BIRDS OF BRITAIN - John D. Green
Birds of Britain, a much-loved book of photographs by John d Green, was published almost 50 years ago, in September 1967.
The book featured John d Green's striking, original and witty portraits of 58 of the girls who made London tick: actresses, models, aristocrats, fashion designers, boutique owners and pop singers.
The cover featured a close-up color portrait of Pattie Boyd, wrinkling her nose in an attempt to chase away a beetle painted with a British flag, while inside, the spectacular portraits were all in black and white. A contemporary reviewer called it "one of the most exciting books of photographs at a time when illustrated books were very popular".
Birds of Britain was a huge mainstream success, selling 60,000 copies (at a time when most coffee-table books had a print run of 3,000), resulting in newspaper headlines and serial publications, television appearances, outrage from the parents of some of the girls featured in the book, a lavish launch party at Sibylla's nightclub, a high-profile promotional tour of the U.S. for John, his friend, art director David Tree, and some of the girls, and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
It all began 18 months earlier, over a pint of beer at the Adam and Eve pub in Kensington with friends, in early 1966. John d Green, then one of Britain's leading advertising photographers, had made his name photographing every consumer product imaginable. He was at the top of his game and highly regarded within the advertising industry, but little known outside it. He felt it was time to turn his attention to the women who were making things happen in London.
The project, conceived that evening at Adam and Eve by John and his friends and colleagues David Tree, Terry Howard and Rowland Wells, was to create a beautiful illustrated book paying tribute to all the women who played a key role in the London scene. This project was to give John the exposure outside the advertising industry that he so richly deserved.
The first photo session, with Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon photographed covered in motor oil, took place on April 29, 1966. Just under twelve months later, on his final shoot for the book, John photographed Cetra Hearne in a cloud of pipe smoke. Six months of work on design and layout, then printing, followed, in collaboration with his close collaborator and art director on the project, David Tree.
Published by The Bodley Head, 1967
144 pages
35.5 × 27.5 cm
Birds of Britain, a much-loved book of photographs by John d Green, was published almost 50 years ago, in September 1967.
The book featured John d Green's striking, original and witty portraits of 58 of the girls who made London tick: actresses, models, aristocrats, fashion designers, boutique owners and pop singers.
The cover featured a close-up color portrait of Pattie Boyd, wrinkling her nose in an attempt to chase away a beetle painted with a British flag, while inside, the spectacular portraits were all in black and white. A contemporary reviewer called it "one of the most exciting books of photographs at a time when illustrated books were very popular".
Birds of Britain was a huge mainstream success, selling 60,000 copies (at a time when most coffee-table books had a print run of 3,000), resulting in newspaper headlines and serial publications, television appearances, outrage from the parents of some of the girls featured in the book, a lavish launch party at Sibylla's nightclub, a high-profile promotional tour of the U.S. for John, his friend, art director David Tree, and some of the girls, and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
It all began 18 months earlier, over a pint of beer at the Adam and Eve pub in Kensington with friends, in early 1966. John d Green, then one of Britain's leading advertising photographers, had made his name photographing every consumer product imaginable. He was at the top of his game and highly regarded within the advertising industry, but little known outside it. He felt it was time to turn his attention to the women who were making things happen in London.
The project, conceived that evening at Adam and Eve by John and his friends and colleagues David Tree, Terry Howard and Rowland Wells, was to create a beautiful illustrated book paying tribute to all the women who played a key role in the London scene. This project was to give John the exposure outside the advertising industry that he so richly deserved.
The first photo session, with Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon photographed covered in motor oil, took place on April 29, 1966. Just under twelve months later, on his final shoot for the book, John photographed Cetra Hearne in a cloud of pipe smoke. Six months of work on design and layout, then printing, followed, in collaboration with his close collaborator and art director on the project, David Tree.
Published by The Bodley Head, 1967
144 pages
35.5 × 27.5 cm
Birds of Britain, a much-loved book of photographs by John d Green, was published almost 50 years ago, in September 1967.
The book featured John d Green's striking, original and witty portraits of 58 of the girls who made London tick: actresses, models, aristocrats, fashion designers, boutique owners and pop singers.
The cover featured a close-up color portrait of Pattie Boyd, wrinkling her nose in an attempt to chase away a beetle painted with a British flag, while inside, the spectacular portraits were all in black and white. A contemporary reviewer called it "one of the most exciting books of photographs at a time when illustrated books were very popular".
Birds of Britain was a huge mainstream success, selling 60,000 copies (at a time when most coffee-table books had a print run of 3,000), resulting in newspaper headlines and serial publications, television appearances, outrage from the parents of some of the girls featured in the book, a lavish launch party at Sibylla's nightclub, a high-profile promotional tour of the U.S. for John, his friend, art director David Tree, and some of the girls, and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
It all began 18 months earlier, over a pint of beer at the Adam and Eve pub in Kensington with friends, in early 1966. John d Green, then one of Britain's leading advertising photographers, had made his name photographing every consumer product imaginable. He was at the top of his game and highly regarded within the advertising industry, but little known outside it. He felt it was time to turn his attention to the women who were making things happen in London.
The project, conceived that evening at Adam and Eve by John and his friends and colleagues David Tree, Terry Howard and Rowland Wells, was to create a beautiful illustrated book paying tribute to all the women who played a key role in the London scene. This project was to give John the exposure outside the advertising industry that he so richly deserved.
The first photo session, with Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon photographed covered in motor oil, took place on April 29, 1966. Just under twelve months later, on his final shoot for the book, John photographed Cetra Hearne in a cloud of pipe smoke. Six months of work on design and layout, then printing, followed, in collaboration with his close collaborator and art director on the project, David Tree.
Published by The Bodley Head, 1967
144 pages
35.5 × 27.5 cm
