David Bailey’s Box of Pin-Ups of 1965 was a defining portrait of the swinging 60s, immortalising some of the most fashionable stars of the era, from John Lennon and Mick Jagger to Jean Shrimpton and Susan Murray.
Now the original proof copy of this landmark portfolio of 36 portraits by one of Britain’s foremost photographers has come to light for the first time. It is the personal working proof copy of David Hillman, the influential graphic designer who went on to give the Guardian a groundbreaking redesign in 1988.
In 1965, Hillman co-conceived the Box of Pin-Ups with the magazine editor and political cartoonist Mark Boxer. This copy, in near-mint condition, was the finished concept presented to Bailey for final approval before printing.
Its existence was unknown until now, having remained in Hillman’s private collection. In an accompanying signed letter confirming its authenticity, he writes: “Mark, a friend of David Bailey’s, came up with the idea for a box of pin-ups – an idea Bailey was enthusiastic about. Bailey selected the photographs, and Mark tasked me with designing and managing the project under his direction.”
The edition, a loose portfolio within a box, was published originally in 1965 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Plans for a second edition were dropped after Lord Snowdon – a distinguished photographer and sitter in the box, and Princess Margaret’s husband – objected to its inclusion of the Kray twins, the notorious East End gangsters. The controversy of glamorising criminals reportedly cancelled plans for a US edition.
The first edition is so sought-after by collectors that copies have sold for about £20,000, although one example, in which every portrait had been signed by Bailey, far exceeded that.
This unique proof is priced at £25,000 and is being offered for sale by Bayliss Rare Books in London on the 60th anniversary of its publication.
Oliver Bayliss, its founding director, told the Guardian: “Box of Pin-Ups is one of the most iconic photography collections of the 20th century, but until now no one knew this original proof existed.
“What makes it so fascinating is that this isn’t just a production copy or a variant. It is the prototype – the moment Bailey’s concept became a finished object. And it comes from Hillman, one of the great British designers of the postwar period, whose role in shaping this work has often been overshadowed by the fame of the images themselves.
“It’s an incredibly rare item … Proof copies are always sought after in the rare book trade. But generally, with something like this, a proof wouldn’t have been thought to exist. It is incredible.”
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Referring to the Krays, he said: “While the controversy tarnished the project’s reception in some circles, it paradoxically amplified its allure in others, cementing its rebellious edge.”
The portfolio’s other famous sitters included the actor Michael Caine, the hairstylist Vidal Sassoon, the dancer Rudolf Nureyev and the artist David Hockney.
Bayliss said: “The 1960s were a time of radical change in every sense, and Bailey’s portraiture was a striking departure from the more formal styles that had come before. His work was wonderfully informal, something we now take for granted but, at the time, it was groundbreaking. Bailey had, and still has, an uncanny ability to capture the personality of his sitters, not just their appearance. With the rise of celebrity culture in the 1960s, Box of Pin-Ups became a defining record of the era’s most iconic figures and their characters.”
He added: “I’d say half [the sitters] are still very well-known names, and half have fallen by the wayside. The model Susan Murray is among those whose star has since faded.”
Only four of the 36 sitters are women – and all of those are models. In the collection’s notes, Francis Wyndham wrote: “In the age of Mick Jagger, it is the boys who are the pin-ups.”