Inside Christine Keeler's World

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A cache of very personal letters and photographs relating to Christine Keeler is set to be a highlight of our annual Out of The Ordinary sale on Tuesday 30 July. This extraordinary archive of memorabilia comes from Keeler’s friend, the British art dealer James Birch, and offers a poignant glimpse into the life of a central figure in the Profumo Affair.

Often described as ‘a story that has everything,’ the Profumo Affair scandalised Britain in the early 1960s. It involved a married government minister, a Soviet naval attaché, and a 19-year-old topless showgirl. The scandal not only damaged the credibility of Macmillan's government but also eroded public trust in the ruling class. Stephen Ward, the osteopath and artist accused of facilitating the relationships, tragically took his own life before his trial concluded.

^{A collection of Christine Keeler letters home from prison (£6,000-8,000)}

At the heart of this collection are nine letters written by Christine Keeler to her parents during her six-month incarceration in Parkhurst Holloway Prison for perjury. Each letter, written between 8 December 1963, and 19 April 1964, is on HM Prison notepaper and bears her prison number, 7904.

In her first letter, Keeler reassures her parents, writing, “Don’t worry I’m fine. In fact, it’s just like school, and there is a girl here I went to school with.” Throughout the correspondence, she reflects on her past and muses about her future. “Funny isn’t it I’ve always kept you from certain things in my life as I’ve thought you too precious and me too bad, but I suppose you have always known about everything,” she writes. Keeler’s aspirations are also evident: “I am only young and I should start on a career of some sort seeing as my name is well known I might as well carry on with that and make lots of money ha! ha!” These letters will be offered as a single lot with an estimated price of £6,000-9,000.

^{Lewis Morley (1925-2013) 1963, a photograph of a naked Christine Keeler, sitting astride an Arne Jacobsen-style chair (now in the V&A Museum) (£500-800)}

James Birch, a well-known art dealer and Keeler’s long-time friend, brings these items to auction. Birch, who introduced some of Britain’s leading 20th-century artists to a global audience, curated the exhibition Christine Keeler: My Life in Pictures at The Mayor Gallery, London in 2010.

Among the photographs up for auction are those stamped 'Collection Christine Keeler,' including a signed copy of the iconic 1963 photograph of Keeler by Lewis Morley, showing her naked astride a modernist chair (estimate £500-800). This famous shoot, conducted in May 1963 amidst the Profumo scandal, produced an image that became a symbol of the Sixties.

^{A group of Christine Keeler childhood photographs 1944 to 1950s (£500-800)}

The collection also includes more intimate images: a group of nine childhood photographs from 1944 to the late 1950s featuring Keeler with her family and friends (estimate £500-800), and a series of photos from the 1960s and later, depicting Keeler with her husband and sons Anthony and Seymour Platt (estimate £200-300).

Additionally, Keeler’s provisional driving license from November 1963 and her passport issued in 1984 under the name Christine Platt will be offered (estimate £500-800).

These poignant photographs, especially the iconic image of Keeler seated in an Arne Jacobsen style plywood chair taken in May 1963, underscore the intense public interest in her relationship with John Profumo. The snapshot, the final one on a 12-exposure film, captures a moment that has since become a defining symbol of an era.

Out of the Ordinary 

Tuesday 30 July | 10am

outoftheordinary@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778

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