Similar to the photos, the phrases also attempt to describe the rosy, romantic mood of artistic youth and the humorous or extremely frank attitude of idiotic youth.

Hung closely together in a single room, the two-metre-wide images form a panorama that defies French picture-postcard romanticism.

The special issue also presents a retrospective on photographic firsts and an essay by former President and Editor Gilbert H. Grosvenor on "the Romance of the Geographic."