Mark Borthwick's minimal but colour saturated aesthetic broke through the conventions of fashion photography and he went on to become one of the 90’s most influential and defining photographers, shooting for then fledgling magazines such as Purple, Self Service and AnOther as well as collaborating on campaigns including Comme Des Garçons, Martin Margiela and Yohji Yamamoto.

Borthwick reproduced photocopy versions around 2002 for friends who had missed or could not afford the by then rare first editions of his books. He did them in a small print run, though the total number is unknown. It appears to be made by laying the book directly on a photocopier; the image is of the book itself rather than an accurately flat reproduction of the original image. Rendered in grayscale tones, the work is much more unified, and typifies Borthwick's obscure and quotidien style. These self-published 'xerox' versions have probably taken an even more cult status than the original books.