Rare unique proof of David Bailey’s 1965 Box of Pin-Ups found | Photography

David Bailey’s Box of Pin-Ups of 1965 was a defining portrait of the swinging 60s, immortalising among the most trendy stars of the period, from John Lennon and Mick Jagger to Jean Shrimpton and Susan Murray.

Now the unique proof copy of this landmark portfolio of 36 portraits by certainly one of Britain’s foremost photographers has come to mild for the primary time. It is the private working proof copy of David Hillman, the influential graphic designer who went on to offer the Guardian a groundbreaking redesign in 1988.

In 1965, Hillman co-conceived the Box of Pin-Ups with the journal editor and political cartoonist Mark Boxer. This copy, in near-mint situation, was the completed idea offered to Bailey for ultimate approval earlier than printing.

Its existence was unknown till now, having remained in Hillman’s non-public assortment. 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 version, a free portfolio inside a field, was revealed initially in 1965 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Plans for a second version had been dropped after Lord Snowdon – a distinguished photographer and sitter within the field, and Princess Margaret’s husband – objected to its inclusion of the Kray twins, the infamous East End gangsters. The controversy of glamorising criminals reportedly cancelled plans for a US version.

The first version is so sought-after by collectors that copies have offered for about £20,000, though one instance, wherein each portrait had been signed by Bailey, far exceeded that.

This distinctive proof is priced at £25,000 and is being supplied on the market by Bayliss Rare Books in London on the sixtieth anniversary of its publication.

Oliver Bayliss, its founding director, instructed 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.”

Referring to the Krays, he mentioned: “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 different well-known sitters included the actor Michael Caine, the hairstylist Vidal Sassoon, the dancer Rudolf Nureyev and the artist David Hockney.

Bayliss mentioned: “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 4 of the 36 sitters are ladies – and all of these are fashions. In the gathering’s notes, Francis Wyndham wrote: “In the age of Mick Jagger, it is the boys who are the pin-ups.”