"The picture is quiet and true. Since I am writing about photography
let me point out that this picture is a better part of the story at hand
than either a drawing or a painting would be. There is a profitable and
well-run cracker firm in a sweaty part of the town, there is a knot of
men talking on the pavement about anything but crackers, amidst the irrelevant
trucks. This is where Mal-o-Mars are cooked and this is where last week's
newspaper meets the gutter too. And the Strand Hotel becomes famous for
flavour. My point is Fortune photographs should take a long look at a subject,
get into it, and without shouting, tell a lot about it." to
R.D. Paine, 23.7.48 (Walker Evans at Work).
