History under Fire. 52 Photographs of Air Raid Damage to London Buildings, 1940-41

London: Batsford, 1941.

First Edition. Red hardback with the Beaton designed dust-jacket, chipped at ends of the spine and slightly rubbed at edges. 52 photographs, all by Beaton, showing the damage caused during the bombardment of London in the winter of 1940-41. A VG+ copy without inscriptions etc. Beaton spent the first two years of the war in England, dividing his time between Ashcombe and Pelham Place, working on assignments. He took to exploring the streets of London during the Blitz, photographing the German bomb damage. Pope-Hennessy was similarly engaged surveying the the many historical buildings that had suffered bom damage. Published in May 1941, the final month of the Blitz, the book serves as a contemporary record of the carnage that befell London during the Blitz..