About the Photograph
Roberta Bayley's Punk: The Book is one of the most important and ambitious artist books ever published on the New York punk movement. Issued in 2002 in an edition of only 76 unique copies, each volume is individually assembled and signed by the artist.
Produced by Aenigma Books, Prints and Kunst Editions, the publication presents twenty-four original black-and-white photographs made between 1976 and 1979, documenting the legendary CBGB scene and many of the defining figures of punk, including Blondie, the Ramones, Richard Hell, Television, Iggy Pop, Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, The Damned, the Heartbreakers and others.
Far more than a conventional book, each copy includes Bayley's handwritten texts reproduced in facsimile, signed introductory essays by Debbie Harry, Richard Hell, John Holmstrom and Legs McNeil, a signed portrait of Roberta Bayley by GODLIS, a signed and numbered silkscreen recreating the cover of Punk Magazine No. 3, and an original copy of the magazine's 25th Anniversary Issue. Every set is housed in a handcrafted slipcase incorporating original pages from Punk Magazine.
TMPG is pleased to offer copies No. 1 and No. 2 from the original edition of only 76 examples, making them among the earliest and most desirable copies produced.
An exceptional collector's object that stands at the intersection of photography, publishing and punk history.
