Long-Lost Scrapbook of Unseen Cecil Beaton and Lee Miller War Photos Acquired by Bodleian Library

A scrapbook assembled by Roland Haupt, the shared assistant of photographers Cecil Beaton and Lee Miller, has surfaced after six decades, containing over 150 previously unseen images. The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford now owns the artifact, acquired through London dealer Michael Hoppen. Haupt compiled the book between 1943 and 1949 while processing undeveloped film for both photographers during World War II. Beaton and Miller first met in 1928 when Beaton photographed Miller in Condé Nast’s apartment. By the war, they were correspondents for British Vogue, with Miller accredited in 1942. Haupt’s inscriptions highlight Miller’s journey with the American army from Normandy to Berlin, noting she faced house arrest for photographing the battle of Saint-Malo. Her war photography applied a Surrealist eye developed alongside Man Ray and Roland Penrose, juxtaposing corpses with models. An unpublished variant of David Scherman’s iconic shot of Miller in Hitler’s Munich bathtub appears, showing her boots dirty from Dachau. Beaton’s photos document the Blitz in London and his travels to Egypt, Iraq, Syria, India, Burma, and China, with many capturing North Africa’s desert war detritus. The scrapbook includes portraits, theater sets, and newspaper cuttings. Hoppen ensured the album remains intact at the Bodleian.