A vintage 8″ x 10″ proof sheet with twelve unpublished photographs of the Velvet Underground recording their 1970 album Loaded, taken by photographer Henri ter Hall.

This is one of a group of Velvets proof sheets ter Hall sent in December 1970 to Steve Nelson, manager of the Boston Tea Party and the man who booked the Velvet Underground more than any other promoter.  Nelson also designed the famous horizontal poster for the Velvet Underground’s 1970 shows at Max’s Kansas City.

As noted in Steve Nelson’s accompanying letter of authenticity, Henri ter Hall was a photographer from Holland living in New York City in 1969-70. He was working for the fashion photographer Bill King, whose studio in Union Square was in the same neighborhood as Andy Warhol’s Factory. Henri met The Velvet Underground and in 1969 accompanied the band to a gig at the Woodrose Ballroom, a club I owned in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. I produced numerous shows with the VU there, as well as at the Paramount Theater in Springfield, Mass., and at the legendary rock club The Boston Tea Party.

In 1970 Henri photographed the Velvets in the Atlantic Records recording studios working on their forthcoming album “Loaded,” the back cover of which featured a photo he took of Doug Yule at the piano. He also did individual portraits of them in the King photography studio, including VU drummer Moe Tucker, who did not play with them during those recording sessions due to her pregnancy.

[A few weeks after Loaded was released in November 1970] Henri sent me a box of 27 proof sheets from those shoots, done with a 2×2 format Hasselblad camera [image of box for reference only]… Those proof sheets remained in my sole possession until they were acquired by [Recordmecca’s] Jeffrey Gold in 2020. They are the original and only set of proof sheets from Henri’s photographs of the Velvet Underground.

Nelson also notes that 26 of ter Hall’s Velvets photos were licensed to Todd Haynes for use in his documentary The Velvet Underground.

This proof sheet features images of Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison (upside down) playing guitar, with Doug Yule playing piano.  Each individual image measures 2 1/4″ square.  In excellent condition.  With a copy of Steve Nelson’s letter of authenticity, a print out of the box cover, and Recordmecca’s written lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

A remarkable Velvet Underground collectible, with exceptional provenance.

[All images copyright Henri ter Hall.]