NEW YORK, NY.- On March 5, 2024, Scribner will publish DOUBLE CLICK: Twin Photographers in the Golden Age of Magazines, by acclaimed art writer Carol Kino. A captivating blend of biography and cultural reportage, DOUBLE CLICK reveals the lives of pioneering twin fashion photographers Frances McLaughlin-Gill and Kathryn Abbe, whose rise to prominence during New York’s glamorous magazine heyday of the late 1930s and ‘40s reflected a brief window of expanded opportunities for women before and during World War II.

Frances, or “Franny,” became the first female photographer on staff in the Conde Nast photo studio; her action fashion photographs appeared regularly in Vogue, Glamour, and the company’s other publications. Kathryn found a niche for her surrealistic portraits in “career-girl” magazines, freelancing for the likes of Charm and Mademoiselle. As the 1950s approached, the cultural turn toward conventionality saw many of these exciting new roles for women put on pause. Both twins married Harper’s Bazaar photographers and, after having a family, Kathryn, known as “Fuffy,” pivoted to photographing children. But to explore the twins’ legacy is to uncover a thrilling and under-told chapter of history, with novel possibilities, glamor, and cameos by some of the most famous figures of the time–from Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, and Man Ray to Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, Lee Miller, and Carmen Dell’Orefice–who helped make up the twins’ circle.

Complete with a gorgeous selection of color and black-and-white photographs, DOUBLE CLICK captures a pivotal time in our cultural history in vivid hues, providing a lens into new imaginings in the visual arts and proto-feminist thinking. Meticulously researched and wonderfully alive, this book is not to be missed.

DOUBLE CLICK : Twin Photographers in the Golden Age of Magazines by Carol Kino
Scribner; on-sale: March 5, 2024. Hardcover | $29.00 | 432 pages

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR DOUBLE CLICK
“Engrossing… Kino paints a textured portrait of artists who came of age amid sea changes in magazine publishing and women’s cultural roles, and helped transform the way Americans consumed information and encountered fashion…Fashion, photography, and pop culture aficionados will be captivated.” —Publishers Weekly, *starred review*

“Engaging… A colorful cultural history emerges from two eventful lives.” —Kirkus Reviews

“What makes Double Click such a revelation is Carol Kino’s precise and engaging narrative. An exquisitely intimate portrait of the McLaughlin sisters and their work, this is a beautiful biography, richly detailed and full of life. A remarkable accomplishment.” —Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove

“Carol Kino’s Double Click is a fascinating, rich, and beautifully written tale of two twentieth century women photographers navigating a world of images that focused on women in front of the camera without encouraging them to step behind it. . . . Kino has written a story that is inspirational and thrilling. Double Click is a joy to read.” —Mary Gabriel, author of Ninth Street Women and Madonna: A Rebel Life

"With this double biography of the McLaughlin twins, Carol Kino has uncovered a fascinating slide of 20th century photography and magazine publishing.” —William Middleton, author of Paradise Now and Double Vision

“A unique, and uniquely female, window into the mid-twentieth-century art world in New York.” —Sherill Tippins, author of February House

CAROL KINO

Carol Kino’s writing about art, artists, the art world, and contemporary culture has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, Town & Country, and just about every major art magazine. She was formerly a fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center at the New York Public Library and the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program. She grew up on the Stanford campus in Northern California and lives in Manhattan. Double Click is her first book.