Rare Book Collection
Rare Book Collection
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ART OF THE SIXTIES, “Die Kunst der sechziger Jahre im Wallraf – Richarts Museum Köln” 1969
ART OF THE SIXTIES
“Die Kunst der sechziger Jahre im Wallraf – Richarts Museum Köln” 1969
Published by Gert von der Osten und Horst Keller.
Designed by Wolf Vostell.
First edition.Dimensions:
Book: H: 12” x W: 10”
Custom leather box: H: 14” x W: 11 1/2” x D: 3 1/2”
Custom linen slipcase: H: 15” x W: 12 1/8” x D: 4”This famous and striking exhibition catalogue is a work of art. Wolf Vostell designed the catalogue for the Ludwig collection of contemporary art, given as a permanent loan to the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. The work of 92 artists is represented, including objects by Dine, Dubuffet, Hockney, Jasper Johns, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Vostell, Warhol, and Wols.
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W.C. Handy, “Blues – An Anthology” 1926
W.C. HANDY ed. (1973-1958) USA
“Blues – An Anthology” 1926
180pp. bound in blue cloth with original dust jacket. Very scarce work, considered the most famous blues collection in history, it includes historical notes, tunes and arrangements, notes for each song, a bibliography, and a chart of guitar chords.
With an introduction and notes by Abbe Niles
Illustrations by Miguel Covarrubias
Published by Albert & Charles Boni, New YorkDimensions:
Book: H: 11 ¾” x W: 9 1/8” x D: 1”
Custom leather box 2008: H: 13 13/16” x W: 10 3/8” x D: 2 7/16”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 15” x W: 11 1/8” x D: 3 3/8”William Christopher Handy was a composer, musician and a music publisher. He was sometimes called the “Father of the Blues” and was credited with helping popularize blues music. Handy was a seminal figure in the development of American songwriting. His compositions assimilated folk tunes, blues, spirituals, minstrel songs, and elements of European music and forged a new sound in American popular commercial music. Born in Florence, Alabama, Handy began arranging music when in grade school. By the turn of the century, he had toured or was touring with a number of minstrel acts and bands. He became a leading bandleader in Memphis, Tennessee, and eventually wrote such classics as “The Memphis Blues” (1912), “The St. Louis Blues” (1914), and “Beale Street Blues” (1916). In addition to his songwriting, Handy also founded an important and influential music publishing concern, the Pace and Handy Music Company, in 1913. Finally, Handy’s books and writings, such as his autobiography, Father of the Blues (1941), and Blues: An Anthology (1926), comprise an important contribution to American culture. In 1979, New York City joined the list of institutions and municipalities to honor Handy by naming a stretch of West 52nd Street in Manhattan “W.C. Handy Place.”
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Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, “Les Mots en Liberte Futuristes” 1919
FILIPPO TOMMASO MARINETTI (1876-1944) Italy
“Les Mots en Liberte Futuristes” 1919
Bound volume with folding plates
Edizioni Futuriste di “Poesia”
Published by Corso Venezia, 61, MilanDimensions:
Book: H: 8 15/8” x W: 5 1/16”
Custom leather box: H: 8 15/16” x W: 6 1/16” x D: 1 3/16”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 10” x W: 16 5/8” x D: 1 7/8”With this fundamental book whose subject was the so-called “words-in-freedom,” F.T. Marinetti summarized about 15 years of research in the field of the renewal of poetic and literary language. This book features several typographic compositions spread in fold-out pages where the author shows his great creativity in typographic composition by using typefaces of very different style and size, as well as hand-designed typefaces and calligraphic writings. The results are of striking, impressive, visual effects that have since influenced many writers and poets.
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Andy Warhol, “Andy Warhol: Published on the Occasion of The Andy Warhol Exhibition at Moderna Museet in Stockholm February to March 1968” 1970
ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987) New York, NY
“Andy Warhol: Published on the Occasion of The Andy Warhol Exhibition at Moderna Museet in Stockholm February to March 1968” 1970
Published by Moderna Museet Stockholm, Boston Book and Art, Boston, MA, 1970. Printed in Sweden.
Dimensions:
Book: H: 10 3/4” x W: 8 5/16”
Custom leather box: H: 12 1/8” x W: 9 7/16” x D: 2”
Custom cloth case: H: 13” x W: 10” x D: 2 11/16”One of the rarest of Warhol exhibition catalogs. This is the 3rd edition of the catalog that was published for a major exhibition of the late artists work that was held in Stockholm. There is no text except for some of Warhol’s famous quotes and 100’s of black & white photos of his work and wonderful photos of his superstars, life and work at the factory and stills and candids from his influential underground films. The covers are illustrated with full color photos of his famous flower silk screens.
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Katherine S. Dreier, “International Exhibition of Modern Art 1926”, Arranged by The Societe Anonyme for the Brooklyn Museum 1926
KATHERINE S. DREIER (1877-1952)
“International Exhibition of Modern Art 1926” 1926
Arranged by The Societe Anonyme for the Brooklyn Museum
Published by Societe Anonyme, New YorkDimensions:
Book: H: 10 1/16” x W: 7 ½”
Custom leather box: H: 11 ¼” x W: 8 ¼” x D: 1 9/16”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 12” x W: 8 5/8” x D: 2 1/8”Katherine Sophie Dreier was born on 10 September 1877 in Brooklyn, New York to Dorothea Adelheid and John Caspar Theodor Dreier, both immigrants from Bremen, Germany; she was the youngest of five children. Early on, Dreier manifested her dual interests in social issues and art. She was treasurer of the German Home for Recreation of Women and Children and helped to found the Little Italy Neighborhood Association in Brooklyn, New York. She studied art privately, then at the Brooklyn Art School and at Pratt Institute, and then with Walter Shirlaw (with whom Dreier’s sister, Dorothea, also studied). There was a strong identification in the Dreier home with German culture, and the family often traveled to Europe to visit relatives. Between 1907 and 1914, Dreier spent much of her time abroad, traveling, studying art, and exhibiting her work in one-artist shows. In New York, in 1916, through her work with the Society of Independent Artists, Dreier met Marcel Duchamp. He was to become a close friend and colleague, and an important figure in the history of the Societe Anonyme. In January 1920, Dreier, Duchamp, and Man Ray met in Dreier’s apartment in New York City to found the Societe Anonyme, a society to promote modern art among the American public. Dreier had wanted to call the society “The Modern Ark,” but Man Ray later claimed that he was the one to suggest the French phrase for “incorporated” instead. Dreier added the subtitle “Museum of Modern Art: 1920.” The Societe Anonyme sponsored many lectures, concerts, publications, and exhibitions concerning modern art, including the International Exhibition of Modern Art at the Brooklyn Museum in 1926. In spite of a major membership campaign in 1925, the Societe’s headquarters in New York City closed in 1928, and from this point on, the Societe Anonyme existed only through Dreier’s efforts. She continued to organize events that were sponsored by the Societe, and she accumulated artwork to add to the Societe Anonyme’s collection. In 1939, Dreier began developing a plan to open the Country Museum at her house in West Redding, Connecticut (the Haven), which would house the Societe Anonyme’s collection of artwork, as well as her private collection. After little success with other potential investors, Dreier approached Yale University about funding and maintaining the museum. Yale was hesitant, because of the high costs of renovating the Haven and maintaining it as a fire-proof museum, and instead offered as a compromise to take over the Societe Anonyme’s collection if it were moved to the Yale Art Gallery. Dreier agreed, and she began sending the collection to Yale in October 1941. In 1942, Dreier was still adamant about her desire to open the Country Museum and to use her private collection as its basis. She continued her attempts to convince Yale to fund her project, but when Yale gave a final negative answer in April, Dreier decided to sell the Haven. In April 1946, she moved to a new home, Laurel Manor, in Milford, Connecticut. She continued to add artwork to the Societe Anonyme collection at Yale, through purchases and through gifts from artists and friends. In 1947, she attempted to reopen membership to the Societe Anonyme and printed a brochure, but Yale blocked distribution of the brochure because of the ambiguous connection between Yale and the membership campaign. In 1948, Dreier and Duchamp decided to limit the activities of the Societe to working on a catalog of the collection and to acquiring artwork. On the thirtieth anniversary of the Societe Anonyme’s first exhibition, 30 April 1950, Dreier and Duchamp hosted a dinner at the New Haven Lawn Club, where they formally dissolved the Societe Anonyme. In June, a catalog of the Societe’s collection at Yale, Collection of the Societe Anonyme: Museum of Modern Art 1920, was published. Dreier died on 29 March 1952.
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Walasse Ting “One Cent Life”, 68 Original Pop-Art & Cobra Graphics 1964
WALASSE TING (1929-) China / USA
“ONE CENT LIFE” 1964
68 Original Pop-Art & Cobra Graphics
Limited edition of 2000 copies, Elephant Folio, 176 pages
Edited by Sam Francis (1923-1994)
Published by E.W. Kornfeld, Bern, SwitzerlandDimensions:
Book: H: 16 3/8” x W: 12”
Custom leather box: H: 18 1/16” x W: 13” x D: 2 7/16”
Custom silk slipcase” H: 19 1/8” x W: 13 7/8” x D: 3 3/16”Artists that contributed original graphic work illustrating Walasse Ting’s poetry for this volume include: Pierre Alechinsky (5), Karel Appel (5), Enrico Baj (2), Alan Davie (3), Jim Dine (2), Sam Francis (6), Robert Indiana (2), Alfred Jensen (3), Asger Jorn (2), Allan Kaprow, Alfred Leslie (2), Roy Lichtenstein (2 + cover), Joan Mitchell, Claes Oldenburg (3), Mel Ramos (2), Robert Rauschenberg (2), James Rosenquist, Bram Van Velde, Andy Warhol, and Tom Wesselman (2).
Walasse Ting, born in Shanghai, is a self-taught painter, sculptor, graphic artist and poet. Leaving China in 1949 to travel, he reached Paris in 1953 and became acquainted with artists Karel Appel, Asger Jorn and Pierre Alechinsky, members of the avant-garde group known as COBRA. Since 1963, he has lived in New York.
“Ting wanted to publish the most international illustrated book, intended to illustrate his text, uniting tachisme, neo-dadaisme, pop art, and all other artistic movements. The idea was born from global experience, close contact with culture, pseudo-culture, primitive existential worries, urban erotic and eastern wisdom.. It was a Herculean task, for which only a Chinese would have been able to muster the perseverance” – E. W. Kornfeld.
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Omar Khayyam “Rubáiyát”, First edition 1884
OMAR KHAYYÁM (1048 – 1123) Persia
“Rubáiyát” 1884
128pp. First edition bound in brown flat-weave cloth over beveled boards; front cover with gilt lettering, dark brown-stamped ruled borders, symbolist design of vase, vine, swirl and stars, rear cover without decoration; spine with gilt lettering and dark brown-stamped ruled borders and ornaments; signed in gilt & dark brown-stamp on front cover. Collection of poems originally written in the Persian language, “Rubáiyát” (derived from the Arabic root word for 4) means “quatrains”: verses of four lines.
Translated by Edward Fitzgerald54 drawings by Elihu Vedder reproduced by Albertype process on facing pages (printed one side only)
Published by Houghton Mifflin and Company, BostonDimensions:
Book: H: 16” x W: 13 ¼” x D: 1 ¾”
Custom leather box 2008: H: 17 15/16” x W: 14 3/4” x D: 2 7/8”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 19 1/8” x W: 15 ½” x D: 4”From the moment of its publication, Elihu Vedder’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám achieved unparalleled success. The first edition appeared in Boston on 8 November 1884; six days later, it was sold out. Critics rushed to acclaim it as a masterwork of American art, and Vedder (1836-1923) as the master American artist who set the standard for the artist-designed book in America and England.
Written ca. 1120 by Persian poet-philosopher Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), the Rubaiyat is a collection of quatrains, or poems of four lines, intended to prove the futility of mathematics, science, and religion in determining the meaning of life. First translated from Persian to English in 1859 by Edward Fitzgerald, editions of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat have since appeared in numerous forms and languages, thebest-loved, best-known, and most elaborate being the 1884 edition illustrated and designed by Elihu Vedder.
Vedder was one of the first artists of his generation to train in Paris where he developed his signature Academic style and focused on what would become his favored subject: the classically proportioned female nude. In the years 1883 and 1884, he created 54 compositions to accompany the 1884 edition of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat (published by Houghton, Mifflin) – drawings that serve as a harmonious frame for the text. Living in Rome at the time, Vedder also designed the book’s cloth-bound cover, lining papers and eccentric hand-drawn letters. With his Academic and yet “visionary” style, Vedder was the ideal artist to interpret the Rubaiyat; he reconciled the critics who called for accurate depiction of observed reality with those who argued for feeling and emotion over objective form.
Additionally, Vedder arranged the verses to express the three stages of existence explored in the Rubaiyat — happiness and youth; death and darkness; and rebirth — as well as to fit his own romantic interpretation of the verses. Vedder’s drawings for the book combine traditional Christian symbols, classical figures, and mystical imagery of his own invention to evoke the mood of Khayyam’s poems. A prevalent device is his “cosmic swirl,” which, according to Vedder, represented the “gradual concentration of elements that combined to form life; the sudden pause through the reverse of the movement which marks the instant of life; and then the gradual, ever-widening dispersion again of those elements into space.”
Vedder’s edition of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat was an instant success, selling out only six days after its debut in Boston on November 8, 1884. With the Rubaiyat, Vedder set the standard for artist-designed books in America and England. Critics rushed to acclaim it as a masterwork, and Vedder as a major American artist.
The Brandywine River Museum presents decorative drawings and paintings created by a master nineteenth-century American artist in Elihu Vedder and the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, on view from March 15 to May 18, 2008. The exhibition features more than 50 drawings with hand-lettered poems created by Vedder for his illustrated version of Khayyám’s literary work. Exclusively at the Brandywine River Museum, the exhibition also features major paintings by Vedder related to the illustrations for the i>Rubáiyát.
Elihu Vedder’s Rubáiyát was published in Boston in 1884 and its sensuous, decorative drawings so captivated the public that the first edition of the book sold out in six days. Critics rushed to acclaim it as a masterwork of American art, and Vedder as the master American artist. Vedder’s designs for the book-its cover, lining paper, drawings, and hand-drawn letters-are all done in chalk, pastel, pencil, and ink. The drawings set the standard for an artist-designed book in America and England in the 1880s. They are part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection and were last shown in 1996.
The Rubáiyát was written in 1120 by the Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet Omar Khayyám (1048-1131). “Rubáiyát” is the plural form of quatrain, or a verse unit of four lines. Since the first English translation was published in 1859, hundreds of editions have been produced. The poem expounds on the transience of existence and the uselessness of science and religion to untangle the knotted meanings of life. Pre-Raphaelite and aesthetic-movement writers immediately embraced the poem as a touchstone of the spiritual and poetic in a time of strident materialism.
As an ardent admirer of the verses, Vedder’s interest in the book went beyond the aesthetic to the personal. The tragic deaths of his sons (in 1872 and 1875) and births of two more children (a daughter in 1873 and a son in 1875) were remarkably explained, it seemed to Vedder, by the poet’s message regarding death, undiscoverable fate, and the renewal of life. He included images of himself and his family in several of the drawings.
The exhibition also features paintings by Vedder, including some that pre-dated the Rubáiyát and provided the basis for illustrations in it. Following the success of the Rubáiyát , Vedder continued to explore its themes and imagery in a number of paintings that he exhibited and sold. Among these are The Cup of Death (1885/1911), The Pleiades (1885), The Fates Gathering in the Stars (1887), and The Cup of Love (1887). The paintings are on loan from museums and private collections.
Elihu Vedder has often been described as an artist of haunting and poetic imagination, who created works of strength, beauty, and fantasy. Born in New York City in 1836, Vedder began painting seriously after visiting Europe in 1856 to study in Paris and Florence. He briefly returned to New York and opened a studio, which failed due to the onset of the Civil War. It was during his years in New York that he produced some of his most imaginative works. He was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1865. Vedder returned to Europe in 1866 and settled in Rome, only occasionally returning to the United States to execute commissions for decorative works, murals, and mosaics. He died in Rome in 1923.
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Andre Lanskoy, Maurice Beaufume, Pierre Lecuire, “Cortege” 1959
ANDRE LANSKOY (1902-1976) France
MAURICE BEAUFUME
PIERRE LECUIRE“Cortege” 1959
64pp, 25 illustrations by Andre Lanskoy and Maurice Beaufume
Cortège is now often compared to “Jazz” as perhaps the finest example of
pochoir in the postwar period. Printed on Arches Vellum paper.Dimensions:
Book: H: 18” x W: 13 3/8” x D: 1 7/8”
Custom leather box 2008: H: 20 ¼” x W: 15” x D: 4 ½”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 21 ½” x W: 15 5/8” x D: 5 3/8”The artworks of André Lanskoy (1902-1976) are more than abstractions—they are juxtapositions of shapes, assemblages of colors and studies that explore the interfacing of language with visual imagery. A pioneer of Tachism, an artistic movement of the 1940s and 1950s also known as Art Informel or Lyrical Abstraction, Lanskoy emphasized the spontaneous in his paintings, combining surges of pure color with more subtle modulations. His efforts to translate language into abstract visual messages are most evident in two of his bold projects: a rare screen-printed textile and his vivid collages for Pierre Lecuire’s book, Cortège.
Born in Moscow, Lanskoy spent his youth in Russia; in 1921, he moved to Paris and studied at the Académie de la Grande-Chaumière. His first non-figurative works were painted in 1937, with his first Parisian exhibition of abstractions in 1944. As a painter, Lanskoy gave primacy to color, and this holds true for his textile design, Egypte. In 1946, French industrialist Jean Bauret invited several Tachist artists—including Serge Poliakoff, André Beaudin and Henri Michaux—to experiment with designs for furnishing textiles. One of Lanskoy’s contributions to this series was an expressive interpretation of the complex pictorial characters of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The relationship between the Egyptian writing system and his own glyphs is mainly conceptual: the symbols Lanskoy invented have no inherent meaning, yet their careful placement suggests a text that is meant to be read. Contrasting with the neutral ground, the centered, vertical column is a grid of rectangular cells containing six repeating compilations of mysterious, hieroglyphic-inspired shapes. These cartouche-like compartments are bordered on each side by narrow strips of color blocks with voided linear abstractions. The intense purple and teal hues and vibrant reds and yellow are typical of Lanskoy’s exaltation of color.
Working within the theme of synthesizing language, color and form, Lanskoy tried his hand at an exciting tradition: the livre d’artiste. His first project was a collaboration with poet Pierre Lecuire; their masterpiece Cortège, arguably one of the finest artist-books ever produced, is a dazzling symbiosis of literary and visual material. Lecuire first met Lanskoy in 1948; ten years later, he would enlist his friend to illustrate the long prose poem. At Lecuire’s suggestion, Lanskoy created a series of twenty-four compositions for the book in the papiers collés method; his challenge was to interpret Lecuire’s writing into bold, graphic statements. The author’s opening lines set the tone for Lanskoy’s luminous color harmonies: “This book is a cortège. It has its colors, action and animation. It blazes, it proclaims one knows not which passion, which justice; it flows like the course of a navigation….” As he achieved with Egypte, the vibrant, saturated tints of the abstractions on these particular plates create a language of their own, while the lively arrangement of crisp and jagged forms shows an affinity with the rhythmic cadence of communication.
Remarkable for their dense bursts of color and unfamiliar shapes, the series of collages was masterfully executed in pochoir by colorist Maurice Beaufumé under Lanskoy’s personal direction. The bold, oversized text was printed by Marthe Fequet and Pierre Baudier, and Cortège was released in Paris, December 1959 -
Georges Hugnet, “Tout beau mon Coeur” 1952
GEORGES HUGNET (1906-1974) France
“Tout beau mon Coeur” 1952
Four full-page color lithographs.
Limited edition of 50/50.
Signed: Georges Hugnet
Published by Pierre Seghers, Paris 1952.
Dimensions:
Book: H: 7 3/8” x W: 4 3/8”
Custom leather box: H: 10 1/16” x W: 6 1/8” x D: 1 ¼”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 10 7/8” x W: 6 1/2” D: 2 ½”
Well-known as a writer, critic, collage artist, friend to the Dada and Surrealist movements and bookbinder, Hugnet wrote and illustrated many books, though rarely in the lithographic medium. This is a reissue of his poems first published in 1946, illustrated with his own lithographs.
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Brassai / Paul Morand “Paris de Nuit” (Paris After Dark) 1933
Brassaï (1899-1984) Austria-Hungary [now Romania]
Paul Morand (1888-1976) France
“Paris de Nuit” (Paris After Dark) 1933
Published by Arts et métiers graphiques, Paris
Dimensions:
Book: H: 9 13/16” x W: 7 9/16”
Custom leather box: H: 10 5/8” x W: 8 5/8” x D: 1 3/8”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 11 21/32” x W: 9 5/8” x D: 2 7/16”
Brassaï is the pseudonym of Guyla Halász from Transylvania (Hungarian at the time of his birth, but currently part of Romania). Brassaï literally means: from Brasso (his native village). He decided to use this pseudonym in 1932, the year in which Paris de nuit was published. He had already been living in Paris for eight years, where he wrote articles for German magazines and met photographers such as Atget and André Kertész. Not until 1930 did he first begin to take photographs himself, immediately discovering his main subject: Paris.
He moved into an apartment on the corner of the Rue de la Glacière and the Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui in 1928, where Raymond Queneau also lived. He would go out at night with Queneau or other nocturnal people such as Léon-Paul Fargue, but Brassaï usually just walked through the abandoned streets and alleys of the city. He could only take 24 photographs per walk because the stack of glass photo plates would otherwise grow too heavy.
His nocturnal journeys yielded a wealth of photographs, which by now have gained the status of icons of modern photography. They were first published on 2 December 1932 by Arts et metiers graphiques, which was Charles Peignot’s publishing business. He was also the founder of the magazine Arts et metiers graphiques (1927-1939) in which articles on design, typography, illustration and advertising appeared. It was printed in an edition of 4000 copies: there were also printers associated with the editing staff, like Léon Pichon. Peignot was the president of type foundry Deberny et Peignot, and were in contact with the Union des Artistes Modernes (Cocteau, Gide, Sonia Delaunay, Maximilien Vox and others) and with poster designers such as Cassandre.
The first review of Paris de nuit was published in a Dutch newspaper, the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant of 29 December 1932. An English edition of the photo book appeared in 1933 from Batsford Gallery in London. The photographs were also exhibited. Many photo books were to follow, including a book in 1960 about the graffiti on Parisian walls, which he had documented in his photographs since 1930. Not without reason did Henry Miller call him ‘the eye of Paris’. Jean Paulhan actually asserted that Brassaï had more than two eyes.
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Paul Colin, “Le Tumulte Noir” portfolio 1929
PAUL COLIN (1892-1985) France
“Le Tumulte Noir” portfolio 1929
Color lithographs, limited edition of 500, in original wraps
Published by Éditions d’art, Succès: Paris, 1929Dimensions:
Book: H: 19 11/16” x W: 13 1/16”
Custom leather box: H: 21” x W: 14 3/8” x D: 1 5/16”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 21 ¼” x W: 14 1/16” x D: 1 11/16” -
Henri Matisse “Verve” Vol. IX No. 35 & 36, 1958
HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) France
“Verve” Vol. IX No. 35 & 36 1958
Revue artistique et littéraire paraissant quatre fois par an
Created and editioned at the Mourlot Studio, Paris.
Published by E. Tériade, Paris 1958.Dimensions:
Book: H 14 1/2” x W: 10 11/16”
Custom leather box: H: 15 13/16” x W: 11 5/8” x D: 2 1/16”
Custom linen case: H: 16 3/4” x 12 5/16” x D: 2 5/8” -
Jean Dubuffet, Pierre-Andre-Benoit, “Oreilles Gardees” 1962
JEAN DUBUFFET (1901-1985) France
PIERRE-ANDRE-BENOIT (1921-1993) France“Oreilles Gardees” 1962
No. 149 out of 300 numbered copies
Published by PAB, Paris. Original illustrated wrappers: illustrated book with eleven lithographs. In this Dubuffet and Pierre-André Benoit collaboration numerous drawings by Dubuffet are interspersed with an imaginatively designed text reproduced from hand-stamped letters.
Dimensions:
Book: H: 9 7/8” x W: 10 ¼” x D: 3/8”
Custom leather box 2008: H: 14 ¾” x W: 14 ¼” x D: 2”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 15 3/8” x W: 15 3/8” x D: 2 7/8” -
Madonna, “Sex” 1992
MADONNA (1958-)
“Sex” 1992
Spiral-bound aluminum hardcover, CD included
Photography by Steven Meisel Studio & Fabien Baron
Edited by Glenn O’Brien
Published by Warner Books, Div. of Time Warner, 1992Dimensions:
Book: H: 13 7/8” x W: 11”
Custom leather box: H: 15 ¾” x W: 12 5/8” x D: 2 ¼”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 16 1/6” x W: 13 3/16” x D: 2 5/8” -
Henri Matisse, “Pasiphae” 1944
HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) France
“Pasiphae” 1944
Limited edition No. 48/250.
Published by Martin Fabiani, Paris.Dimensions:
Book: H: 13 3/16” x W: 10 3/8”
Custom leather box: H: 15 1/4” x W: 11 11/16” x D: 2 5/8”
Custom cloth slipcase: H: 16 1/8” x W: 12 3/16” x D: 3”Signed by Matisse on the justification page.
Matisse’s Pasiphae is a singularly thrilling work and the plates were destroyed after the printing of this edition.“A Contemporary retelling of the story of Parisphae and the Minoan bull was the impetus for one of Matisse’s most intensive printmaking experiences. Working with linoleum, a fairly easy material to use, Matisse cut many blocks of each image to achieve the perfect flow of line and relationship of forms. Intent on matching the spirit and ambience of the classical tale, Matisse took as his model ancient Greek playground vase painting”.
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Brassai, “Transmutations 1934-35” 1967
BRASSAÏ (1899-1984) Austria-Hungary
“Transmutations 1934-35” 1967
Published by Lacoste: Galerie Les Contards, France.
12 gelatin silver prints each flush-mounted to a presentation folder with printed sequential number and title, with colophon contained in a linen covered, velvet lined clamshell folio with gilt lettering on the spine.Signed and numbered 32 in ink on the colophon. This work is from an edition of 100. The titles include: I. Femme-fruit; II. Sevillane denudee; III. Odalisque; IV. Femme-mandoline; V. Femme-amphore; VI. Fille de Joie se Deshabillant; VII. Visage mineral; VIII. Tentation de Saint Antoine; IX. Jeune fille revant; X. Offrande; XI. Femme aux voiles; XII. Fete foraine.
Dimensions:
Book: H: 15 ½” x W: 12” x D: 1 ½”
Custom leather box: H: 17 ¾” x W: 13 ½” x D: 4 ½”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 18 ¾” x W: 14 ¼” x D: 6”
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Albert Helms / Carl Otto Czeschka “Chaos Roman von Albert Helms” 1909
ALBERT HELMS
CARL OTTO CZESCHKA (1878-1960) Vienna, Austria
“Chaos Roman von Albert Helms” 1909
Illustrated by Carl Otto Czeschka
Published by Art et Metiers Graphiques, Hamburg
Dimensions:
Book: H: 8 1/16” x W: 6”
Custom leather box: H: 19 9/16” x W: 7 1/8” x D: 1 1/8”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 10 7/16” x W: 7 5/8” x D: 2 ¼”
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E. A. Seguy, “Papillons” portfolio c. 1925
E. A. SEGUY (1890-1985) France
“Papillons” portfolio c. 1925
Twenty pochoir over photogravure plates (hand painted collotypes) in paper portfolio with cotton ties
Pochoir is process by which rich color is applied layer by layer by hand with the aid of stencils, resulting in intense hues similar to those in stained glass windows.
Published by Editions Duchartre et Van Buggenhoudt, Paris, FranceDimensions:
Book: H: 18” x W: 13 1/8” x D: 1 ½”
Custom leather box: H: 20” x W: 14 5/8” x D: 1 ¾”Brilliantly and boldly colored butterflies from around the world are shown in interesting arrangements in pochoir prints from a set of 20 by the French designer and author E.A. Seguy. Plates 1 to 16 show large specimens in colorful arrangements, often overlapping, emphasizing colors, and patterns and shapes of wings and wing veins. Plates 17 through 20 are composite uses of butterfly patterns, in geometric boxes, like fabric or wallpaper designs.
In his foreword to Papillons, Seguy describes the prints as “un monde somptueux de formes et de couleurs” — a world of sumptuous forms and colors. He explains that they are intended to provide a record of rare, exotic specimens from museums and private collections, within an aesthetic context, thereby making them more widely accessible as inspiration for decorative arts designers. Nonetheless, Seguy based his images of butterflies and insects on illustrations in scientific publications, thereby maintaining scientific accuracy. They were enlarged up to 10 to 15 times to reveal intricacies of their design not visible without magnification. Also included with the set was a Table Des Noms Scientifiques [Table of Scientific Names], providing the technical species and genus names as well as the countries or regions of habitat for the species shown in Plates 1 through 16.
Eugene Alain Seguy produced eleven albums of illustrations and designs from the turn of the century to the 1930s, and his style reflected the influences of both Art Nouveau and Art Deco. His various color portfolios of visual ideas for artists and designers often featured motifs based on the natural world, including flowers, foliage, crystals and animals. Although his compositions were design oriented, he made the depictions scientifically accurate. His later works showed an increased interest in geometric and cubist designs. The prints in the portfolios were produced using the pochoir technique characterized by rich, intense color. This printing process, utilized in the early 20th century for high quality prints, involved applying colors to each plate with a number of stencils. Seguy’s works include Les Fleurs et Leurs Applications Decoratives (1900), Samarkande – 20 Compositions en Couleurs dans le Style Oriental (1914), Floreal (1920), Papillons (1924), Insectes (1924), Primavera –Dessins et Coloris Nouveaux (1929), Suggestions (1930), and Prismes – 40 Planches de Dessins et Coloris Nouveaux (1931).
Collections of prints like those produced by Seguy provided source material for designers of fabrics, wallpaper, ceramics, book illustrations, posters, and advertisements, and were popular in the late 19th and early 20th century. The leading Victorian publication of this type was Owen Jones’s Grammar of Ornament, first issued in a folio edition in London in 1856. Other trendsetting styles in art, design, decoration and fashion in the second half of the 19th century, and early 20th century, came from Paris, Austria, and Germany, and many such print collections were published there, including designs by Emile Belet, Armand Guérinet, Ernst Haeckel, Arsène Herbinier, and Anton Seder. To search our site for more Art Nouveau designs by such artists please type “Art Nouveau” into our search engine.
Editions Duchartre et Van Buggenhoudt was a publisher located at 15 Rue Ernest-Cresson, Paris. The series also was published by Tolmer Editeur, 13 Quai d’Danjou, Paris.
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AD, “An Intimate Journal for Art Directors and Production Managers” 1941
AD
“An Intimate Journal for Art Directors and Production Managers” 1941
Published by SteinweissDimensions:
Book: H: 8 1/8” x W: 5 ¾”
Custom leather box: H: 9 1/16” x W: 6 9/16” x D: 1 7/16”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 12 9/16” x W: 9 3/16” x D: 2 ¾”An Intimate Journal For Art Directors, production Managers, and their Associates
The Alex Steinweiss Issue
[Alex Steinweiss] Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]: A-D [AN INTIMATE JOURNAL FOR ART DIRECTORS, PRODUCTION MANAGERS, AND THEIR ASSOCIATES]. New York: The Composing Room/P.M. Publishing Co., June-July 1941 [Volume 7, No. 5]. Original edition. Spiral-bound paper-covered boards printed in 4-color letterpress. Screen-printed acetate frontis. Cover faintly creased. Interior contents unmarked and very clean. Letterpress cover designed by Alex Steinweiss. One of the hardest issues of PM/AD to find in collectible condition. A nearly fine copy.
This Steinweiss cover is widely recognized as a singular high point in American Graphic Design that has been reproduced in countless histories and anthologies.
5.5 x 8 digest with 68 [16] pages including numerous color and b/w reproductions. The artwork is reproduced in four-color letterpress, and magnificent b/w photo engraving. There is even a screen-printed acetate title page! Truly an increbible single issue of a trend-setting publication.
Contents for this issue:
• 16 page color profile of Alex Steinweiss, Art Director for Columbia Records (many examples of cutting edge streamline moderne graphics).
• Herbert Bayer's Design Class: 13 b/w pages of student photomontages by William Taber, Gene Federico, E. G. Lukacs, Eleanor Mayer, Ernest Cabat, Jere Donovan, Fritz Brosius, Sol Benenson, David Weisman, Robert Pliskin, R. H. Blend, Eugene Zion, Edmund Marein.
• What is Taught and Why – A Footnote to the Recent Bayer Classwork Exhibit at the A-D Gallery.
• Designs in Glass by contemporary Artists from the Steuben Collection: 16 b/w pages including full-page reproductions of the art-glass work of Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali, Raoul Dufy, Duncan Grant, Jean hugo, Peter Hurd, Fernand Leger, Aristide Maillol, Henri Matisse, Georgia oπKeefe and others.
• Peter Takal: 8 pages of b/w illustrations
• A-D Shorts mention Irving Pasternack , Herbert Roan, Bill Crawford, Leon Friend, Robert L. Leslie.
• Books Reviewed: Animal Drawing by John Skeaping; The Suicide Club by Robert Louis Stevenson
Nineteenth Annual of Advertising Art – 1940
• Trade advertising for Arrow Engraving Co., The Composing Room, Inc., Wilbar Photo Engraving Co. , Ludlow Typograph Co., Supreme Printing Service, Strathmore Paper Co., Reliance Reproduction Co., Flower Electrotypes, Pioneer Moss, Walker Rackliff, Fuchs and Lang Mfg. Co., Spiral, United Looseleaf Corp., Lumarith Protectoid.
In 1939, at the age of 23, Alex Steinweiss revolutionized the way records were packaged and marketed. As the first art director for the recently formed Columbia Records, Steinweiss saw a creative opportunity in the company's packaging for its 78 rpm shellac records. The plain cardboard covers traditionally displayed only the title of the work and the artist. “They were so drab, so unattractive,” says Steinweiss, “I convinced the executives to let me design a few.” For what he saw as 12-inch by 12-inch canvasses inspired by French and German poster styles, he envisioned original works of art to project the beauty of the music inside. In 1947, for the first LP, Steinweiss invented a paperboard jacket, which has become the standard for the industry for nearly 50 years.
Alex Steinweiss was born in 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. His father loved music and instilled the passion in him. In 1930, Steinweiss entered Abraham Lincoln High School. His first artistic endeavors resulted in beautifully articulated marionettes. These brought him to the attention of the art department chair, Leon Friend, co-author of Graphic Design (1936), the first comprehensive American book on the subject.
Steinweiss's first day in Friend's class was a magical experience. “To see these young men painting letters with flat-tipped brushes was one of the great inspirations of my life,” he says, “I had to get involved with that!” He learned the principles of design and how to apply them through daily contact with the endless array of beautiful examples of poster design, typography, drawing, and calligraphy. Friend exposed Steinweiss to the works of the great graphic designers of the time, including Lucian Bernhard, A.M. Cassandre, and Joseph Binder.
Upon graduation from high school, the School Art League awarded Steinweiss a one-year scholarship to Parsons School of Design in New York. He almost left after the first year, convinced, in spite of the depression, that he would be able to get a job. Before quitting school, however, he wrote to illustrator Boris Artzybasheff, who, instead of offering employment, advised Steinweiss to finish school.
Steinweiss followed his advice. Afterward he presented himself, unannounced, to the New York studio of Lucian Bernhard, the German master of poster and type design. Bernhard's son, Carl, answered the door with a rankled, “Don't you know you're supposed to call for an appointment?” But Steinweiss confidently handed him his portfolio and requested that the master peruse it. Carl glanced at the work, was impressed, and brought it to his father. A half an hour later, Bernhard came out of his office and informed Steinweiss that he had already phoned Joseph Binder, the Viennese poster maker who was looking for an assistant. Steinweiss worked for Binder for almost three years until he quit to form his own studio. Six months later he got a call from Robert L. Leslie, who recommended him as an art director to Columbia Records.
At Columbia, Steinweiss evolved a unique cover art style mingling musical and cultural symbols. His first cover, for a collection of Rodgers and Hart music, featured a theater marquee with the album's title appearing in lights. He designed images for jazz recordings by Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, and numerous classical, folk and pop recordings. Newsweek reported that sales of Brt/no Walter's recording of Beethoven's “Eroica” symphony “increased 895%” with its new Steinweiss cover.” His signature, the “Steinweiss scrawl,” became ubiquitous on album covers in the 1940s.
A-D magazine was the leading voice of the U. S. Graphic Arts Industry from its inception in 1934 (originally titled PM) to its end in 1942. As a publication produced by and for professionals, it spotlighted cutting-edge production technology, such as acetate inserts, 4-color letterpress printing, custom binding and the highest possible quality reproduction techniques (from engraving to plates). PM and A-D also championed the Modern movement by showcasing work from the vanguard of the European Avant-Garde well before this type of work was known to a wide audience. -
Keizo Kitajima, “New York” 1982
KEIZO KITAJIMA (1954-) Tokyo, Japan
“New York” 1982
Inscribed by the photographer in Japanese.
Published by Byakuya, Tokyo.
Dimensions:
Book: H: 12” x W: 8 5/8”
Custom leather box: H: 13 5/8” x W: 9 3/4” x D: 1 7/8”
Custom cloth case: H: 14 11/16” x W: 10 7/16” x D: 2 9/16”
These days, the Japanese photographer Keizo Kitajima, born in 1954, lives in Tokyo and specializes in urban photography. But in 1981, he spent about six months in New York, hanging out in New Wave clubs or roaming the streets, taking pictures — often by simply pointing and shooting. More than three dozen of these gritty black-and-white images form his robust New York gallery debut. The lush blacks of Mr. Kitajima’s images, which were initially published in a book and only recently printed, bring to mind his friend and mentor Daido Moriyama. But Mr. Kitajima’s aesthetic, at least here, is all about round edges and people who are anything but average. Some are hard-working immigrants whose faces loomed close to Mr. Kitajima’s lens as they hurried along the street. Others are celebrities (Mick Jagger) or soon-to-be celebrities (the young Madonna, when her face still had pores), drag queens or denizens of the Mudd Club or CBGB’s. Some are simply people waiting for something to happen, like the rogues’ gallery of five men behind a police barrier on Fifth Avenue.
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Laure Albin-Guillot, “Micrographie Decorative” 1931
LAURE ALBIN-GUILLOT (1879-1962) France
Micrographie Decorative 1931
Preface by M. Paul Leon, 20 photogravure plates in a variety of inks and papers, including silver and gold foil, all tipped-in and matted, text in French, limited to 300 numbered copies, folio, spiral-bound bds.
Published by Draeger Freres, Paris.Micrographie Décorative was created as a tribute to Laure's husband after his death.
Dimensions:
Book: H: 16 ¾” x W: 15” x D: 1 3/8”
Custom leather box 2008: H: 19” x W: 16 5/8” x D: 2 5/8”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 20 1/8” x W: 17 ¼” x D: 4”Albin-Guillot, Laure (née Meffredi; 1879-1962), French photographer who became interested in photography soon after her marriage in 1897 to the physician/scientist Dr Albin Guillot. At first, her husband's circle of friends, which included architects, writers, and politicians, provided her with portrait subjects. During the 1920s and 1930s she was engaged by the design precepts of the New Vision, and produced more sharply focused close-ups of objects for clients like Bon Marché and Renault. At the same time, she continued to create soft-focus pictorialist nudes that appeared in artistic photography journals and as illustrations in volumes of poetry. Many of her images were exhibited during the 1920s and reproduced in Arts et métiers graphiques. At a time when many photographers were indifferent to the quality of prints intended for reproduction, Albin-Guillot sought to invest hers with artistry and individuality. Engrossed by her husband's lifelong research in micrography, in 1931, in collaboration with Pierre Fresson, she published in his memory a volume of 24 photomicrographs of crystals, exquisitely printed on various coloured and metallic papers. Later, she and Fresson also collaborated on similar works, which were used as decoration on the liner Normandie.
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Hans Christian Andersen, “Het Vlas” portfolio 1941
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (1805-1875) Denmark
“Het Vlas” portfolio 1941
Maquette with original gouache and ink and pencil annotations.
10 sheets of coated paper, matted, in cloth portfolio.
Limited edition 223/500.
Published by N.V. De Spieghel, Amsterdam, 1941Dimensions:
Book: H: 9 7/8” x W: 7”
Custom leather box: H: 11 3/32” x W: 7 7/8”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 11 13/16” x W: 8 3/16” x D: 1 ½” -
Robert Indiana / Robert Creeley, “Numbers” 1968
ROBERT INDIANA (1928-) USA
ROBERT CREELEY (1926-2005) USA
“Numbers” 1968
Folio, illustrated with 10 original silkscreen prints, stiff boards, printed dust jacket
Published by Domberger Stuttgart-Schmela DüsseldorfDimensions:
Book: 9 15/16” x W: 8 3/8”
Custom leather box: H: 11 3/8” x W: 9 1/16” x D: 1 3/8”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 12 3/8” x W: 9 ¾” x D: 2 1/16” -
Koloman Moser, “Die Quelle III, Flächenschmuck” portfolio 1900
KOLOMAN MOSER (1868-1918) Austria
“Die Quelle III, Flächenschmuck” portfolio 1900
Published by V. Martin Gerlach & Co., Wien
Dimensions:
Book: H: 10” x W: 12”
Custom leather box: H: 11 5/16” x W: 12 5/8” x D: 2 1/8”
Custom silk slipcase: H: 12 ¼” x W: 13 3/16” x D: 2 9/16” -
Henri Matisse, “Verve” Vol. II No. 8, 1939
HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) France
“Verve” Vol. II No. 8 1939
Revue artistique et littéraire paraissant quatre fois par an
Published by E. Tériade, 4, Rue Férou (VI) ParisDimensions:
Book: H: 14 1/4” x W: 10 3/16”
Custom leather box: H: 15 5/16” x W: 11 1/2” x D: 1 5/8”
Custom linen case: H: 16 1/2” x W: 12 1/4” x D: 2 3/8”