An original black-and-white press and publicity photograph showing Steve McQueen as Junior “JR” Bonner in Sam Peckinpah’s 1972 contemporary Western Junior Bonner.
McQueen is pictured in an especially strong close portrait, leaning across the heavy timber rails of a rodeo enclosure while wearing a pale cowboy hat and striped shirt. His weathered face, direct gaze and relaxed hand position capture the quiet, reflective quality of his performance as an ageing rodeo rider returning to his Arizona hometown.
The photograph is taken from the original publicity campaign for Junior Bonner, in which McQueen starred alongside Robert Preston and Ida Lupino. Unlike the violent action films most closely associated with director Sam Peckinpah, Junior Bonner is a restrained character drama concerned with family, changing values and the decline of the traditional American West.
The original typed caption attached to the reverse reads:
“‘JUNIOR BONNER’ stars Steve McQueen, Robert Preston and Ida Lupino. A Joe Wizan–Booth Gardner production for ABC Pictures Corporation. Directed by Sam Peckinpah. Screenplay by Jeb Rosebrook. Distributed by Cinerama Releasing (U.K.) Ltd.”
The reverse also bears a Shields Gazette Library stamp, newsroom crop and layout markings, manuscript measurements and an archive date of 2 October 1972, placing the photograph within the film’s original release period.
McQueen plays Junior Bonner, a professional rodeo rider whose career is beginning to decline. Returning to Prescott, Arizona, for the annual Frontier Days rodeo, he finds his family divided and his hometown changing around him. Robert Preston appears as his charismatic but unreliable father, Ace Bonner, while Ida Lupino plays his mother, Elvira.
The film provided McQueen with one of his most understated roles. Rather than relying upon action spectacle, he gives a controlled performance shaped by physical weariness, family loyalty and a growing awareness that the world represented by the rodeo is disappearing. The present photograph encapsulates that mood particularly well.
This is a genuine original 1972 press photograph and not a modern reproduction.
Very good condition for an original working press photograph of this age. There is light overall toning, minor surface marking and normal handling wear associated with newspaper-library use. The sheet has gentle curvature, slight edge and corner wear and several small pressure marks and light creases.
The image remains clear and strongly contrasted, retaining excellent detail throughout McQueen’s face, hands, striped shirt, cowboy hat and the textured timber rails. A few minor surface imperfections and small marks are visible, principally within the pale background and darker timber areas, but these do not materially detract from the composition.
The reverse displays age-related toning, handling wear and extensive contemporary newsroom crop and layout markings. The original typed publicity caption remains attached and substantially complete and legible. The Shields Gazette Library stamp and archive date of 2 October 1972 remain visible.
Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the description.
Film: Junior Bonner
Subject: Steve McQueen
Role: Junior “JR” Bonner
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Screenplay: Jeb Rosebrook
Co-stars: Robert Preston and Ida Lupino
Producer: Joe Wizan
Film date: 1972
Archive date: 2 October 1972
Production company: ABC Pictures Corporation
UK distributor: Cinerama Releasing (U.K.) Ltd
Photographer: Uncredited
Provenance: Photographic archive of the Shields Gazette
Size: 25.2 × 20.4 cm
Format: Original black-and-white film press photograph
Documentation: Original typed publicity caption verso
Combined Postage in the UK
We are happy to combine postage on multiple purchases whenever possible.
If you wish to purchase more than one item, please add the items to your basket and request a combined invoice before payment. Where practical, items will be packed together to reduce shipping costs and ensure safe transit.
For buyers who have already paid separately for multiple items, any significant postage overpayment will be refunded where appropriate after packing and dispatch costs have been calculated.
Please note that some larger, fragile or framed items may need to be shipped separately for safety reasons and may not be eligible for full combined postage discounts.
We take great care in packing books, ephemera, maps, prints, photographs and collectables to ensure they arrive safely and in the condition described.
We want you to be completely satisfied with your purchase.
If you change your mind, you may return the item within 30 days of delivery for a refund. Items must be returned in the same condition in which they were received, with all original packaging (which must be unopened where applicable on new items), labels and accompanying documentation where applicable.
For items returned because the buyer has changed their mind, the buyer is responsible for return postage costs.
If an item arrives damaged, is faulty, or differs materially from the description provided, please contact us promptly and we will work with you to resolve the matter. In such cases, return postage costs will be covered by us in accordance with eBay policy and UK consumer legislation.
Please note that many of the items we sell are vintage, antique, second-hand or collectible. Normal signs of age, wear and use are described and photographed wherever possible and do not constitute faults.
We recommend inspecting your purchase upon arrival and contacting us through eBay messages if you have any questions or concerns.
Hornseys – Established 1976
Specialists in Books, Ephemera, Maps, Prints and Collectables.