Remarkable oversized glossy 23.25 x 19.5 hand-retouched silver gelatin photograph reproduced on the inside gatefold of the Rolling Stones' classic 1968 album ‘Beggar’s Banquet,’ taken by photographer Michael Joseph and toned and hand-colored by the album’s art director, Tom Wilkes. Includes an example of the Beggars Banquet album (London Records stereo pressing), which features a cropped version of this image as its gatefold artwork. The outstanding, oversized photograph is a different aspect ratio than the gatefold, with an image area that is about 50% larger than the published image—unseen elements of the mise en scène, such as a statue, artwork, candlesticks over the fireplace, the rear doorway's arch, and a clock are all seen in the background over the larger version. Mounted on Crescent illustration board and in fine condition.
Michael Joseph recalls the 1968 photo shoot at London's Sarum Chase mansion: 'The Stones arrived punctually. They were impressed with my lighting setup, and this fantastic, beautiful room. I was already there, talking through a megaphone to the goats, dogs and all the other animals we had for the shoot, getting them to understand what it was all about. I was good with animals and they behaved very nicely. Most of the feast on the table was prop food, but luckily, I’d put down a bowl of real cherries, and the goat was munching away on those. There were some cats knocking around the set, too, and they didn’t seem to be put off by 20,000 joules of light flashing away.
We only had two hours for the whole session, so literally within 10 minutes, the band were all changed. They just put on whatever costume they fancied and we didn’t bother with makeup—it wasn’t necessary. I put Keith Richards in the centre of the photo because he was the best-looking and the youngest. Bill Wyman, not so good-looking, so we put him further back. On the right, Brian Jones was very happy playing with a labrador. Charlie Watts was chatting up the stuffed monkey that’s on the table. Mick was happy to be centre-stage, standing on the table, cuddling some of the animals. There were other shots from this session where he’s holding a baby eagle, but then he got bored with that.'
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