signed in ink on the reverse, 1950s

The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (Musidor, 1972), cover 

This photograph is on double-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface. It is in very good condition. When examined closely, a one-inch handling crease can be seen in the lower left quadrant of the image. This does not break the emulsion. The notations on the reverse, written in an unidentified hand in pencil, are 'Tattoo Parlor, 8th Ave., NY' and 'Lines of My Hand 90.' This print does not ppear to fluoresce when examined under ultraviolet light. The measurements given in the catalogue are incorrect. The correct measurements are 13 by 8 ½ inches.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This photograph was used as the cover illustration for the Rolling Stones' 1972 double album, Exile on Main St..  Robert Frank, credited with the album's 'cover photography and concept,' created a visually adventurous collaged design of his photographs that filled every printable surface of the release: from the front and back covers, to the interior gatefold and pictorial inner sleeves.  Some of these images are famous ones from The Americans, while others are film stills of the Rolling Stones taken from Frank's documentary on the band, Cocksucker Blues, completed in the same year as the album.
 
This photograph, showing a display of images of sideshow performers, was selected by Frank for the front cover of the album, and was taken in the 1950s at the time he was making the photographs that would be collected in The Americans.  The exact date of the negative is not known: several possible dates are listed for the image in the Robert Frank Archive: 1951, 1953, and 1958.   While annotations in an unidentified hand on the reverse of the print offered here indicate that the image was made at a tattoo parlor on 8th Avenue, it is equally possible that it was made instead at Hubert's Museum, the renowned bastion of sideshow entertainment on 42nd Street near Times Square.  The photograph shows such well-known Hubert's acts as Heckler'꧅s Flea Circus; Joe Allen, The Human Corkscrew; and the Girl That Cheats the Electric Chair. 

Hubert's was a favorite haunt of photographer Diane Arbus, who made a series of images of the performers there in the late 1950s.  One of these photographs by Arbus appears the Frank image offered here: Hezekiah Trembles, 'The Jungle Creep,' visible in the center of the third row of pictures.  Arbus's photograph of Trembles was the lead picture for her six-photograph essay, published in Esquire in July 1960, entitled 'The Vertical Journey: Six Movements of a Moment Within the Heart of the City.'