Box of Pin Ups | 1965, unique original proof copy.
David Bailey | Box of Pin-Ups, 1965. The unique original proof copy.
The only known original proof copy of David Bailey’s landmark 1965 portfolio Box of Pin-Ups, being the personal working proof assembled by British graphic designer David Hillman during the development of the publication.
London, 1965.
Created before the published edition, this proof was assembled by Hillman, who conceived the design of Box of Pin-Ups with Mark Boxer, and was used to present the completed concept to David Bailey for approval prior to production. It therefore represents the earliest known physical form of the project, effectively the first Box of Pin-Ups to have been created.
The proof remained in Hillman’s personal collection from 1965 until its recent emergence, its existence previously unknown. It is preserved entirely unrestored and is accompanied by a signed letter from Hillman confirming its history, authorship and status as the original working proof.
Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 1965, Box of Pin-Ups became one of the defining photographic publications of Swinging London. Rather than a conventionally bound book, Bailey and his collaborators conceived the work as a loose portfolio of large-format photographic portraits, housed within a presentation box. Its subjects formed an extraordinary cross-section of British cultural life, including John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton, Rudolf Nureyev, Terence Stamp and the Kray twins.
The publication established Bailey not simply as a fashion photographer but as one of the principal visual chroniclers of 1960s Britain. Its combination of photography, celebrity, fashion, music and graphic design has since made Box of Pin-Ups one of the most recognisable photobooks of the period.
No second edition followed. The inclusion of the Kray twins proved controversial, with Lord Snowdon objecting to their appearance alongside prominent cultural figures, helping to prevent the project from being reissued.
This proof predates the commercial publication and documents the point at which Box of Pin-Ups moved from design concept to finished object. Its survival provides a unique record of the creation of one of the most important British photographic publications of the twentieth century.
Provenance: David Hillman, graphic designer and co-creator of Box of Pin-Ups; retained in his private collection from 1965 until its recent discovery. Accompanied by Hillman’s signed letter of provenance.
A unique working artefact from the creation of David Bailey’s Box of Pin-Ups, and the earliest known physical manifestation of one of the defining photobooks of the 1960s.
