A book produced in connection with an exhibition held at the Justice & Police Museum in Sydney (it's a nice little building down by the quay) has attracted the attention of the global glitterati. City of shadows: Sydney police photographs 1912–1948 has been singled out by designer Karl Lagerfield, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. And he's not the only one praising it, apparently.

The museum's Web site describes the book:

In the early part of the 20th century police routinely went to places that respectable people did their best to avoid, the dark places where bad things happened. They were just doing their job – asking questions, taking photographs, writing reports. But now, nearly a century later, the fruit of that footwork offers us the most extraordinary and intimate record of the more trouble sides of everyday life in early 20th century Australia.

The book won several prizes in Australia. It runs to 240 pages and costs $65.

Blog The Sartorialist features images from the book. Blog Sign Language reviews it.