Michael Joseph (1941-) - Milan Stock exchange car ad test print
03
days
21
hours
40
minutes
09
seconds
Current bid
€ 60
Reserve price not met
Expert
Selected by Elena Vaninetti
Has over ten years of experience in art, specialising in post-war photography and contemporary art.
Estimate € 500 - € 600
 | €60 | |
|---|---|---|
 | €50 | |
| €20 | |
Catawiki Buyer Protection
Your payment’s safe with us until you receive your object.View details
Trustpilot 4.4 | 145217 reviews
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
Michael Joseph’s hand-signed gelatin-silver print, *Milan Stock exchange car ad test print*, dates from 1989.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Michael Joseph – “Car Ad @ Stock Exchange” (1980) – Signed Advertising Photograph – Milan – Possibly Fiat Ritmo / Strada
Milan, Italy, 1980 | Black & White Photographic Print | Hand-Titled, Dated & Signed by Michael Joseph | From the Michael Joseph Family Archive
When a Small Family Car Takes the Stock Exchange by Storm!
A wonderfully theatrical advertising photograph by celebrated British photographer Michael Joseph (born 1941), featuring a compact hatchback surrounded by an extraordinary gathering of stockbrokers on what appears to be the trading floor of the Milan Stock Exchange.
The vehicle is believed to be a first-generation Fiat Ritmo, introduced in 1978 and marketed in Britain as the Fiat Strada. Although its distinctive styling strongly suggests this model, the identification has not been definitively confirmed.
A Car, Thirty Stockbrokers & One Brilliantly Absurd Situation!
At the centre of the bustling trading floor stands a modest family car, surrounded by approximately thirty formally dressed gentlemen, some clutching papers and notebooks, others looking towards the camera with expressions ranging from astonishment to amusement.
One gentleman crouches enthusiastically in the foreground, while another appears to be conducting business on the telephone.
Behind them towers an enormous electronic quotation board, displaying Italian share prices and financial abbreviations, including references to FIAT.
The entire composition suggests an important financial event.
Yet the star of the show is neither a company director nor a spectacular rise in share prices.
It's a little family hatchback!
The juxtaposition is wonderfully unexpected, transforming an everyday motor car into the centrepiece of a grand financial spectacle.
Whether intended to suggest a sound investment, exceptional value or simply the excitement of a new arrival, the photograph perfectly captures the playful spirit of advertising around 1980.
Michael Joseph – Master of the Elaborate Group Photograph
By 1980, Michael Joseph was already internationally recognised for his spectacularly orchestrated advertising photographs, frequently involving large groups of people, animals and wonderfully improbable situations.
He is perhaps best known for his legendary photographs of The Rolling Stones for their 1968 Beggars Banquet album, but his commercial career also included major campaigns for Schweppes, Smirnoff, Nivea, Cointreau and Fernet-Branca.
His particular genius lay in creating compositions that appeared wonderfully spontaneous yet were meticulously arranged down to the smallest detail.
Indeed, such elaborate group scenes became so closely associated with his work that they were sometimes referred to in the advertising world as “a Michael Joseph.”
This photograph is a delightful example: the carefully positioned figures, contrasting expressions, imposing quotation board and unexpected presence of a car combine to create a perfectly balanced, humorous composition.
A Fascinating Glimpse of Italian Motoring & Financial History
The photograph also offers an evocative glimpse into the traditional world of stock market trading, before electronic transactions transformed the industry.
The enormous quotation board, formal suits, papers and notebooks capture the atmosphere of an earlier financial era.
The Italian share abbreviations and Milan registration plate provide compelling clues to the location.
If the vehicle is indeed a Fiat Ritmo, the setting is particularly appropriate, given Fiat's importance to Italian industry.
The result is a striking meeting of automotive history, financial culture and theatrical advertising photography.
The Photograph
Photographer: Michael Joseph (born 1941)
Title: Car Ad @ Stock Exchange
Subject: Compact hatchback, believed to be a Fiat Ritmo / Strada (identification not confirmed)
Location: Believed to be the Milan Stock Exchange, Italy
Date of image: 1980, as annotated by the photographer
Medium: Black & white photographic print
Presentation: Mounted beneath a generous white photographic mount
Annotations: Hand-titled “Car Ad @ Stock Exchange”, dated “1980” and personally signed by Michael Joseph
Reverse: Michael Joseph Pictures Ltd studio identification label, 46 Clapham Common North Side, London SW4
Provenance: Directly from the Michael Joseph Family Archive
The handwritten title, date and signature, together with the studio label on the reverse, provide a particularly appealing connection to the photographer and his professional archive.
A Remarkable Collectable – Photography, Advertising & Automotive History
For collectors of Michael Joseph's photography, this image represents a classic example of his extraordinary ability to orchestrate large groups into humorous, visually compelling scenes.
For enthusiasts of vintage motoring, Italian industrial history and twentieth-century advertising, it offers a fascinating and unusual period photograph.
Its direct family provenance and personal annotations make it especially appealing.
An opportunity to acquire a signed Michael Joseph advertising photograph combining humour, theatrical composition and the atmosphere of Milan's financial world around 1980.
One little car. Thirty-odd stockbrokers. An entire stock exchange.
And one photographer who knew exactly how to steal the show!
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the 1960s to the early 1990s, perhaps best known for his iconic photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet album.
Such was Michael’s extraordinary talent for orchestrating elaborate group scenes, often bringing together large numbers of people and animals in seemingly effortless harmony, that these wonderfully theatrical compositions became known within the advertising industry simply as “a Michael Joseph” - a style so distinctive that his name became a description in its own right.
Our continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: lesser-known treasures from his remarkable archive, including original vintage darkroom prints, experimental test prints, alternative images from major shoots, celebrated group compositions and more intimate, personal photographs.
Among our most exciting discoveries is Michael’s extraordinary 1964 Vietnam archive, photographed when he was just 23. Many of these powerful images have never previously been exhibited or offered for sale, revealing a fascinating, lesser-known side of his career.
There is also a wonderfully poetic quality to much of his work: unexpected encounters, fleeting moments and what we like to call “immortalised instants” - those unrepeatable fragments of everyday life that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
All beautifully summed up in Michael’s favourite adage:
“Always keep a camera handy, every minute of your living day.”
A philosophy he certainly lived by, leaving us an extraordinary collection that we are still discovering today.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage prints, we are introducing new interpretations of his work: striking photographic prints on aluminium and handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies using the Dordogne sunshine. Some are produced on vintage papers from Michael’s own photographic library, giving these historic materials a wonderful new lease of life.
Together, these works celebrate photographic history and contemporary creativity - from unique prints made by Michael himself to imaginative new interpretations of his archive.
We hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as we enjoy bringing them to light!
A Small Note About the Presentation Photographs
Some of our in situ illustrations showing artworks displayed in interiors have been created using artificial intelligence (AI).
These are intended simply to help you imagine how a piece might look in a home, office or gallery. Although we aim for faithful representations, proportions and scale may occasionally vary.
Please refer to the actual artwork photographs and stated dimensions for an accurate representation of your purchase.
A Personal Note About Packaging
We prepare and pack every artwork ourselves, taking great care to protect each piece with several layers of suitable materials.
To keep costs down and minimise waste, we reuse and upcycle packaging wherever possible. Your parcel may therefore contain recycled cardboard, protective sleeves, old photographic boxes or envelopes - occasionally even materials from Michael’s own photographic library!
And please don't be surprised if the outside looks rather plain, or even a little unattractive. This is often deliberate! We prefer valuable or irreplaceable artworks to travel as inconspicuously as possible.
One small favour: please unwrap your parcel slowly and carefully.
We sometimes use several layers of cardboard, paper and protective wrapping, secured with tape. Please take particular care when using scissors or a blade, as tape can occasionally catch on adjoining layers or items inside.
We would rather spend a little extra time protecting your purchase than risk damage in transit, and hope you will forgive our occasionally unconventional packaging!
After all, it's what's inside that matters, not the wrapping!
Every purchase helps us preserve, explore and share Michael’s remarkable photographic archive, while giving these images a new home and another chapter in their history.
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 upon delivery, subject to changes in customs regulations.
Michael Joseph – “Car Ad @ Stock Exchange” (1980) – Signed Advertising Photograph – Milan – Possibly Fiat Ritmo / Strada
Milan, Italy, 1980 | Black & White Photographic Print | Hand-Titled, Dated & Signed by Michael Joseph | From the Michael Joseph Family Archive
When a Small Family Car Takes the Stock Exchange by Storm!
A wonderfully theatrical advertising photograph by celebrated British photographer Michael Joseph (born 1941), featuring a compact hatchback surrounded by an extraordinary gathering of stockbrokers on what appears to be the trading floor of the Milan Stock Exchange.
The vehicle is believed to be a first-generation Fiat Ritmo, introduced in 1978 and marketed in Britain as the Fiat Strada. Although its distinctive styling strongly suggests this model, the identification has not been definitively confirmed.
A Car, Thirty Stockbrokers & One Brilliantly Absurd Situation!
At the centre of the bustling trading floor stands a modest family car, surrounded by approximately thirty formally dressed gentlemen, some clutching papers and notebooks, others looking towards the camera with expressions ranging from astonishment to amusement.
One gentleman crouches enthusiastically in the foreground, while another appears to be conducting business on the telephone.
Behind them towers an enormous electronic quotation board, displaying Italian share prices and financial abbreviations, including references to FIAT.
The entire composition suggests an important financial event.
Yet the star of the show is neither a company director nor a spectacular rise in share prices.
It's a little family hatchback!
The juxtaposition is wonderfully unexpected, transforming an everyday motor car into the centrepiece of a grand financial spectacle.
Whether intended to suggest a sound investment, exceptional value or simply the excitement of a new arrival, the photograph perfectly captures the playful spirit of advertising around 1980.
Michael Joseph – Master of the Elaborate Group Photograph
By 1980, Michael Joseph was already internationally recognised for his spectacularly orchestrated advertising photographs, frequently involving large groups of people, animals and wonderfully improbable situations.
He is perhaps best known for his legendary photographs of The Rolling Stones for their 1968 Beggars Banquet album, but his commercial career also included major campaigns for Schweppes, Smirnoff, Nivea, Cointreau and Fernet-Branca.
His particular genius lay in creating compositions that appeared wonderfully spontaneous yet were meticulously arranged down to the smallest detail.
Indeed, such elaborate group scenes became so closely associated with his work that they were sometimes referred to in the advertising world as “a Michael Joseph.”
This photograph is a delightful example: the carefully positioned figures, contrasting expressions, imposing quotation board and unexpected presence of a car combine to create a perfectly balanced, humorous composition.
A Fascinating Glimpse of Italian Motoring & Financial History
The photograph also offers an evocative glimpse into the traditional world of stock market trading, before electronic transactions transformed the industry.
The enormous quotation board, formal suits, papers and notebooks capture the atmosphere of an earlier financial era.
The Italian share abbreviations and Milan registration plate provide compelling clues to the location.
If the vehicle is indeed a Fiat Ritmo, the setting is particularly appropriate, given Fiat's importance to Italian industry.
The result is a striking meeting of automotive history, financial culture and theatrical advertising photography.
The Photograph
Photographer: Michael Joseph (born 1941)
Title: Car Ad @ Stock Exchange
Subject: Compact hatchback, believed to be a Fiat Ritmo / Strada (identification not confirmed)
Location: Believed to be the Milan Stock Exchange, Italy
Date of image: 1980, as annotated by the photographer
Medium: Black & white photographic print
Presentation: Mounted beneath a generous white photographic mount
Annotations: Hand-titled “Car Ad @ Stock Exchange”, dated “1980” and personally signed by Michael Joseph
Reverse: Michael Joseph Pictures Ltd studio identification label, 46 Clapham Common North Side, London SW4
Provenance: Directly from the Michael Joseph Family Archive
The handwritten title, date and signature, together with the studio label on the reverse, provide a particularly appealing connection to the photographer and his professional archive.
A Remarkable Collectable – Photography, Advertising & Automotive History
For collectors of Michael Joseph's photography, this image represents a classic example of his extraordinary ability to orchestrate large groups into humorous, visually compelling scenes.
For enthusiasts of vintage motoring, Italian industrial history and twentieth-century advertising, it offers a fascinating and unusual period photograph.
Its direct family provenance and personal annotations make it especially appealing.
An opportunity to acquire a signed Michael Joseph advertising photograph combining humour, theatrical composition and the atmosphere of Milan's financial world around 1980.
One little car. Thirty-odd stockbrokers. An entire stock exchange.
And one photographer who knew exactly how to steal the show!
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the 1960s to the early 1990s, perhaps best known for his iconic photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet album.
Such was Michael’s extraordinary talent for orchestrating elaborate group scenes, often bringing together large numbers of people and animals in seemingly effortless harmony, that these wonderfully theatrical compositions became known within the advertising industry simply as “a Michael Joseph” - a style so distinctive that his name became a description in its own right.
Our continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: lesser-known treasures from his remarkable archive, including original vintage darkroom prints, experimental test prints, alternative images from major shoots, celebrated group compositions and more intimate, personal photographs.
Among our most exciting discoveries is Michael’s extraordinary 1964 Vietnam archive, photographed when he was just 23. Many of these powerful images have never previously been exhibited or offered for sale, revealing a fascinating, lesser-known side of his career.
There is also a wonderfully poetic quality to much of his work: unexpected encounters, fleeting moments and what we like to call “immortalised instants” - those unrepeatable fragments of everyday life that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
All beautifully summed up in Michael’s favourite adage:
“Always keep a camera handy, every minute of your living day.”
A philosophy he certainly lived by, leaving us an extraordinary collection that we are still discovering today.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage prints, we are introducing new interpretations of his work: striking photographic prints on aluminium and handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies using the Dordogne sunshine. Some are produced on vintage papers from Michael’s own photographic library, giving these historic materials a wonderful new lease of life.
Together, these works celebrate photographic history and contemporary creativity - from unique prints made by Michael himself to imaginative new interpretations of his archive.
We hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as we enjoy bringing them to light!
A Small Note About the Presentation Photographs
Some of our in situ illustrations showing artworks displayed in interiors have been created using artificial intelligence (AI).
These are intended simply to help you imagine how a piece might look in a home, office or gallery. Although we aim for faithful representations, proportions and scale may occasionally vary.
Please refer to the actual artwork photographs and stated dimensions for an accurate representation of your purchase.
A Personal Note About Packaging
We prepare and pack every artwork ourselves, taking great care to protect each piece with several layers of suitable materials.
To keep costs down and minimise waste, we reuse and upcycle packaging wherever possible. Your parcel may therefore contain recycled cardboard, protective sleeves, old photographic boxes or envelopes - occasionally even materials from Michael’s own photographic library!
And please don't be surprised if the outside looks rather plain, or even a little unattractive. This is often deliberate! We prefer valuable or irreplaceable artworks to travel as inconspicuously as possible.
One small favour: please unwrap your parcel slowly and carefully.
We sometimes use several layers of cardboard, paper and protective wrapping, secured with tape. Please take particular care when using scissors or a blade, as tape can occasionally catch on adjoining layers or items inside.
We would rather spend a little extra time protecting your purchase than risk damage in transit, and hope you will forgive our occasionally unconventional packaging!
After all, it's what's inside that matters, not the wrapping!
Every purchase helps us preserve, explore and share Michael’s remarkable photographic archive, while giving these images a new home and another chapter in their history.
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 upon delivery, subject to changes in customs regulations.
Details
Date of print
1989
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Milan Stock exchange car ad test print
Condition
Very fine
Technique
Gelatin-silver print
Height
33 cm
Edition
Authentic print
Width
26 cm
Signature
Hand signed
Genre
Fine art photography
Sold by
