How many of this weekend’s Oscars pictures will go down in history do you think? Such is the enduring allure of Hollywood imagery, there’s little doubt that pictures of Lupita Nyong’o and Cate Blanchett will pass our kids’ and even our grandkids’ kids’ lines of vision at some point.

Continuing to feed our generation’s fascination with stars of films passed is an indulgently photographic new book, I Used to be in Pictures: An Untold Story of Hollywood, compiling images taken by English-born brothers, Austin and Howard Mutti-Mewse, during the Golden Age of Hollywood. 

 

Alongside more recognisable portraits of actors including Bette Davis and James Stewart, there are brilliantly candid shots such as one of Marlene Dietrich looking especially evil-eyebrowed in the Paramount canteen, or Joan Fontaine looking impossibly glamorous in her own home, to pore over. There’s even a brilliant old picture of a hair-test at MGM studios – the backstage beauty of the time. 

Click through the gallery to see some of our favourites from the book and look out for a first look of future photo-icons at this weekend’s Oscars.