Buy David Hockney’s 1989 Bradford Phone Book
Printed in 1989, these genuine, David Hockney illustrated telephone directories make great gifts. Although there were at least 100,000 individual telephone numbers in Bradford in 1989, the city’s Phone Book, with a cover designed by one of Bradford’s most famous sons, still rates as a limited edition. These telephone directories were produced solely for the Bradford District in the year 1989. None were printed after the first edition and no more will ever be printed.
Are you interested in owning a small, affordable part of David Hockney’s work?
What you’ll get when you buy one of my Hockney Phone Books
You’ll receive one complete, original 1989 Bradford Phone Book in superb condition in its original, sealed polythene bag. Just like the one on the left. It’ll be posted in its original wrapping packed in a high quality padded envelope.
How I acquired these David Hockney phone books
One directory was produced for each individual telephone number in the Bradford and District British Telecom area.
I worked at Grattan’s mail order company in 1989, in the telecoms department, and we had hundreds of numbers. One Friday afternoon we got hundreds of phone books delivered. We only needed a few and when I asked about the rest I was told they’d be incinerated or pulped. I asked if I could have some and although my boss though I was crazy, it seemed like I was doing him a favour. I crammed as many as I could into my Vauxhall Nova and took them home.
I’ve sold a some over the years and given some as gifts. I have just under 200 left and I’ve decided sell them. After all, I have been carting them around for 32 years!
How did a David Hockney picture get onto a telephone directory?
The cover of the 1989 Bradford telephone directory was commissioned from David Hockney by British Telecom. It was at a time when Bradford was trying to re-establish its identity – at one time Bradford was known as the wool capital of the world ‘Worstedopolis’. We weren’t quite so prosperous or influential in 1989.
The contents of the 1989 Bradford Phone Book
This phonebook is exactly what it says it is – a 32 year old list of the names of people and businesses and their phone numbers. One small section, at the bottom left of page 204 (photo above), is completely connected to the cover.
It’s a list of 7 ‘Hockney’ entries. They’re all out of date now, they are David Hockney’s immediate family living in Bradford at the time. They include his late mother Laura, listed at his childhood home, 18 Hutton Terrace. David’s late brother Paul’s accountancy firm ‘Hockney & Yorke’ is listed at the bottom.
Interestingly, there’s no mention of the cover anywhere in the phonebook not even in he welcome message from ‘Brian Greenwood – Commercial Manager, Mid Yorkshire’.
By the way, each book even contains the original inserted leaflets for a various companies.
What’s the Hockney Bradford Phone Book picture about?
David Hockney’s landscape is a nostalgic yet hopeful view down the valley in which Bradford sits. The steep valley sides bear woollen mills and rows of terraced houses. Ilkley’s ‘Cow and Calf’ rocks can be seen on the left. They’re not actually visible from Bradford of course, just artistic licence in this case, quite like the little blue bus that trundles down the hill towards Bradford’s Town Hall.
The blue bus references the trolley buses David Hockney had seen in Bradford before the services were stopped in 1972, rather than the contemporary ones of 1989.
(Trolley bus photograph used under a Creative Commons Licence. Attr: P L Chadwick)
Prices for David Hockney paintings and prints
Of course, this isn’t an original work by David Hockney, or even a lithograph which would set you back tens of thousands of pounds. Even the most modest original painting is in the high hundreds of thousands.
Have your own framed David Hockney illustration
Why not have your Phone Book cover framed? This is an extremely affordable David Hockney print that will come to you complete and sealed. The 1989 Bradford Phone Book with cover by David Hockney was created for his home town and I think this makes these little pieces of art and social history rather special.