From June 2 to June 18, the original works of art of Led Zeppelin's first LP: one of the most iconic album covers of all time will be featured in Christie's online auction The Open Book: Fine Travel, Americana, Literature and History in Print and Manuscript sale, during the week's sales series classic. The estimate is $20.000-30.000.
George Hardie was still a graduate student at the Royal College of Art when his friend, photographer Stephen Goldblatt, advised him to direct Led Zeppelin in 1969. After rejecting his initial ideas, Jimmy Page suggested that Hardie adapt the jarring photography by Sam Shere of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Hardie set to work, rendering the image in stippling on tracing paper, evoking the feel of a low-resolution newsprint photo. Led Zeppelin paid Hardie £60 for his work on what has become one of the most recognizable album covers in recording history.
Peter Klarnet, Senior Specialist, Books and Manuscripts, comments: “The historical significance of this album cover cannot be understated. It marked an important turning point in the history of pop music, heralded by the debut of Led Zeppelin. It was louder, bolder than anything before it, and would come to define the shape of hard rock for generations. This simple depiction of the Hindenburg exploding over Lakehurst stands as a monument to that momentous historical moment. And the image has survived in a way that most other album covers have not—it has taken on a life of its own”.
Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut marked a major turning point in the history of popular music, and the cover set the tone for what was to come: a deeply influential body of work that has had a profound impact on successive generations of musical artists to the present day. our. Meanwhile, George Hardie graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1970 and went on to design album covers for Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Wings and numerous others, many in collaboration with Hipgnosis. Years later, he would rediscover the original dotted tracing with an attached note reading "George's Pension Fund."
