James Wedge Book
THE JAMES WEDGE BOOK. ONE OFONLY FIVE HUNDRED SIGNEDCOPIES. IT'S FASHION'S FIRSTSURREAL HAND-TINTED PHOTOMONTAGE ARTIST'S BOOK.OUR FAVOURITE PHOTO BEARS OUR FAVOURITE TITLE: PEACHES AND DREAMS.
This is one of the many memorable images from the
James Wedge Book
published by Countdown Publications in 1972. Countdown was also the name of a boutique co-owned by the milliner turned image-maker James Wedge and his then girlfriend Pat Booth. She was later a model and muse for Allen Jones. It's Booth's torso on the hanger. Nice! Wedge went on to date Helen Mirren. And she played The Queen!!
This is the cover of the book. Inauspicious. See a lot of the rather more auspicious contents
here.
This is a detail from Peaches and Dreams No.1. Our favourite image. Who hasn't dressed up a peach in a pair of miniature see-through knickers?
To quote the introduction: "The twenty-one images of this book are the personal fantasies of James Wedge." Well, the book itself has been a personal fantasy of ours! So rare. It doesn't surface often enough: once or twice every five years or so. It is designed like a photo album with the images tipped-in on black pages and shiny black tissue between them like the paper that divides the trays in a chocolate box.
Self-published and pretty much handmade, the book was released in an edition of just 500. We have no.13.
This is titled 'Self-portrait'. Art lovers will recognise Man Ray's 'rayograph' technique. IDEA Books fans will recognise Pat Booth naked...