Japan: Meiji period.
This woodblock bears the text for two leaves of text from a joruri keikobon (practice book) used in theater productions. Originally composed in 1748, Kanadehon Chushingura is one of Japan’s most famous bunraku (puppet) plays.
In fine condition. More
![Item ID: 8576 Chinzei Ryukyuki [Record of Chinzei Hachiro in Ryukyu]; sub-title: Tametomo gaiden...](/images/noimage-cat.gif)
Many fine black & white double-page & single-page woodcuts throughout. Ten vols. 8vo, orig. blue semi-stiff wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers (three labels are somewhat defective), new stitching. Osaka: Tenmaya Yasubei; Kyoto: Yoshida Jihei, 1835.
[with]:
— & MATSUKAWA Hanzan; —. Ehon Toyotomi Ryukyu gunki [Illustrated Tale of the Ryukyu War]. Many fine black & white double-page & single-page woodcuts throughout (six in Vol. I are color-printed). Ten vols. 8vo, orig. pale blue patterned wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Osaka: Kawachiya Tobei & Kawachiya Mohei, colophon dated 1864; title-page... More
23 fine color-printed full-page woodblock illus. & one black & white. 16.5 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. patterned brown wrappers, orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (label somewhat defective), new stitching. [Japan]: Tsushindo, first Preface dated 1854.
First edition of this rare and handsomely illustrated work; it is a manual of instruction, or gafu, on the art of drawing rocks and mountainous landscapes in the Chinese style. The artist of this work, Tekizan Kumasaka (1796-1864), was an important member of the Nanga school of Japanese painting, which flourished in the late Edo period. The artists of the Nanga school considered... More
Several hundred fine double-page woodcuts throughout. Three series, each in 12 vols. 36 vols. 8vo, orig. deeply embossed stiff wrappers, each series in a different color, block-printed title labels on upper covers (some labels worn), new stitching. Series I & II: Kyoto: Fushimiya Hanzaburo; Osaka: Kawachiya Mohei et al., 1807 & 1813; Series III: Kyoto, Osaka, & Owari Province (in today’s Aichi Prefecture): various publishers, 1825.
First editions and a complete set with all three series; very rare when complete. The five battles of Kawanakajima were fought between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province in... More
8vo (218 x 158 mm.), orig. silk-covered boards, gold label on upper cover, paintings pasted on gold-flecked paper over stiff boards. [Japan]: late Edo or Meiji era.
A very fine album of 12 paintings (the well-known “set of 12“ format) of women’s vulvas, mostly with penises inserted. Many of the scenes are obviously post-coital. The details of the pubic hair and sexual organs are very beautifully painted in vivid colors. One of the images depicts a very young woman masturbating, and another shows a man’s hand stimulating his partner.
In fine condition, preserved in an attractive silk brocade patterned chitsu... More
Six large & fine color-printed woodcuts on six sheets, joined together. Narrow orihon format (321 x 72 mm.; sheet lengths: 357, 425, 420, 425, 415, & 283 mm.), orig. stiff boards, endpapers with gold speckling. [Japan: late Edo or Meiji era].
A very rare example of e-bangire (or ehankiri or ebankiri or ebangiri): woodcut prints using pale colors and printed on half sheets of sugiharagami writing paper. The half-sheet illustrations were then joined together, forming narrow orihon. E-banigire, which literally means “printed on paper that has been cut in half,” rarely survive.
“The novel [Shui hu zhuan] tells of the... More
15 black & white illus. on glossy stock. 81, [1] p. Small 8vo (150 x 96 mm.), pictorial softcover. Munich: Verlag Christoph Dürr, 1987.
A very rare artist’s book/exhibition catalogue by Martin Kippenberger (1953-97). Produced in the wake of his 1986 exhibition at Villa Stuck in Munich, it contains photographic reproductions of the sculptures shown, accompanied by texts composed by his friends Michael Krebber, Günther Förg, and Joachim Lottmann. According to Koch, this diminutive book was made in a relatively small edition of 500 copies. We could find just three copies in North America: Bard, Museum of Modern Art (NY)... More
[4] pp. Single folded A3 sheet. Amsterdam: Art & Project, 1979.
Fulton’s third and final Art & Project Bulletin. This copy is addressed to the influential German gallerist Konrad Fischer, but looks like it was not mailed. In excellent condition. From an edition of ca. 800 copies.
❧ Art & Project Bulletins 1-156, September 1968-November 1989 (2011), pp. 56-57. More
One double-page black & white illus. [4] pp. Single folded A3 sheet. Amsterdam: Art & Project, 1972.
Hamish Fulton’s first Art & Project Bulletin, mailed to the fabled Wide White Space gallery founded by Anny de Decker and Bernd Lohaus. When opened the issue has a photograph by Fulton (b. 1946) with the caption: “Walking the Pekisko Road / Alberta.”
In fine condition, but for a few small marks from mailing. From an edition of ca. 800 copies.
❧ Art & Project Bulletins 1-156, September 1968-November 1989 (2011). More
[4] pp. Single folded A3 sheet. Amsterdam: Art & Project, 1971.
LeWitt’s scarce third Art & Project bulletin, this copy is in excellent condition with the additional folds forming 48 rectangles. It is one of several bulletins that were intentionally left blank by the artists designing them.
“Sol LeWitt’s Bulletin 43 is another issue that is blank inside, but in this case LeWitt had each closed Bulletin folded vertically and three time horizontally to create 48 rectangles when the Bulletin is opened up…At first sight, the rectangles created out of Bulletin 43 each appear to be squares, but the fact... More
Printed on one side. Card. Utrecht: 1972.
A scarce Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017) invitation card produced by the Utrechtse Kring gallery. Ruhé writes about this exhibition: “On the occasion of the exhibition, the book 1 step – 100000 steps is published. The text is produced on a computer of the Mathematisch Centrum in Amsterdam. During the exhibition, the first 42 pages of the computer text are displayed on six narrow tables joined together. In addition there is an explanatory text by Brouwn. Previous publications by Brouwn are displayed on a separate table.”
Near fine; small creases to two corners.
❧ Harry... More
Black & white illus. throughout. 34 pp. Small 4to, pictorial wrappers (designed by Barfuß), staple-bound. Berlin: Happy-Happy, 1981.
One of the earliest exhibition catalogues in which Kippenberger (1953-97) features, albeit here under the pseudonym “Hans Siebert.” The real Hans Siebert was a poster artist who executed the paintings in Kippenberger’s "Leiber Maler, male mir" series.
It reproduces approximately 15 of Kippenberger’s early paintings and drawings. The graphic upper wrapper was designed by Ina Barfuß (b. 1949). “Siebert” is pictured on the lower wrapper alongside Wachweger (1943-2015) and Barfuß.
A near fine copy; trivial wear to spine and lower wrapper. This... More
[40] pp. & colophon. Square 4to (155 x 156 mm.), printed softcover. Geneva: Ecole supérieure d’art visuel, 1994.
A very rare Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017) artist’s book; WorldCat shows no example outside of Switzerland and France. Brouwn was a visiting professor at the institution in 1994, and had an exhibition there of aluminum pieces 9-30 March. The printed calculations within are a mix of meters, steps, ells, feet and their equivalent in centimeters, decreasing from 400 to 178 cm. Much like the ostensibly incorrect computation on the title and first page, the rest throughout the book do not seem accurate.
In... More
![Item ID: 8560 Exhibition postcard: Lynda Benglis (8 February-4 March [1970]). Lynda BENGLIS](/pictures/medium/8560.jpg?v=1666393421)
Black & white photographic illus. on recto, details on verso. Photographic postcard, mailed. New York: Paula Cooper Gallery, [1970].
An extremely rare piece of art ephemera, the postcard invitation for Lynda Benglis’s first-ever solo gallery show, held at Paula Cooper where the artist was working part-time. One of Benglis’s sculptures is pictured on the recto. She had an earlier one-person show at the University of Rhode Island's Main Gallery in 1969, but this was her solo debut with an art dealer.
Benglis shared this amusing anecdote about the exhibition with Artforum in 2018: “One day in 1970, Clement Greenberg came... More
Printed on both sides. Postcard. New York: John Weber Gallery, 1973.
Postcard invitation to Ryman’s second solo exhibition with John Weber. In excellent condition. More
Full-page color illus. throughout. 47, [1] p. 4to, semi-stiff yellow printed covers. Saint Louis: Forum for Contemporary Art, 1993.
Uncommon catalogue for the exhibition of works from Martin Kippenberger’s personal collection, held at the Forum for Contemporary Art in St. Louis (now the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis). Introduction by Elizabeth Wright Millard, Executive Director of the institution, and art critic Jan Avgikos. The artist’s collection included works by Werner Büttner, Chérie Samba, Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, Michael Krebber, Albert Oehlen, and Jörg Schlick.
Near fine copy; some trivial marking to the covers.
❧ Uwe Koch, ed., Annotated catalogue raisonné... More
10 stapled booklets (with several color illus.) of various dimensions in the orig. publisher’s cardboard box. New York: 2001.
One of 100 copies, a very impressive bookseller/exhibition catalogue on photography books of the 1970s. It was issued by the joint bookselling concern of Andrew Roth and Glenn Horowitz, Roth Horowitz, which opened in 1999 and was wound down in 2004. The exhibition was held at the Upper East Side gallery from 15 March to 28 April 2001.
This remarkable catalogue comprises 10 small booklets on the following artists: Nobuyoshi Araki, Christian Boltanski, Braco Dimitrijevic, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Paul-Armand Gette, Gilbert &... More
14 black & white illus. [10] pp. 4to (270 x 215 mm.), printed softcover. Eindhoven: prins bernhard fonds, 1980.
Very scarce Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017) catalogue, published to mark the artist receiving the David Röell-Prijs from the Prins Bernhard Fonds in 1980; unknown edition size. It contains reproductions of twelve this way brouwn drawings from 1964 and 1 m, 1 step (1980). Text in English.
In near fine condition; some minor scuffing to the spine and the lower cover
❧ Harry Ruhé, ed., stanley brouwn: a chronology (2nd ed.: 2005). More
![Item ID: 8553 “1001 stappen” [in]: museumjournaal serie 16, no. 3 (July 1971), pp....](/pictures/medium/8553.jpg?v=1666363831)
Many black & white illus. 168 pp. & ads. 4to, printed semi-stiff wrappers, table of contents on lower wrapper, staple-bound. Amsterdam: Stichting Kunstpublikaties, 1971.
Nice copy of this sought-after issue, with an original work by Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017) entitled 1001 stappen. The journal also includes original works by Ger van Elk, Marinus Boezem and Jan Dibbets, in addition to texts by important curators and art historians Rudi Fuchs (b. 1942), Johannes Cladders (1924-2009), and Carel Blotkamp (b. 1945). With useful exhibition lists for the four artists (pp. 160-61). On p. 167, Cladders describes Brouwn’s show going through cosmic rays at... More
Self-portrait illus. on upper wrapper & three black & white illus. [16] pp. (incl. ads). 12mo, pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Paris: Bernheim Jeune, 1911.
A rare Bernheim Jeune exhibition catalogue, published for a show of works by the actor Sacha Guitry (1885-1957). WorldCat locates just one copy of this catalogue in North America. Son of the celebrated actor Lucien Guitry, Sacha followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a distinguished actor on the stage and in film; he also painted portraits of a number of friends and associates.
Introductory essay “Les Tableaux de Sacha Guitry” by Nozière and a check-list of the... More
Black & white ads. Unpaginated. 4to (207 x 148 mm.), pictorial wrappers with R. Lichtenstein illus., staple-bound. Cologne: 1970.
An early European bookseller catalogue offering the artists’ books, editions, and exhibition catalogues of or concerning Beuys, Brouwn, Cage, Christo, Duchamp, Flavin, R. Graham, Judd, Knowles, LeWitt, Lichtenstein, Long, Oldenburg, Ono, Rauschenberg, Rot, Ruscha, Warhol, Weiner, etc. Fine. More
Many black & white illus. 35 pp. 8vo, pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Zürich: 1970.
Bookseller catalogue offering an interesting selection of books, catalogues, multiples, and posters. Near fine. More
Small black & white illus throughout. Unpaginated. 8vo, pictorial wrappers, title on spine. Cologne: 1986.
Bookseller catalogue filled with books on design. Fine; sunning to lower wrapper. More
Unpaginated. 8vo, pictorial wrappers, title on spine. Cologne: 1985.
1671 listings of art books. Fine. More