Collector’s Signed Deluxe Limited Edition: Photographs 1970–1990 by Annie Leibovitz

This listing highlights a cornerstone work of 20th-century celebrity portraiture and fine-art photojournalism: a pristine, Publisher-Sealed Signed Deluxe Limited First Edition copy of Photographs 1970–1990 by Annie Leibovitz. Published in 1991 by HarperCollins to accompany her landmark solo retrospective exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., this retrospective volume comprehensively documents the first two decades of Leibovitz’s career.

From her definitive editorial photojournalism for Rolling Stone to her stylized cultural portraiture for Vanity Fair, Leibovitz reshaped modern iconographic culture. The collection features iconic imagery spanning her career—most famously including her poignant December 8, 1980 photograph of a nude John Lennon embracing Yoko Ono, captured just hours before his tragic death, which graces the front of the publisher's slipcase.

Issued in a tiny, strictly limited run of only 326 specially bound and slipcased copies—of which just 300 numbered copies were made available for commercial sale—this presentation represents the absolute pinnacle of Leibovitz’s bibliographical oeuvre. Preserved unopened in its original publisher shrinkwrap, this offering represents a virtually unobtainable centerpiece for fine photography collection display.

Edition & Binding Specifications

• DELUXE LIMITED FIRST EDITION: Published in New York in 1991 by HarperCollins, strictly limited to 326 copies worldwide.

• CUSTOM SLIPCASED BINDING: Bound in dark cloth boards with spine lettering stamped in black, housed inside a publisher-matching black cloth slipcase with a large inset photographic print of John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the front board.

• FACTORY SHRINKWRAP: Unopened state preserved entirely within the original publisher's protective plastic shrinkwrap, maintaining pristine as-issued condition.

Autograph Specifications & Provenance

• HAND-SIGNED BY ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: Authentically autographed in ink by Annie Leibovitz on the internal limitation page (beneath the shrinkwrap), as issued for this edition.

• LIMITED & NUMBERED: Features the publisher's formal limitation notice confirming one of only 300 signed and numbered copies released to the public.

• MINT AS-ISSUED CONDITION: Perfectly preserved beneath untouched publisher shrinkwrap with sharp edges, unblemished cloth boards, and no structural flaws or exposure wear.

• CONSIGNER NOTES: If you grew up a huge rock and roll fan, you probably had a subscription to Rolling Stone magazine – and gazed at the amazing rock star portraits of photographer Annie Leibovitz. So when she compiled her favorite photographs from 1970 to 1990 into this marvelous book in 1991, I had to have it. It wasn’t until a few years later when I found out that there was a rare, signed limited edition that was issued at the time – with only 300 total copies being made available to the public. As you can imagine, they were quickly sold out (which also likely explains why I had never even heard about these at the time). It took me a couple more years, but I finally found a sealed copy available in an auction. As tempting as it was to open it, I have kept it sealed in its original shrink wrap all this time (thankfully, I had my original unsigned copy to enjoy).