[20] folded leaves, printed letterpress. Large 4to (320 x 340 mm.), orig. bright orange dust-jacket pasted to semi-stiff covers, plastic spiral-bound. Stuttgart: Edition Hansjörg Mayer, 1967.

First edition of this scarce letterpress transcription of Harig’s original stereophonic soccer radio play. A devoted soccer fan, Harig (1927-2018) composed this play to capture the ups and downs of a frenetic soccer match. He was a close associate of Max Bense and other members of the Stuttgart school who experimented with Concrete poetry. Partnering with the publisher and typographical artist Hansjörg Mayer, the author transformed his groundbreaking radio play into a beautifully presented visual poem... More

Many illus. Unpaginated. Four vols. Large 4to (280 x 215 mm.), orig. gray printed wrappers, titles on spines, housed in publisher’s cardboard box with orig. printed labels on outside & inside. Köln: Buchhandlung Walther König, 1992.

The scarce facsimile of On Kawara’s I Went, I Met, I Read, and Journal series for the year 1969, published by Walther König on the occasion of Kawara’s receiving the Kunstpreis Aachen. Kawara (29,771 days, i.e., 1932-2014) centered his artistic practice on the documentation of daily life: where he went, the people he met, and what he read. These notes were then compiled into three... More

Many illus. 131, [1] p. Small 4to, orig. semi-stiff pictorial covers, title on spine, perfect-bound. London: British Council, 1975.

The uncommon catalogue for this important exhibition hosted by the British Council, with the essays printed in parallel English and German text. Somewhat overshadowed by the exhibition Artists’ Books of a year later, this show consisted of an impressive presented 120 bookworks and reference books. As is explained on pp. 18-23 (and shown by several illustrations of the exhibition space), each book was displayed on a book shelf and could be handled by visitors. “Art works” were denoted with red stickers and “reference works”... More

Many illus. 64 pp. 8vo, orig. pictorial wrappers, perfect-bound. London: Goethe Institut London, 1981.

An uncommon English translation of this profusely illustrated exhibition catalogue. It begins with Hundertmark’s recounting of his first ten years as a publisher of editions. The exhibition was staged at London’s Goethe Institut.

In near fine condition. More

30; 32; 38; 40 folding leaves. Four vols. Large 8vo, orig. dark green patterned wrappers (some worming touching but not obscuring text), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Kyoto: Fushimiya Toemon, colophon dated “1683.”

First edition to be published in Japan of this important encyclopedic work, printed in Chinese with Japanese reading marks. One of the first encyclopedias compiled in China, it was written by Hua Zhang (232-300), statesman, book collector, scholar, writer, and protoscientist, who also wrote, with Xu Xun, the famous catalogue of the imperial library known as Zhongjing bu [Catalogue of the Palace Texts].

Bo wu zhi was first printed in China in 1505. “The Bowu zhi is a collection of 322 items divided into 37 subject headings. Most of the material consists of short anecdotes that are more descriptive than narrative. The first juan of the Song edition gives an account of the geography of the realm, including mountains, oceans, rivers, lakes, and unusual phenomena, ending with a rhymed zan (appraisal). The Bowu zhi is attested as early as the sixth century.”–Knechtges & Chang, Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature, I, pp. 50-51 & see III, pp. 2156-63 for a biographical account of Zhang. More

Several small woodcuts in the text. 52 folding leaves. Three parts in one vol. Large 8vo, orig. wrappers stained dark brown with fermented persimmon juice (well repaired). [Japan]: from the final leaf: “mid-Autumn 1622.”

Second edition to be published in Japan (1st ed.: a movable type edition printed ca. 1600-15), printed in Chinese with Japanese reading marks. Shi was a Southern Song dynasty doctor who wrote this work on the pulse and diagnostic methods. It was first published in China in 1241. WorldCat lists only one copy outside of Japan, at the BSB in Munich.

Shi describes the classic methods of diagnosis: the general observation of the patient and his skin color; the shape, color, and markings of the tongue; unusual odors of the body, mouth, and urine; listening to the patient’s speech, respiration, and other sounds for illness; and inquiring about the patient’s medical history. More

Seven full-page illus. 31 folding leaves. Large 8vo, orig. blue wrappers (rubbed), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (label partly rubbed away), new stitching. Kyoto: Hishiya & Katsumura, 1796.

First edition of this very rare book on the pulse; it is a revision of the book — known as “the pulse classic” — written by Wang Shuhe in the third century. Composed of ten volumes and 98 chapters, it is the first work entirely devoted to pulse study in ancient China. It categorized all the pulse conditions into 24 types and described each in detail.

“The pulse lore of Chinese medicine is famous. Among the many treatises on this subject, which found its application in so much of Oriental medicine, was the well-known work entitled Muo-ching, on the theory of the pulse, by Wang Shu-Ho who lived in the Tsin era (265-317 A.D.) compiled from earlier writings, principally those in the Nei Ching, the Nan Ching, the Shang-han-lun and the Chia-i-ching. Wang pretty well summed things up when he said, ‘The different kinds of pulse are easy to understand for the intellect but not so for the finger’…The Muo ching was revised several times by later authors, and was even translated into German by Franz Hubotter.”–Mestler, A Galaxy of Old Japanese Medical Books, Part II, p. 469, note 3. More

13 folding leaves. 8vo (240 x 173 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers repaired, some minor dampstaining), new stitching. [Japan]: on final leaf of text: “mid-January 1806.”

A most interesting manuscript providing recipes for seven types of herbal sake-based liquors, including jurokumi homeishu, a drink still manufactured today that contains 13 herbs. Homeishu was served to both Perry and Harris at official occasions.

Other medicinal drinks include a liquor using chrysanthemum flowers, mirin (a rice wine similar to sake but sweeter and with a lower alcohol content), another distilled drink using cherry blossoms, a liquor with both mirin and shochu, and a liquor employing fennel. At the... More

32 fine full-page woodcuts. 42 folding leaves. Large 8vo, orig. blue wrappers (wrappers rather rubbed, minor soiling), modern manuscript label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: from the Japanese colophon on the penultimate leaf: “Nakano Zesui had the woodblocks carved & published this book mid-July 1655.”

First edition to be published in Japan, printed in Chinese with Japanese reading marks. Yongming Yanshou (J.: Eimei (or Yomei) Enju, 904-75), was a Chan master who had a profound impact on the development of Buddhism in East Asia. Yanshou was a widely influential proponent of a scripture-based Chan, in opposition to the rhetorical and iconoclastic Chan of... More

Many black & white illus. Ca. [106] pp. 8vo, orig. printed wrappers, perfect-bound, title on spine. Frankfurt: 1981.

A rare exhibition catalogue of artists’ books. It contains a country by country survey of artists’ books and their creators. This is an extremely useful resource for the early popularization of the genre. With contributions from Guy Schraenen, Tim Guest, Simon Cutts, Maurizio Nannucci, Leif Eriksson, John Armleder, Jiri Valoch, Jennifer Phipps, Printed Matter, and Marijan Susovski.

In fine condition; WorldCat records no copy in North America. More

42 photographic plates pasted-on & poster laid-in. Unpaginated. Large 8vo, orig. boards & orig. printed dust-jacket, perfect-bound. London: The British Council, 2001.

Scarce catalogue for the British Council’s exhibition of artists’ multiples. It begins with an insightful survey of the medium by Bury, then Head of the Modern English division at the British Library. Many of the items exhibited are illustrated, and there is a check-list at the end of the catalogue. The contents of the exhibition were selected by Diana Eccles, Brett Rogers, and Sarah Staton.

A handsomely designed and important catalogue, in fine condition (slightly warped due to the plates). More

42; 26; 31; 38 folding leaves. Four vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers, new stitching. [China]: on title-page & at end of Preface: “1717.”

First edition of this well-regarded standard history, finished in 1717, which “narrates the history of Prince Fu (reigned 1644-1645) in Nanjing, as the successor of the Chongzhen Emperor (reigned 1628-1644), and the short reigns of Prince Tang (reigned 1645-1646) and Prince Gui (reigned 1646-1661) that tried to resist the conquest of China by the Manchus. It ends in 1683 with the submission of Zheng Keshuang (1670-1707), the last supporter of the Ming (1368-1644), to the Manchus. The Sanfan jishi benmo is a very concise... More