Sergio Larrain (1931–2012) published very few books during his lifetime, but perhaps the most celebrated was Valparaíso. He photographed this Chilean seaport throughout his career, but it was in the early 1960s, when he returned to his homeland after traveling the world as a Magnum photographer, that it became a focus of his attention. He saw it as “a sordid yet romantic city,” standing between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, falling into a slow decline as its trading importance faded away, yet still retaining hints of beauty and magic.

Now published in English for the first time, this new edition of Valparaíso is based on a layout designed by Larrain in 1993 in response to the original French edition of 1991. It features a text by Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, specially written for Larrain; an essay by Agnès Sire; and a selection of previously unpublished photographs taken between 1952 and 1992, expanding the original thirty-six images to a total of 120. Handwritten notes and texts by Larrain himself accompany the photographs.