Diners : People and Places
Photographs by Gerd Kittel; Introduction by Richard F. Snow
This is a slim volume of color photographs of classic diners, mostly in New York and New England, taken by German photographer Gerd Kittel. It’s a lovely book, in its way, and there are some interesting photographs here, including many interior shots, some including customers, waitstaff and cooks. Each photograph is only identified by name and place, and the book would have been much more useful to the diner-lover if it also included three other pieces of information: the diner’s manufacturer and and year of manufacture, and the year the photograph was taken. The book was originally published in 1990, and I bought the updated second edition from 1998, so all the photographs were taken at least nine years ago, but it would be helpful to know when.
I also really disliked the arrangement of the photographs. There may be some logic to it, but I can’t make out what it is. A book like this could be arranged geographically, chronologically by the age of the diner or the date of the photograph, or thematically to group exterior shots, interior shots, etc. This book just seems random. There are multiple pictures of some of the diners, including my local Salem Diner, but they are just scattered through the book, and there’s no index of any kind, when there really need to be at least two: one by diner name, and one by state.
I still really enjoyed looking through the photographs despite all of that, and Richard F. Snow’s introductory essay is interesting. I can’t help but think how much more exciting and valuable this book would have seemed to me ten or fifteen years ago. Today, however, while I enjoy looking through Kittel’s photographs, I’m aware of how many great diner photographs there on Flickr, free and searchable and mostly with more identifying photographs than are found in this book.
Overall, I’d have to say this is a nice little book and those interested in roadside culture will enjoy looking through it, but it’s not an essential purchase, or even a particularly valuable one.
