I bought two new photography books from a charity shop supporting St. Richard’s Hospice in Worcester on Wednesday: Jane Bown’s “The Gentle Eye” published in connection with an exhibition of her work at the National Portrait Gallery, London in 1980-81, and the Phaidon paperback edition of Elliott Erwitt’s “Dogs”.

I’ve long admired the work of both photographers especially Jane’s, whose thoughtful images were regularly featured in The Observer newspaper. I went to an exhibition of Erwitt’s at Magnum’s UK headquarters in London a while back and was smitten by his work.

Both books were in great condition but sadly the dust jacket for Jane’s book was missing and they provided an excellent couple of hours inspiration on a wet Thursday evening.

You can find out more about Jane Bown from the Guardian newspaper, and about Elliott Erwitt via his website.