A previously unknown collection of photographic prints by celebrated Second World War photographers Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton has been acquired by the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries. The collection, housed in a scrapbook compiled by their darkroom technician Roland Haupt, is being hailed as a significant historical record and an "empirical time capsule" of the 20th century.

The scrapbook contains scores of images created by Miller and Beaton between 1943 and 1949, spanning the latter years of World War II and its aftermath. Many of these prints have never been seen publicly, offering new perspectives on the conflict and its key figures. Among the notable discoveries is an additional print of one of the 20th century's most iconic images: Miller in Adolf Hitler’s bathtub in Munich. Miller’s son, Antony Penrose, described the photograph, taken by her friend David E. Scherman, as his mother’s defiant act against Hitler, having entered the dictator’s apartment directly after visiting Dachau concentration camp.

Miller, a pioneering female war correspondent whose work appeared in British and American Vogue, and Beaton, an official British government war photographer renowned for his royal portraits and Oscar-winning costume designs, entrusted their photographic films to Haupt. Haupt, who Miller personally trained, processed and printed their films in London after they were sent from Europe and Africa, before forwarding them to various publications. He then meticulously assembled his own scrapbook of these prints.

Following Haupt’s death in the early 1960s, the unique album remained with his descendants, unexhibited for decades. Photography dealer Michael Hoppen, who facilitated the acquisition by the Bodleian Libraries, highlighted the profound trust Miller placed in Haupt, underscoring the importance of their working relationship. Hoppen described the scrapbook as a "personal album" containing images of concentration camps and executions he had not previously encountered, along with portraits of iconic figures such as Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire, Noël Coward, and Henry Moore.

Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian and director of the university libraries at Oxford, stated that the acquisition represents a crucial step in preserving this distinctive album for scholarly research. He added that it will significantly enrich understanding of photography’s vital role in documenting the Second World War.