David Bailey’s Box of Pin-Ups of 1965, a landmark portfolio of 36 portraits, immortalized some of the most fashionable stars of the era, including John Lennon and Mick Jagger. The original proof copy of this landmark portfolio has come to light for the first time, featuring the personal working proof copy of David Hillman, the influential graphic designer who went on to give the Guardian a groundbreaking redesign in 1988. Hillman co-conceived the Box of Pin-Ups with magazine editor and political cartoonist Mark Boxer in 1965. This copy, in near-mint condition, was the finished concept presented to Bailey for final approval before printing.
The first edition, published in 1965 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, was 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.
Bayliss, its founding director, said that 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. 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.
