex camera that he had designed himself.
He arrived in the United States in 1940, just after the fall of France, having obtained an emergency visa, aided by family friend Albert Einstein (whom he later famously photographed in 1947).
In the course of his prolific career in America, Halsman produced reportage and covers for most major American magazines, including a staggering 101 covers for Life magazine. His assignments brought him face-to-face with many of the century’s leading personalities. In the early 1950s, Halsman began to ask his subjects to jump for his camera at the conclusion of each sitting. These uniquely witty and energetic images have become an important part of his photographic legacy.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 10, 2020
"May I jump once more? I don't think that I have expressed myself completely."—Romain Gary
Covering the gamut of movie stars, singers, authors, diplomats, painters, composers, scientists, and so on, Halsman collected these images and his thoughts surrounding the defining principles behind his jumpology theories and tucked them sweetly into this wonderful book.
I have long been fascinated with Halsman's work and specifically his Jump series — which caught my eye randomly, and I think from a photograph of Audrey Hepburn I had happened upon. His idea behind it, from an impulsive decision, developed into an entire theory for him. Not only did his own inhibitions disappear to be replaced with faith, but he realized that deep down, "people wanted to jump and considered jumping fun." Halsman felt that jumping had therapeutic value. And noticed that if his sitters were self-conscious and tense, once he asked them to jump, "the mask fell." Those same subjects became less inhibited and more relaxed — in other words, ultimately more photogenic.
"Often the photograph of a jump does not transmit its symbolic message immediately. A closer scrutiny will show, however, that every element in the jumper's body — his arms, his legs, the position of the body, the expression of his face — reveals definite character traits."
Yes, he was met with the refusals — those not wishing to jump for camera or at all, perhaps — but he estimates only one or two percent overall. But an overwhelming number of his subjects did, thankfully.
Some authors included: Mike Wallace, Walter Kerr, Max Lerner, Abe Burrows, Bennett Cerf, John Steinbeck, Aldous Huxley, Ben Hecht, Marcia Davenport, Randall Jarrell, François Mauriac, and Shepherd Mead.
May 23, 2019
a novel idea.... you show a lot of your personality when you jump. the ego is caught off guard, and the child leaps out. interesting to see how different celebrities relax, and let themselves fly. this would be a good idea to revive with current stars.
February 22, 2011
This is a photography book, so you 'read' it in the sense that you read photographs and extract some objective and/or subjective meaning from them.
That being said, this is one of the happiest and most romantic books I've ever read. The story beautifully sweeps across the 20th mid-century years through the eyes of one man who had such warmth and skill as to render the world's most famous people (celebrities, politicians, royalty, scientists) defenseless against his singular, unusual request. It's clear how much these people really enjoyed being asked to do something out of the ordinary, and for a moment forget about the stifling ordinariness of fame. Highly recommended.
That being said, this is one of the happiest and most romantic books I've ever read. The story beautifully sweeps across the 20th mid-century years through the eyes of one man who had such warmth and skill as to render the world's most famous people (celebrities, politicians, royalty, scientists) defenseless against his singular, unusual request. It's clear how much these people really enjoyed being asked to do something out of the ordinary, and for a moment forget about the stifling ordinariness of fame. Highly recommended.
September 2, 2015
Enjoyed the photos. Interested by the project. Captivated by the history and what the photos show about that time and place. Not sure about the psychology.
April 15, 2026
2026 Book Quest category: Arts.
This is a fun little book, and I came across it from a New York Times article. The author and photographer Philippe Halsman liked to ask his subjects to jump in the air for him. He developed his own little branch of psychology that he calls jumpology to explain what the poses mean when people jump. It's a fun book, not too much text to read, and lots of great pictures of all sorts of people jumping.
This is a fun little book, and I came across it from a New York Times article. The author and photographer Philippe Halsman liked to ask his subjects to jump in the air for him. He developed his own little branch of psychology that he calls jumpology to explain what the poses mean when people jump. It's a fun book, not too much text to read, and lots of great pictures of all sorts of people jumping.
December 3, 2017
I loved this! Unique. Pure whimsy. Interesting. As a photographer and studier of human behavior, I wanted to go around asking people to jump. Fantastic look into people and their motivations and personalities.
April 13, 2026
A most quirky book of photography of Philippe Halsman. The book was entirely about famous people jumping with some explanation at the beginning of the book
Not an easy book to find- I was able to get it from
our local library…
I believe it’s out of print
Not an easy book to find- I was able to get it from
our local library…
I believe it’s out of print
March 28, 2026
this book is delightful! a quick overview of observational psychology, and then fun pictures of mid century figures...jumping! what a joy.
good morning read if you have an hour or so to spare.
good morning read if you have an hour or so to spare.
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March 25, 2019I looked through the 1959 version of this book and assume it is the same as the 2015. Halsman's project of collecting the jumps of as many people that he could, while on assignment in the 1950's for publications like TIME and others, is a fun record. At the start of the book, he describes the "jumpology" of the pictures. As a tounge-in-cheek idea, it is enjoyable to read into each pose a symbolism of the inner psychology of the jumper. The limb positions, symmetry and expression all seem to give a view of that person as less staged, a peering behind the façade as it were. Yet, Dalí's photo goes against Halsman's original intent of the unforced and pure expression of the subject in air. Unlike the other jumpers, the Dalí picture required 28 attempts to get the final shot (poor flying cats).
January 9, 2012
Halsman was a noted portrait photographer who asked his subjects to jump for him before he finished a session. The result is a book of wonderful images featuring various authors, celebrities, and political figures in midair. There are a few pages of text outlining "jumpology," the way Halsman analyzed his subjects' arm and leg positions to learn about their personalities. The book is mostly a picture book, but the text is worth reading.
November 28, 2010
I picked this up after hearing about seeing/hearing about Halsman's photo of Salvador Dali, Dali Atomicus. It was neat to see all the big names of the age (The Fords, Nixon, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, president of US Steel, president of US Airlines, just to name a few) jumping. Halsman's introduction is quirky and tongue-in-cheek, much like I imagine he was like.
January 28, 2008
i. love. this. book. so. much.
February 1, 2008
Incredibly silly and oh so much fun. I pick this up when I want a laugh.
March 29, 2013
Not really a book you read so much as look at, but a fun one anyway. One of the 50s' greatest portraitists (ugly word, that) captures his famous (at the time, anyway) subjects mid-air. Fun!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews