Original vintage gelatin silver print of Led Zeppelin in front of their tour plane, the Starship, New York City, 1973, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Verso of Bob Gruen’s vintage Led Zeppelin, 1973 print, showing the photographer’s copyright archive stamp and period annotations.
Detail of Bob Gruen’s signature and copyright stamp on the vintage Led Zeppelin, 1973 gelatin silver print.

Led Zeppelin, In Front of the Plane, New York City, 1973 — Vintage Silver Gelatin Print

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Documentation and acquisition support are available from The Music Photo Gallery.

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Bob Gruen’s photograph of Led Zeppelin before their tour plane, the Starship, captures the band at the height of their 1973 American tour — when the aircraft, emblazoned with the group’s name, became a symbol of rock’s new scale and ambition.

This is an original vintage gelatin silver print, made from Gruen’s negative in the early 1980s and signed by the photographer, with his copyright archive stamp on the verso. Printed on double-weight fibre paper.

The photograph belongs to Rockers, a portfolio of twenty Bob Gruen images produced as only five complete sets. It is offered here as an individual print; only a selection of the portfolio is shown online, and the complete catalogue documenting all twenty works is available on request. A work for the serious collector and the institution.

Photographer: Bob Gruen
Subject: Led Zeppelin
Image date: 1973
Print date: Early 1980s (vintage)
Location: New York City
Process: Gelatin silver print
Paper: Double-weight fibre
Dimensions: 8 × 10 in (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
Edition: From “Rockers,” an edition of only five complete sets
Markings: Signed by the photographer; copyright stamp on verso
Availability: Price on request

Offered unframed. The complete Rockers catalogue and further works are available on request; TMPG is available to assist collectors considering this piece.

The Print Object details, provenance, condition & documentation
Photographer
Bob Gruen
Image Date
1973
Print Date
Early 1980s
Location
New York City
Print Classification
Vintage
Process
Gelatin Silver Print
Support
Paper
Dimensions
8 × 10 in (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
Edition
Limited Edition
Rarity / Edition Notes
From “Rockers,” a portfolio of twenty vintage gelatin silver prints by Bob Gruen, produced in an edition of only five complete sets. Each print is signed by the photographer. Only a selection is shown online; the complete catalogue of all twenty works is available on request.
Recto Markings
Led Zeppelin before the Starship, their storied 1973 tour plane — one of Bob Gruen’s definitive images of the band’s American ascent. An original vintage gelatin silver print from the Rockers portfolio, an edition of only five complete sets.
Verso Documentation
The verso bears Bob Gruen’s copyright archive stamp together with period annotations.
Framing
Unframed
Authenticity
Original

A complete Archive Record, including verso documentation, authentication evidence, provenance details, and condition documentation, is available to qualified collectors upon request.

Bob Gruen
The photographer

Bob Gruen

American photographer whose images of John Lennon, Blondie, The Clash, the Ramones, and New York's downtown music scene helped define the visual history of rock and roll.

View all works by Bob Gruen