Your Friends and Mine.

First edition of this collection of portraits and personal observations of Kenny Rogers famous celebrity friends. Folio, original publisher's cloth, illustrated with 80 photographs. Association copy, warmly inscribed by Kenny Rogers on the front free endpaper to celebrated portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh and his wife Estrellita, "Dear Yousuf and Estrellita! You were, you are and you always will be my inspiration...Thanks for all you've done - Your friend. Kenny Rogers 1988." The recipient, Yousuf Karsh, is recognized as one of the leading photographers of the twentieth century. Arriving in Canada in 1924 as an Armenian refugee, Karsh eventually settled in Ottawa. Over six decades, he mastered the art of portraiture and created a unique chronicle of his time through images of celebrated legends. Some of his most notable subjects include Winston Churchill, Audrey Hepburn, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Ernest Hemingway, among others. A celebrity in his own right, he was an elegant and charming public figure, captivating audiences with compelling stories told in images and words. Karsh sought to capture, as he put it, the “elusive moment of truth,” revealing the essential nature of his subjects as reflected in their eyes, hands, and attitudes. From the collection of Yousuf Karsh with his estate label to the front pastedown. Held by the Estate of Yousuf & Estrellita Karsh; after Yousuf’s death in 2002 passing to Estrellita Karsh; after Estrellita’s death in March 2025 passing to Katherine Getchell. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by John Coulter. Accompanied by a typed letter signed by Rogers' assistant regarding the sending of the book and dated February 5, 1988 laid in.