BALCARCEL Y FORMENTO, Domingo et al.
BALCARCEL Y FORMENTO, Domingo et al. Reales Exequias de la serenissima senora Da. Ysabel Farnecio, Princesa de Parma, y Reyna de las Espanas: celebradas en la Santa Iglesia Cathedral en la imperial Corte Mexicana, los Dias 27 y 28 de Febrero de 1767. Title and 38 leaves. 8vo., modern 3/4 morocco. Mexico: En la imprenta de D. Phelipe de Zuniga, y Ontiveros, 1767. A fine copy of this extremely rare and beautiful example of colonial printing. Printed on excellent quality paper and with an unusual esthetic sensibilty, with almost every page containing either illustrated or elaborate typographic tailpieces. The copy listed in OCLC is bound with Laudatio funebris Elisabethae Farnesiae , and El Caracter de la Augustissima Isabel Farnessio., OCLC lists only the National Gallery and Indiana in the US.
VIEW; MARCEL DUCHAMP
DUCHAMP, Marcel. View. Series V., No. 1. With texts by Andre Breton, Robert Desnos, and others. Profusely illustrated, including a foldout plate. Small folio, bound in stapled wraps, in a new navy cloth folding box. New York: March, 1945. The sought-after Duchamp number of Charles Henri Ford's celebrated magazine, with the original cover designed by Duchamp. The centerfold, "Les Larves D'Imagie D'Henri Robert Marcel Duchamp," is by Frederick J. Kiesler. The issue contains numerous important texts on Duchamp by, among others, Andre Breton, Gabrielle Buffet, Robert Desnos, Harriet and Sidney Janis. Just the slightest rubbing at the head of the spine, but overall a fine copy. Schwarz, The Complete Work of Marcel Duchamp No.508. Andel, Avant Garde Page Design 460-461.
MATISSE, Pierre; MALLARME, Stephane; HENRI MATISSE
MATISSE, Henri. Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé. [2], 153, [8] pp. Illustrated by Henri Matisse with 29 etchings printed in black. Small folio, 330 mm. x 250 mm., bound in original printed wrappers, and housed in the original calf-backed chemise and slipcase. Lausanne: Albert Skira & Cie., 1932. A superb copy of this masterpiece of twentieth century book illustration. The Matisse etchings for Mallarmé's Poésies are renowned for their delicate and simple design. "At the beginning of the decade, the etchings he made to illustrate an edition of Mallarmé's poems had an almost neoclassical quality to their elegant, filament-like lines -- a quality fully appropriate to the mythological themes of antiquity that they introduced into Matisse's art of this period" (Elderfield, Henri Matisse: A Retrospective, p. 357). This is considered "Skira's most beautiful book" (Castleman); it represents one of the snowy peaks of the twentieth-century livre d'artiste. This copy is one of 95 copies on velin paper, signed by Matisse, from a total edition of 145. A fine copy with some light wear to the delicate chemise and slipcase. Duthuit 5. The Artist and the Book 196. From Manet to Hockney 95. A Century of Artists Books 92. Elderfield, Henri Matisse: A Retrospective 295-300. Andel, Avant Garde Page Design 449.
RIDGWAY, Robert
RIDGWAY, Robert. A Nomenclature of Colors for Naturalists, and Compendium of Useful Knowledge for Ornithologists. 129, [1] pp. Illustrated with 17 plates, 10 of which are hand-coloured. 8vo., bound in publisher's green cloth. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1886. A fine copy of Ridyway's extremely scarce first book on colour. Ridgway was the first full-time curator of birds at the United States National Museum where he developed his system, which was one of the first and most important colour systems for bird identification. He later expanded it in his classic Color Standards and Nomenclature. Both books are rare, but the early version is extremely so. His works have endured, and everyone from stamp collectors to naturalists to chemists refers to 'Ridgway colors' to identify specific shades. A clipped inscription from Ridgway to Dr. Coues, presumably the ornithologis Elliott Coues, is affixed to the first blank.
SEKKA, Kamisaka
SEKKA, Kamisaka. Cho senshu. 2 Volumes, each with 25 double-page plates of coloured woodcuts depicting butterflies by Sekka. 8vo, 248 x 178 mm. folded, bound accordion-style (orihon) in green silk over boards, in a new green cloth box. Kyoto: Yamada Unsodo, 1903. A fine copy of the first printing of this landmark of twentieth century Japanese design. "Kamisaka Sekka was a genius; effortlessly, prodigiously, boundlessly imaginative; tirelessly inventive, spontaneous, and free. In One Thousand Butterflies (Cho senrui, 1903 [the book is commonly misdated; it was published in 1904]) he took a single subject and drew dozens of pictures, each in a different style. There was nothing academic about his approach. Each drawing was fresh and new; many were arresting and some mirrored new developments in European art. "Sekka loved design. He began to paint under Suzuki Zuigai when he was sixteen and studied textiles in his early twenties. He was doubly fortunate that Yamada Naosaburo, the most ambitious, original and enterprising publisher of the early twentieth century, recognized Sekka's genius and gave him the freedom and support he needed to bring into the world his protean vision of art fused with life." (Keyes). "A colour-printed book of elaborate decor based on the forms of butterflies. All the designs are 'patterned,' but some conform to the actual shape and markings of believable butterflies, though there is certainly no intention to be entomologically accurate; but in some, the artist simply used the insects as a theme for variations, distorting and manipulating the butterfly shape until it is barely recognizable, often achieving the kind of art nouveau that we associate with some Secession jewelry . . . Sekka is especially inventive when he allows swarms of butterflies to float over the page, achieving colourful geometric diagrams, or, in one, amorphous silver shape outlined in brown, green and yellow, as evocative and irrational as abstracts by Arp", (Hillier). Wear to the fragile corners, but nevertheless a fine set. Vol.1, 1908 (Meiji 41) printed in colophon page. Vol. 2, 1903 (Meiji 36) 2nd printing of the first edition according to the colophon page. Hillier, The Art of the Japanese Book p. 976. Keyes, Ehon. The Artist and the Book in Japan, p. 240.
CAHUN, CLAUDE.; CLAUDE CAHUN
CAHUN, Claude. Aveux Non Avenus. With a preface by Pierre Mac Orlan. 237 pp., illustrated with 10 heliographs executed by Moore after designs by Cahun. 8vo, 220 x 169 mm., bound in original publisher's wrappers, in a new cloth folding box. Paris: Éditions Du Carrefour, 1930. A much sought-after book, the only one illustrated with the surreal images of Cahun (Lucy Schwob), the celebrated poet, writer and photographer. Cahun, one of the most mysterious figures of the Surrealist movement, incorporates many self-portraits in her montages which are imbued with a keen sense of the absurd. A book very much of the moment, since Cahun and Moore departed from their birth names and lived life in gender fluidity. In Aveux Non Avenus, she writes of herself, "Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me." An immaculate copy of a book rarely found thus. One of an edition of 525 copies. Roth, The Book of 101 Books 62-63.
NORMAN, John
NORMAN, John. The Town and Country Builder's Assistant. [3], 4-13, [1] pp. text, with an engraved allegorical frontispiece and 60 engraved plates. Folio, 312 x 185 mm., bound in contemporary sheep (rebacked, corners repaired). Boston: John Norman, 1786. First edition of the first contribution to the field of architecture compiled in America. After issuing the first American edition of Swan's The British Architect, Norman came to Boston and published this work, compiled from various English sources, containing 60 plates depicting interior and exterior designs from homes and public buildings. "In its house plans and details this collection more nearly approaches the needs of the average well-to-do man than the more ambitious reprint of The British Architect" (AAS). The frontispiece is from Isaac Ware's 1756 The Complete Body of Architecture, and other content is drawn from the works of Batty Langley and other pattern book authors. Of great rarity. Only two other complete copies are recorded at auction, one in 2015 in a modern binding, and one in the De Vinne sale in 1919. Binding rebacked, a few plates silked, some just shaved at outer edge or with repairs around the edges of the platemark, but overall an exceptionally fresh copy. Evans 20027; Hitchcock 856; see "The Colonial Scene-1602-1800," in Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society (April 1950), p. 74. PROVENANCE: Moses Fowler (contemporary inscription, marginalia relating to carpentry). William S. Reese.
TOMATSU Masanori, KAGEYAMA Muneyasu, et al
WITH AN UNRECORDED 31st MAP TOMATSU Masanori, Muneyasu KAGEYAMA et al. Edo Kiriezu. A complete set of 31 Coloured Woodblock Maps of Tokyo. 12mo, 165 x 90 folded, 490 x 535 unfolded, each bound in original pale blue wrappers, preserved in a contemporary wooden box. Edo: Owariya Seishichi, 1852-1864. A very special set of these Tokyo maps consisting of a mix of the first and revised editions, but containing an unrecorded 31st part. This part covered the Hacchobori district which was composed of the security administration; police, judge, defense, sheriff, etc. This colourful series of late Edo period maps depicts Tokyo's wards and the buildings, temples, shrines, gardens and residences therein. These maps represent not only a fine example of woodblock printing, but also remain an indispensable source of information on the architecture of Tokagawa Edo. Each map includes a legend delineating geographical and architectural elements by colour and shape: roads and bridges (yellow), rivers, lakes and ocean (blue), shrines and temples (red), fields and hills (green), and merchant houses or machiya (grey). Lesser noble residences are indicated by a black circle, higher ranking residences with a black square. Residences of even higher distinction are marked with the families' mon, or crest. Remarkably, nearly all residences also include the name of the inhabitant's family. The most important structures are illustrated with rough, yet charming depictions of the actual buildings, often surrounded by images of trees and gardens. Some of these structures include: The Hie Shrine (lost to bombing in the Second World War); Kanei-ji Temple, burial sight of 6 Tokagawa Shoguns; Senso-ji Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo; Hamagoten Garden, the villa of the Tokugawa family, and many others. We can identify three creators of the maps: Muneyasu Kageyama, Masanori Tamatsu, and Yoshitomo Iyama. Each map was first published by Owariya, Seishichi, between 1849-1855, and some were subsequently reprinted. It has been generally considered that the entire series consisted of 30 maps as identified in Kerlen as well as a set digitized by the University of British Columbia, however most institutional holdings list only the odd map, thus complete runs of the series are extremely rare, and our 31st map in unrecorded. Our group remains in remarkably fine, bright condition and in a contemporary box. A complete list of each map's creator, title, size and publication date, is available upon request. Kerlen, Catalogue of Pre-Meiji Japanese Books and Maps in Public Collections in the Netherlands 221 (citing 30 maps).
CHILDREN's DRAWING MANUAL
CHILDREN's DRAWING MANUAL. Cahier de Dessin representant les Jeux de l'Enfance & de la Jeunesse avec une Explication & une Devise Morale. Premier Cahier. Title leaf and 10 numbered leaves of letterpress, accompanied by 10 hand coloured plates. Oblong 8vo, 167 x 253 mm., contemporary boards. Paris: Chez N. Shenker Graveur, Rue St. Jacques, vis-a-vis celle du Platre, No. 283, n.d. A charming work, which as the "Avis des editeurs" states was meant as drawing subjects for children, with a second cahier to follow if this one were a success. The plates are: I. Les Traîneaux. II. Les Quatre-Coins. III. Les Papillons. IV. La Loterie. V. Les Traîneaux à Piques.VI. Le Petit Palet. VII. La Riquelette. VIII. Les Bulles de Savon. IX. La Tapette. X. À Cocochet. A second cahier of 10 plates was in fact published in 1810. An extremely rare book with OCLC listing only Princeton, with both cahiers, and Oak Spring with an incomplete copy in the U.S. Each of the handful of copies on OCLC has a different publisher.
Antwerp. Ronny Van de Velde; MARCEL DUCHAMP
VAN DE VELDE, Ronny. Marcel Duchamp. Folio. Exhibition Catalog, loose objects in a wooden chessboard box. Antwerp: Ronny Van de Velde, 1991. "This de luxe edition of the catalogue.consists of the following items: a list of the exhibits, a portfolio with faithful reproductions of works by Duchamp, also including a copy of H. Vuibert, Les Anaglyphes geometriques, Paris: Librarie Vuibert, 1912 (with 3D-glasses) and a reproduction of a page from The Blind Man No. 2 (P.B.T.); a book with articles on Duchamp by Andre Breton and Arturo Schwarz (inserted, on a separate sheet, a reproduction of Le Grand Verre); an audiocassette of Duchamp speaking; a single photograph of "Marcel Duchamp at the Age of Eighty-Five" for View's special Marcel Duchamp number. All of these items are packed in a wooden box, the top and bottom of which being reproductions of Duchamp's 'mental' Chess Board." De luxe edition limited to 850 numbered copies.
PURYEAR, Martin; Toomer, Jean; MARTIN PURYEAR
PURYEAR, Martin. Cane. By Jean Toomer. 141, [3] pp., illustrated with 10 woodcuts by Martin Puryear, and an afterword by Leon LF. Litwack. Oblong folio, 291 x 352 mm., bound in original tan cloth. San Francisco: The Arion Press, 2000. An immaculate copy of this important book, first published in 1923, which has long been considered one of the most important works of the Harlem Renaissance. Martin Puryear contributed a stunning set of illustrations and Andrew Hoyem designed an elegant book which does justice to both the author and the artist. The historian Leon Litwack has contributed an essay placing the book in historical context. One of an edition of 350 copies signed by the artist, and already scarce. Johnson, Artists' Books in the Modern Era, 1870-2000, 180.
BEARDEN, Romare; Brodsky, Joseph; Walcott, Derek;
BEARDEN, Romare. The Caribbean Poetry. By Derek Walcott. Introduction by Joseph Brodsky. 232 pp. Illustrated with eight coloured illustrations by Romare Bearden. 4to., bound in original publisher's linen silkscreened after a design by Bearden, in the publisher's cardboard slipcase (lightly sunned spine). New York: Limited Editions Club, 1983. One of the very few books illustrated by an African-American artist. From a total edition of 2000, this one containing the loose original, numbered lithograph. Bearden executed 8 lithographs, each in an edition of 250 copies, which were inserted in the books, and most of which have long since been removed. The colophon is signed by both the author and the artist. Derek Walcott, called "the first outstanding poet of the Caribbean" is a native of St. Lucia off the coast of Venezuela. He has written and directed numerous plays, produced in London and New York. He won an Obie for The Dream of the Monkey in 1971. Walcott has also published a dozen volumes of poetry and was a winner of a MacArthur Grant in 1983. He has taught at Harvard and Boston University. Romare Bearden is a native of North Carolina. He has had countless one-man exhibitions, including a solo exhibition of his work at MOMA in New York.
GILMAN; Apraxine, Pierre; Benson
GILMAN COLLECTION. Photographs from the Collection of the Gilman Paper Company. Curated by Pierre Apraxine, with plates by Richard Benson, and notes to the plates by Lee Marks. 480 pp. Illustrated with 199 offset lithographs after photographs plus offset lithographic frontispiece. Large folio, bound in original half maroon calf over linen covered boards, in a slipcase. [Verona: Stamperia Valdonega for] The White Oak Press, 1985. A superbly printed book, presenting, for the first time, two hundred images from one of the world's important photography resources. These images, selected by Pierre Apraxine, curator of the Gilman collection, illustrate the work of over one hundred photographers. The scope ranges from the experimental daguerrotype of the early 1840's (by Samuel F. B. Morse et al.), to the pioneering photographs by Robert Frank and Diane Arbus of the mid 1950s and 1960s. The edition was limited to 1200 copies, and has been described as "a tour-de-force of offset lithography. In this instance Richard Benson painstakingly produced fine line-screen negatives for offset printing of each black and white image in four to six colours. The Gilman Paper Company bought and installed an offset printing press in Benson's home specifically for this project. Benson has written: 'this book has always been intended to be as excellent and accurate to the originals as possible.' The 199 plates of this book bear eloquent witness to the achievement of this lofty goal." As new. Grolier Club, Century for a Century 94.
SUTNAR, LADISLAV
SUTNAR, Ladislav. Package Design: The Force of Visual Selling. Unpaginated. Illustrated with hundreds of photographs. Oblong 4to., 228 x 305 mm, bound in publisher's boards and illustrated dust jacket. New York: Arts Inc., 1953. Sutnar's classic work on advertising. Sutnar, a native of Czechoslovakia, became one of the twentieth century's most influential designers. In America he produced three beautifully designed and highly influential books: Design for Point of Sale (1952), Package Design (1953), and Visual Design in Action (1961), all of which are difficult to find in good condition.
TYML, Jan
TYML, Jan. Domovem jdem, v svet se berem vlakem, lodí, autem, aerem. 4 parts, each with 8 leaves, illustrated throughout. Oblong 8vo., loose in original illustrated wrappers in a new light blue cloth folding box. Praha: Cs. grafická Unie, 1936. A beautifully designed childrens' book showing various modes of transport on land sea and air. OCLC lists only one copy, that in the Czech National Library.
ITAGAKI, Takao.
ITAGAKI, Takao. Kikai to Geijutsu to no Koryu [The Correspondance or Cultural Exchange between Machine and Art]. Illustrated throughout with photographs. 8vo., publisher's decorated linen over boards, with two mounted photographs, and cardboard slipcase, in a new cloth folding box. Tokyo: Iwanami, Shoten, 1929. An unusually fine copy of this important Japanese anthology of modernist architecture, art and design, and its precursors. Among the illustrations are reproductions of buildings by Le Corbusier, Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, and of film stills by Man Ray and Hans Richter. The text is by Itagaki, who is considered the foremost proponent of modernism in pre-war Japan. The design of the book, binding and slipcase by Masao Horino are very much Bauhaus inspired. Ryuichi and Heiting, The Japanese Photobook, No. 42.
KIRK,Hans; ARNE UNGERMANN
KIRK, Hans. Jorgens Hjul. Unpaginated [8 ff]. Illustrated throughout many pages with photomontage by Arne Ungermann. Small 4to., bound in original illustrated boards, preserved in a new blue cloth folding box. Copenhagen: Mondes Forlag a/s, 1932. A classic avant-garde children's book, which was almost certainly influenced by the work of such Russian artists as Lebedev, especially with the striking use of photomontages, which are juxtaposed with Ungermann's lithographic illustrations. The work is essentially a potted history of transportation for children, done in such a bold andimaginative way to create a book for adults to delight in as well. A rare book with OCLC listing only 3 copies in the US, at Princeton, Yale and the University of Washington. Andel, Avant Garde Page Design 359
BOECKLER, George; BOCKLER; Boeckler, George.
BÖCKLER, Georg Andreas. Architectura Curiosa Nova. Part I. Fundamenta hydragogica, indolem[que] aquae, aëris interventu in altum levandae. Part II. Varios aquarum ac salientium fontium lusus per varia spectatu jucunda epistomiorum seu Siphonum genera. Part III. Magnum amoenissimorum fontium, machinarum[que] aquaeductoriarum sumtu magno exstructarum, ac per Italiam, Galliam, Brittaniam, Germaniam etc., visendarum, numerum. Part IV. Specus artificiales sumtuosissimas, cum pleris[que] Principium Europeorum Palatiis, hortis, aulis; nec non praecipuis monasteriis at[que] arcibus. Part V. Cum auctario figurarum elegantissimarum, ad hortorum topiaria vario ductu dividenda, nec non conclavium laquearibus ac pavimentis segmentandis, item[que]Labyrinthis construendis, adhibenandarum. Translated from the German into Latin by Johanne Christophoro Sturmio. Four parts in one volume. Part I: title, [viii], 30 pp., illustrated with 4 full-page numbered engravings. Part II: title, 13, [1] pp., illustrated with 71 full-page numbered engravings (of which nine plates contain four images per page). Part III: title, 22 pp., illustrated with 120 full-page numbered engravings, including one folding (of which four plates contain two images per page). Part IV: title, 26 pp., illustrated with 36 full-page numbered engravings. Folio, 326 x 219 mm, bound in later three-quarter German vellum, black marbled paper over boards, red leather title label on spine. Nuremberg: Paul Fürst, [1664]. First Latin Edition, published simultaneously or soon after the first German edition. Dedicated to the Archbishop of Salzburg, dated 16 March 1664. This copy with the German engraved title, bearing the Latin cancel slips pasted over the German text. Few books have captured the sense of the Baroque more than this extensive survey of European fountains, which is the most comprehensive of its time. All the plates are unsigned except for the opening engraved title, signed Abraham Aubry and plate 100 in Part III by Balthasar Schwan. The remaining engravings are by anonymous printmakers. Georg Andreas Böckler (ca. 1617-1687), an Alsatian architect and engineer, was commissioned by the publisher to add descriptive text to the collection of engravings which he had assembled. Parts I-II are on the theory of hydraulics, fountain building, and the different types of fountains. Part III surveys grand pleasure fountains from Italian, French, and German designs. Part IV covers palaces, gardens, grottoes, topiary mazes, labyrinths and garden pavilions. Some of the plates are clearly after fountains designed by Bernini and Giambologna. Binding scuffed, some browning to the text, but the plates remain in clean, bright, strong impressions. A handsome copy. Millard, Northern European 7. Berlin Katalog 3579. Hunt I, 295. Cicognara 886.
TESTI, C.V
TESTI, C.V. Les Routes de l'Italie. Unpaginated. Illustrated throughout. 8vo., publisher's illustrated wrappers. (Rome): ENIT, 1933. WITH: TESTI, C.V. When will you come to Italy. Unpaginated. Illustrated throughout. 8vo., publisher's illustrated wrappers, in a new cloth folding box. (Rome): E.N.I.T, 1936. Two wonderful examples of Fascist book design, both in fine conditon, When will you come to Italy with a neat rubber stamp of the Brooklyn Eagle on the front cover. Neither work is listed in OCLC.
