Iconic image of literary cocktail party up for auction

Photographs of some of the world's best-known writers are set to fetch thousands of pounds when they go up for auction. Mark Gerson, 89, has photographed the biggest names in 20th century literature in his 40-year career.

One of the images to be sold at Bonhams in London on November 23 was taken at a cocktail party held by publishers Faber & Faber in 1960 and shows Louis MacNiece, Ted Hughes, TS Eliot, guest of honour WH Auden and Stephen Spender.

Images of British writers Roald Dahl, Evelyn Waugh, William Golding and Salman Rushdie are also being auctioned. The photographs are priced between 400 and 1,500 each.