Michael Joseph (1941-) - Mike Mann is a retoucher - 1970s
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Selected by Juan Antonio Rodríguez
Eight years experience valuing posters, previously valuer at Balclis, Barcelona.
Estimate € 150 - € 200
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Description from the seller
ike Mann - Six-Finger Retoucher Advertisement
Original vintage photographic advertising poster
Photograph by Michael Joseph
Provenance: Michael Joseph Archive
A wonderfully witty piece of pre-Photoshop advertising, photographed by Michael Joseph for London retoucher Mike Mann.
At first glance, the image is brilliantly simple: a monumental hand against a dark background, making the familiar V-sign.
Then look again.
There are six fingers.
That deliberate impossibility is the joke - and a clever demonstration of Mike Mann’s skills as a photographic retoucher.
The strapline delivers the punchline:
“For those of you who still don’t know, Mike Mann is a retoucher”
Created long before digital manipulation became commonplace, the advertisement recalls an era when photographic retouching required considerable manual skill. Six fingers, skilled fakery and one striking photograph make the point with wonderful economy.
The image is discreetly credited “Photo: Michael Joseph” and carries the details of Mike Mann’s studio at 15 Heddon Street, London W1, placing it firmly within the creative world of London’s advertising and photographic studios.
This particular example has especially personal provenance: it comes directly from Michael Joseph’s own working photographic library, where it was displayed for several years in the space immediately outside his darkroom. The small pinholes visible at the corners are evidence of that working life — this was not an untouched copy stored away, but an image Michael himself chose to keep on display and enjoy.
Condition
This is an original working/display piece and shows its age, with pinholes to the corners, surface marks, light creasing, edge and corner wear and some gentle undulation. These signs of use are consistent with its history in Michael Joseph’s studio and have deliberately not been concealed.
Please examine the photographs carefully as part of the condition description.
Carefully protected and securely packaged for shipment from France via Colissimo.
A hand. A hint. A highly skilled retoucher.
Pre-Photoshop wit from London’s photographic world.
#MichaelJoseph #MikeMann #VintageAdvertising #AdvertisingPhotography #PhotoRetouching #PrePhotoshop #AnaloguePhotography #BritishPhotography #VintagePoster #PhotographyHistory #MichaelJosephArchive #PhotographyCollectors
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer, active from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s, and best known for his photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet gatefold.
My continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: the lesser-known treasures from his extraordinary archive — original darkroom prints, test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, his celebrated group compositions, and more intimate, personal images.
For this special Solo Seller Auction, I am particularly excited to include a selection from Michael’s 1964 Vietnam archive — photographs that have never previously been seen or offered for sale. These remarkable images reveal a very different side of his work, made when he was just 23 years old.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage darkroom prints, I am also presenting a new generation of works: striking prints on aluminium and my own handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies in the Dordogne sunshine. Some are made on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael’s own working library, bringing the archive quite literally into a new generation.
Together, the collection brings photographic history and contemporary experimentation side by side — from unique vintage prints made by Michael himself to bold new interpretations of his remarkable archive.
I hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as I enjoy bringing them to light — sometimes preserved exactly as Michael made them, sometimes given an entirely new life.
All works are carefully protected and packed with the attention appropriate to collectible photographic artworks.
For US buyers: customs duties and applicable import charges are paid at source and included in the shipping cost. No additional charges should normally be payable on delivery, subject to any change in regulations.
Translated by Google Translateike Mann - Six-Finger Retoucher Advertisement
Original vintage photographic advertising poster
Photograph by Michael Joseph
Provenance: Michael Joseph Archive
A wonderfully witty piece of pre-Photoshop advertising, photographed by Michael Joseph for London retoucher Mike Mann.
At first glance, the image is brilliantly simple: a monumental hand against a dark background, making the familiar V-sign.
Then look again.
There are six fingers.
That deliberate impossibility is the joke - and a clever demonstration of Mike Mann’s skills as a photographic retoucher.
The strapline delivers the punchline:
“For those of you who still don’t know, Mike Mann is a retoucher”
Created long before digital manipulation became commonplace, the advertisement recalls an era when photographic retouching required considerable manual skill. Six fingers, skilled fakery and one striking photograph make the point with wonderful economy.
The image is discreetly credited “Photo: Michael Joseph” and carries the details of Mike Mann’s studio at 15 Heddon Street, London W1, placing it firmly within the creative world of London’s advertising and photographic studios.
This particular example has especially personal provenance: it comes directly from Michael Joseph’s own working photographic library, where it was displayed for several years in the space immediately outside his darkroom. The small pinholes visible at the corners are evidence of that working life — this was not an untouched copy stored away, but an image Michael himself chose to keep on display and enjoy.
Condition
This is an original working/display piece and shows its age, with pinholes to the corners, surface marks, light creasing, edge and corner wear and some gentle undulation. These signs of use are consistent with its history in Michael Joseph’s studio and have deliberately not been concealed.
Please examine the photographs carefully as part of the condition description.
Carefully protected and securely packaged for shipment from France via Colissimo.
A hand. A hint. A highly skilled retoucher.
Pre-Photoshop wit from London’s photographic world.
#MichaelJoseph #MikeMann #VintageAdvertising #AdvertisingPhotography #PhotoRetouching #PrePhotoshop #AnaloguePhotography #BritishPhotography #VintagePoster #PhotographyHistory #MichaelJosephArchive #PhotographyCollectors
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer, active from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s, and best known for his photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet gatefold.
My continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: the lesser-known treasures from his extraordinary archive — original darkroom prints, test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, his celebrated group compositions, and more intimate, personal images.
For this special Solo Seller Auction, I am particularly excited to include a selection from Michael’s 1964 Vietnam archive — photographs that have never previously been seen or offered for sale. These remarkable images reveal a very different side of his work, made when he was just 23 years old.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage darkroom prints, I am also presenting a new generation of works: striking prints on aluminium and my own handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies in the Dordogne sunshine. Some are made on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael’s own working library, bringing the archive quite literally into a new generation.
Together, the collection brings photographic history and contemporary experimentation side by side — from unique vintage prints made by Michael himself to bold new interpretations of his remarkable archive.
I hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as I enjoy bringing them to light — sometimes preserved exactly as Michael made them, sometimes given an entirely new life.
All works are carefully protected and packed with the attention appropriate to collectible photographic artworks.
For US buyers: customs duties and applicable import charges are paid at source and included in the shipping cost. No additional charges should normally be payable on delivery, subject to any change in regulations.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Era
1900-2000
Designer/artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Poster title
Mike Mann is a retoucher
Subject
Advertising
Estimated period
1970s
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Condition
A- (fine - tiny imperfections)
Number of objects
1
Height
52 cm
Width
40.6 cm
Autographed by a famous person
No
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