*Top,* Iris Love’s and Brooke Astor’s dachshunds fighting over canapés at a party in Manhattan, 1990; *above,* a guest arriving at Webster Hall, 1992.

Ships in New York Harbor on July 4, 1992.

*Top,* Anna Wintour and André Leon Talley at a Calvin Klein show, 1990; *above,* Kate Moss and Johnny Depp at a book party in her honor, 1995.

Talley spray-painting John Galliano’s hair, 1993.

*Top,* Gianni Versace, Claudia Schiffer, and Karl Lagerfeld at the Met Gala, 1995; *above,* Marla Maples, Donald Trump, and Imelda Marcos at a party for Joey Adams, 1990.

Leona Helmsley at a party at the Helmsley Palace Hotel, 1991.

*Top,* Cindy Adams at a demonstration in support of the *New York Post,* 1993; *above,* Robert Mapplethorpe’s birthday party, 1988.

Candace Bushnell at the Dada Ball at Webster Hall, 1994.

High Life, Low Life

In his new book, the photographer Dafydd Jones captures a bygone New York, an era of new and old money, La Grenouille and Le Cirque

By Graydon Carter

Photographs by Dafydd Jones

Portrait artists are like drill sergeants, commanding a few assistants to work on the lighting, the props, and the hair and makeup. When she was shooting big Vanity Fair group shots, Annie Leibovitz was more like a field commander, directing the efforts of dozens in composing the picture, making sure the subjects were posed in harmony with the others, and looking after myriad other small details.

The best party photographers, and their numbers are few, are like snipers. They fade into the background and grab their subjects in unposed assemblies, and most often without their knowing it.