60 pp. (incl. lower wrapper). 8vo, pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Cologne: [ca. 1969].

Walther König’s inaugural catalogue, it presents 954 books and catalogues. König opened his bookstore in 1969 and this undated catalogue must have been issued slightly thereafter. Katalog 4 was issued in Fall 1970.

It lists five of Ed Ruscha’s artist’s books (using the titles in the catalogue): The Sunset Strip (36 DM); Royal road test (16 DM); Thirty four parking lots (18.50 DM); Business cards (42 DM); Nine swimming pools and a broken glass (14.50 DM).

Near fine. More

Many illus. iv, 60 pp. 4to, printed softcover, title on spine. Bristol: Impact Press, 1999.

Uncommon exhibition catalogue, a useful resource on British artists’ books and their makers in the 90s. The catalogue was published for the Impact International Multi-disciplinary Printmaking Conference and the exhibition took place at the University of the West of England, Bristol. With text contributions by Sarah Bodman, Chris Taylor, Colin Sackett, Deirdre Kelly, Stephen Bury, Iain Biggs, Carinna Parraman, and Meg Duff.

In fine condition. Edition of 1000.

❧ A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on Artists Books (2nd ed.: 2013) 172. 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... More

Scroll (210 x 3690 mm.), endpapers of gold with silk brocade backing, wooden roller. [Japan: late Edo].

This attractive scroll, executed by a highly accomplished artist, comprises of 12 erotic scenes (the well-known “set of 12“ format), in vivid coloring, depicting a range of sexual activities. As in many shunga handscrolls, the paintings feature a sequence of lovemaking positions in no apparent order. The scenes are finely painted with considerable detail, employing much gold, silver, and other metallic pigments. Throughout, the artist has used a fine brush to achieve great detail of fabric, hair, and faces. All the women have... More

Scroll (290 x 5840 mm. including endpapers), silk brocade endpaper at front depicting a pair of Mandarin ducks (symbol for fidelity between two people), wooden core roller. [Japan: late Edo].

A fine erotic scroll with 12 paintings (the well-known “set of 12“ format), in vivid coloring, depicting a range of sexual activities. As in many shunga handscrolls, the paintings feature a sequence of lovemaking positions in no apparent order, with no development, simply presenting a variety of couplings and sexual techniques. All the participants in this scroll have Heian-period hairstyles, and several of the couples are clearly aristocrats. In the... More

[15] pp. 4to (270 x 210 mm.), printed wrappers, staple-bound. Eindhoven: Van Abbemuseum, 1976.

Scarce Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017) exhibition catalogue, printed by the artist’s go-to printers Lecturis in an edition of 1000 copies. The Van Abbemuseum show was curated by Coosje van Bruggen, Rudi Fuchs, and Margriet Suren. It succinctly enumerates the 270 works on display. Text in English. A fine copy.

❧ H. Ruhé, ed., stanley brouwn: a chronology (2nd ed.: 2005). More

Illus. throughout. [18] pp. Oblong 4to, brown printed wrappers, staple-bound. Bremerhaven: Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst, 1976.

Scarce photographic artist’s book by Braco Dimitrijevic (b. 1948), printed in an edition of 500 copies. It was published by Jürgen Wesseler’s Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst in cooperation with the Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD. The book documents the artist’s correspondence with the scandalous Lord Weymouth which then led to Dimitrijevic’s visit to Longleat to see Weymouth’s erotic murals. The final pairing of photographs juxtaposes Longleat House and the modest building in which Dimitrijevic’s studio was located.

In fine condition. More

Unpaginated. 8vo, pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. London: 1996.

Scarce catalogue. “This catalogue was produced on the occasion of ‘Curved Space: a survey of contemporary British artists’ books’ which took place at ART ‘96 at the Business Design Centre, London at the invitation of The Contemporary Art Society.”

Near fine; some minuscule stains to wrappers. Laid-in Hardware Gallery brochure. More

Color illus. Unpaginated. 8vo, pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Paris: n.d.

Bookseller catalogue with an impressive selection of artists’ books and art books. 67 items described. With the printed price-list laid-in. Fine. More

[1] oblong leaf of explanatory text & 4 color woodcut plates (222 x 457 mm.), each signed & numbered by the artist, loose as issued, housed in orig. handmade paper wrapper, orig. publisher’s portfolio. Tokyo: Galerie Watari, 1980.

An extremely rare suite of four woodblock prints, all numbered and signed by Sol LeWitt (1928-2007). These prints were finely executed on Echizen-Kizuki-Hosho paper by the Adachi Institute in an edition of 40 copies (+ 10 A.P.). The same year, Shizuko Watari’s Galerie Watari also published a scarce LeWitt artist’s book with a slightly shortened title, All Four Part Combinations of Six... More

Black and white & color illus. [18] pp. Large 4to, printed wrappers, staple-bound. Nagoya: Akira Ikeda Gallery, 2002.

A very rare On Kawara exhibition catalogue, published by one of his main Japanese dealers. Six "Date Paintings" (from 1967 to 2001) were shown, all of which are illustrated within.

In near fine condition; some marks to the lower wrappers. In WorldCat we locate just the copy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Printed in an edition of 1000. More

Many illus. (one full-bleed & color). [36] pp. 4to (250 x 186 mm.), green printed wrappers, staple-bound. Tokyo: Gatodo Gallery, 1986.

One of the rarest On Kawara exhibition catalogues. This was a presentation of the artist’s "Date Paintings," along with his One Hundred Years Calendar (shown with the full-bleed color illustration). The other catalogue illustrations depict the exhibition installation and close-ups of Kawara’s works. Several of the paintings in this show were contributed by Japanese collectors whose names are given in the exhibition list. With a text in parallel Japanese and English by Masashi Miura “On Date Painting.”

From Miura’s... More