Michael Joseph (1941-) - Cointreau devoted secretary test print, off-white mount
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€ 111
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Selected by Kai Brückner
Over 35 years' experience; former gallery owner and Museum Folkwang curator.
Estimate € 800 - € 1,000
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 Bidder 7183 | €111 | |
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Description from the seller
Early Cointreau ad — London, mid-1960s
Original darkroom print by Michael Joseph
This photograph is Michael Joseph having fun with power, performance, and pretence.
At first glance, the scene presents itself as urbane domestic theatre: a suited man, composed and authoritative; a woman leaning in, bottle in hand; the suggestion of intimacy thick in the air. Look again, and the layers begin to reveal themselves. Nothing here is accidental. This is staged seduction, performed knowingly—and with a wink.
Joseph understood stereotypes instinctively and delighted in bending them. The suave masculine pose, the “naughty but nice” continental liqueur, the woman cast simultaneously as temptress and accomplice—these are familiar tropes of mid-century aspiration and gender theatre. Yet the exaggeration is deliberate. The humour lies in how self-aware the scene becomes, how openly it performs its own construction.
The composition is impeccably controlled. The bottle of Cointreau anchors the image—commercial, continental, aspirational—while every gesture acts as a cue: the lean of the body, the offered glass, the carefully managed pause. The surrounding domestic details—bookshelves, furnishings, and crucially the onlookers seated in the background—quietly undermine the supposed intimacy. We are not witnessing a private moment so much as a rehearsal of one.
This was Joseph’s gift. Whether orchestrating riotous group scenes or intimate interiors, he treated photography as a form of direction. His images are never passive; they are constructed moments, alive with implication. Here, seduction is suggested but never consummated. Desire is present, but irony keeps it suspended.
The tonal handling is superb: rich mid-greys, controlled highlights, and a depth that rewards prolonged looking. The print feels lived-in, conversational, and faintly dangerous—hovering between documentary realism and carefully choreographed fiction.
The photograph sits squarely within Joseph’s broader practice: playful, intelligent, and socially alert. It reflects a Britain fascinated by continental sophistication, yet faintly aware of its own performance. The result is an image that remains sharply relevant—funny, stylish, and quietly subversive.
Signed and annotated by the photographer, this is a rare original darkroom print, rich in tone and period character. An exceptional piece for collectors of mid-century photography, advertising culture, and psychologically charged interiors—where nothing is accidental, and everything is revealed.
Mounted and ready to frame. Contains superficial imperfections (item is nearly sixty years old!)
Dispatched with devotion and care, in keeping with the spirit and significance of this singular work.
US purchasers please note: we now pay customs and excise charges at source, and an allowance for this has been included in the postage fee. You should not be asked to pay anything further on delivery, unless current regulations change. Thank you for your understanding.
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Early Cointreau ad — London, mid-1960s
Original darkroom print by Michael Joseph
This photograph is Michael Joseph having fun with power, performance, and pretence.
At first glance, the scene presents itself as urbane domestic theatre: a suited man, composed and authoritative; a woman leaning in, bottle in hand; the suggestion of intimacy thick in the air. Look again, and the layers begin to reveal themselves. Nothing here is accidental. This is staged seduction, performed knowingly—and with a wink.
Joseph understood stereotypes instinctively and delighted in bending them. The suave masculine pose, the “naughty but nice” continental liqueur, the woman cast simultaneously as temptress and accomplice—these are familiar tropes of mid-century aspiration and gender theatre. Yet the exaggeration is deliberate. The humour lies in how self-aware the scene becomes, how openly it performs its own construction.
The composition is impeccably controlled. The bottle of Cointreau anchors the image—commercial, continental, aspirational—while every gesture acts as a cue: the lean of the body, the offered glass, the carefully managed pause. The surrounding domestic details—bookshelves, furnishings, and crucially the onlookers seated in the background—quietly undermine the supposed intimacy. We are not witnessing a private moment so much as a rehearsal of one.
This was Joseph’s gift. Whether orchestrating riotous group scenes or intimate interiors, he treated photography as a form of direction. His images are never passive; they are constructed moments, alive with implication. Here, seduction is suggested but never consummated. Desire is present, but irony keeps it suspended.
The tonal handling is superb: rich mid-greys, controlled highlights, and a depth that rewards prolonged looking. The print feels lived-in, conversational, and faintly dangerous—hovering between documentary realism and carefully choreographed fiction.
The photograph sits squarely within Joseph’s broader practice: playful, intelligent, and socially alert. It reflects a Britain fascinated by continental sophistication, yet faintly aware of its own performance. The result is an image that remains sharply relevant—funny, stylish, and quietly subversive.
Signed and annotated by the photographer, this is a rare original darkroom print, rich in tone and period character. An exceptional piece for collectors of mid-century photography, advertising culture, and psychologically charged interiors—where nothing is accidental, and everything is revealed.
Mounted and ready to frame. Contains superficial imperfections (item is nearly sixty years old!)
Dispatched with devotion and care, in keeping with the spirit and significance of this singular work.
US purchasers please note: we now pay customs and excise charges at source, and an allowance for this has been included in the postage fee. You should not be asked to pay anything further on delivery, unless current regulations change. Thank you for your understanding.
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Details
Date of print
1969
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Cointreau devoted secretary test print, off-white mount
Condition
Original State
Technique
Gelatin-silver print
Height
39.5 cm
Edition
Vintage edition
Width
39 cm
Signature
Signed
Genre
Fine art photography
Sold by
