Cecil Beaton
Rare books by Cecil Beaton, including first editions, signed copies, limited editions, dust jacket designs, artwork and ephemera. Plus, the best books on Beaton, including vintage exhibition and auction catalogues, and classic monographs.
Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) is well-known as a photographer, artist, theatre designer and author. He captured images of the Bright Young Things; his work frequently appeared in Vogue; he travelled to India, the Middle East and China as an official war photographer; he photographed Queen Elizabeth II on her coronation day; he won two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design for Gigi and My Fair Lady. He straddled the twentieth century but remains ever-popular in the twenty-first, with books and exhibitions on his work and life appearing regularly.
During his lifetime Beaton authored over thirty books and provided dust jackets and illustrations for many more. When Beaton died in 1980, Lord Snowdon wrote in a tribute in The Sunday Times:
‘…he was much more than just a photographer. He was a great journalist, wit, commentator and diarist: a 20th-century Pepys using a pen, brush and camera.’
Below are the books, art and ephemera by and about Cecil Beaton which we currently carry. If there is a specific book on Cecil Beaton that you would like to find or sell, please get in touch.
The sale catalogue for the auction of the contents of Cecil Beaton's Wiltshire home
Beaton's spoof memoirs of Baroness Von Bülop, featuring a cast of Bright Young Things.
![The Masque. A Theatre Notebook. [A complete run of 9 Numbers]](/user/products/2923.jpg)
![The Masque. A Theatre Notebook. [A complete run of 9 Numbers]](/user/products/2923_2.jpg)
![The Masque. A Theatre Notebook. [A complete run of 9 Numbers]](/user/products/2923_3.jpg)
![The Masque. A Theatre Notebook. [A complete run of 9 Numbers]](/user/products/2923_4.jpg)
![The Masque. A Theatre Notebook. [A complete run of 9 Numbers]](/user/products/2923_5.jpg)
A complete run of the post-war theatre magazine, with three issues devoted to Rex Whistler.
The programme for the Beaton-designed musical of Coco Chanel.
Michael Arlen's short story, illustrated by Cecil Beaton, to celebrate the opening of The Dorchester.
Cecil Beaton's photographic record of the British people at War.
A first edition of Beaton's record of his famous Wiltshire country house.
![Ashcombe. The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease [SIGNED]](/user/products/1413.jpg)
![Ashcombe. The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease [SIGNED]](/user/products/1413_2.jpg)
![Ashcombe. The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease [SIGNED]](/user/products/1413_3.jpg)
![Ashcombe. The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease [SIGNED]](/user/products/1413_4.jpg)
![Ashcombe. The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease [SIGNED]](/user/products/1413_5.jpg)
![Ashcombe. The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease [SIGNED]](/user/products/1413_6.jpg)
![Ashcombe. The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease [SIGNED]](/user/products/1413_7.jpg)
A signed first edition of Beaton's record of his famous Wiltshire country house.
Cecil Beaton's potted history of photography, from the 'Britain in Pictures' series.
![Cecil Beaton's Diaries. The Wandering Years 1922-1939; The Years Between 1939-44; The Happy Years 1944-48; The Strenuous Years 1948-55; The Restless Years 1955-63; The Parting Years 1963-74. [A Complete Set of the Six Diaries]](/user/products/3649.jpg)
![Cecil Beaton's Diaries. The Wandering Years 1922-1939; The Years Between 1939-44; The Happy Years 1944-48; The Strenuous Years 1948-55; The Restless Years 1955-63; The Parting Years 1963-74. [A Complete Set of the Six Diaries]](/user/products/3649_2.jpg)
![Cecil Beaton's Diaries. The Wandering Years 1922-1939; The Years Between 1939-44; The Happy Years 1944-48; The Strenuous Years 1948-55; The Restless Years 1955-63; The Parting Years 1963-74. [A Complete Set of the Six Diaries]](/user/products/3649_3.jpg)
![Cecil Beaton's Diaries. The Wandering Years 1922-1939; The Years Between 1939-44; The Happy Years 1944-48; The Strenuous Years 1948-55; The Restless Years 1955-63; The Parting Years 1963-74. [A Complete Set of the Six Diaries]](/user/products/3649_4.jpg)
![Cecil Beaton's Diaries. The Wandering Years 1922-1939; The Years Between 1939-44; The Happy Years 1944-48; The Strenuous Years 1948-55; The Restless Years 1955-63; The Parting Years 1963-74. [A Complete Set of the Six Diaries]](/user/products/3649_5.jpg)
A complete set of Cecil Beaton's Diaries.
Beaton's memoir of his role as the set and costume designer for 'My Fair Lady'.
The much sought-after second book by Beaton, with the scarce dust jacket.