Michael Joseph (1941-) - William Tell studio group
04
days
19
hours
31
minutes
21
seconds
Current bid
€ 2
No reserve price
Expert
Selected by Kai Brückner
Over 35 years' experience; former gallery owner and Museum Folkwang curator.
Estimate € 350 - € 430
 | €2 |
|---|
Catawiki Buyer Protection
Your payment’s safe with us until you receive your object.View details
Trustpilot 4.4 | 141736 reviews
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
Michael Joseph, William Tell studio group, an original 1970 gelatin-silver print by Michael Joseph, hand signed, authentic darkroom print, 19.5 × 23 cm.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
William Tell Studio Group – London, 1970s
Original Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph by Michael Joseph
A gloriously eccentric example of what Michael Joseph did particularly well: people, props, personalities and perfectly controlled chaos.
Chef, skier, secretary, society lady, workman, nurse, child, St Bernard dog - and, at the centre of it all, an apple on a little boy's head, awaiting its William Tell moment. Each character is individually comic; together they become unmistakably Michael Joseph.
Michael became so associated with orchestrating elaborate groups for advertising that, within the trade, a complicated group shot became known as “a Michael Joseph” - a wonderfully apt description for this image, where every face, gesture, costume and prop has its place within the apparent mayhem.
His constant need to cast unusual characters - and often people who resembled famous personalities - also led Michael to create his own lookalikes agency, giving him access to precisely the faces his increasingly theatrical photographs demanded.
The photograph is mounted, hand-titled “William Tell Group – London 1970s” and boldly signed by Michael Joseph. The reverse retains a wonderfully period Marèse - les tricotés, collection layette advertising board, complete with Michael Joseph Pictures Ltd label - another layer of genuine working-studio history.
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Title: William Tell Group
Location: London
Date: 1970s
Medium: Vintage silver gelatin photograph
Mount: Approx. 30 × 24 cm
Signature: Signed and titled by Michael Joseph
Provenance: Michael Joseph’s personal archive
The mount and backing retain the marks, wear and recycled materials of a working photographic studio - patina, personality and provenance rather than pristine presentation.
A proper “Michael Joseph”: characters, costumes, comedy and controlled chaos, all choreographed into one wonderfully improbable frame.
#MichaelJoseph #MichaelJosephLondon #WilliamTell #VintagePhotography #1970sPhotography #SilverGelatinPrint #GroupPhotography #AdvertisingPhotography #BritishPhotography #LondonPhotography #Lookalikes #AnaloguePhotography #PhotographicArchive #SignedPhotography #VintageAdvertising
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 Translate
William Tell Studio Group – London, 1970s
Original Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph by Michael Joseph
A gloriously eccentric example of what Michael Joseph did particularly well: people, props, personalities and perfectly controlled chaos.
Chef, skier, secretary, society lady, workman, nurse, child, St Bernard dog - and, at the centre of it all, an apple on a little boy's head, awaiting its William Tell moment. Each character is individually comic; together they become unmistakably Michael Joseph.
Michael became so associated with orchestrating elaborate groups for advertising that, within the trade, a complicated group shot became known as “a Michael Joseph” - a wonderfully apt description for this image, where every face, gesture, costume and prop has its place within the apparent mayhem.
His constant need to cast unusual characters - and often people who resembled famous personalities - also led Michael to create his own lookalikes agency, giving him access to precisely the faces his increasingly theatrical photographs demanded.
The photograph is mounted, hand-titled “William Tell Group – London 1970s” and boldly signed by Michael Joseph. The reverse retains a wonderfully period Marèse - les tricotés, collection layette advertising board, complete with Michael Joseph Pictures Ltd label - another layer of genuine working-studio history.
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Title: William Tell Group
Location: London
Date: 1970s
Medium: Vintage silver gelatin photograph
Mount: Approx. 30 × 24 cm
Signature: Signed and titled by Michael Joseph
Provenance: Michael Joseph’s personal archive
The mount and backing retain the marks, wear and recycled materials of a working photographic studio - patina, personality and provenance rather than pristine presentation.
A proper “Michael Joseph”: characters, costumes, comedy and controlled chaos, all choreographed into one wonderfully improbable frame.
#MichaelJoseph #MichaelJosephLondon #WilliamTell #VintagePhotography #1970sPhotography #SilverGelatinPrint #GroupPhotography #AdvertisingPhotography #BritishPhotography #LondonPhotography #Lookalikes #AnaloguePhotography #PhotographicArchive #SignedPhotography #VintageAdvertising
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
Date of print
1970
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
William Tell studio group
Condition
Original State
Technique
Gelatin-silver print
Height
19.5 cm
Edition
Authentic darkroom print
Width
23 cm
Signature
Hand signed
Genre
Fine art photography
Sold by
