Several thousand leaves. Various sizes & formats of notebooks. Ca. 40 notebooks & ledgers. Kokufu son: 1888-99.

A fascinating archive, consisting of ca. 40 notebooks and ledger books (some with cords for hanging on the wall), maintained by the Osaki Shiseido company, which owned the Osaki Kashihonya lending library and the Oku gun yamakita shorin publishing and printing house. The proprietor of Osaki Shiseido was Yasaburo Osaki; his company was active in the county of Oku gun, in what is today’s eastern Okayama Prefecture, selling and renting books to the public and schools throughout the region as well as printing for local and... More

76; 99 folding leaves (of which two in Vol. II are in manuscript, replacing missing printed leaves). Six parts in two vols. 8vo, modern wrappers (text leaves lightly browned), new stitching. [China]: Prefaces dated 1754 & 1756.

First edition, and very rare (not in WorldCat), of this collection of the poetry and prose of Ren Huang (1683-1768), one of “the foremost lyrical poets” (Ko, p. 92, see below) of the Guangdong region and a member of the artistic circle whose center was Gu Erniang, a famous woman inkstone carver whose shop was located in Zhuanszhu Lane in the imperial city of Suzhou. This collectors and... More

Cover artwork by Stephen Ellwood. 71 pp. Large 4to (270 x 212 mm.), pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Toronto: 1998.

[with]:

—. Catalogue No. 20 (Wholesale). Cover artwork by S. Ellwood. 11 pp. Large 4to (265 x 211 mm.), orig. pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Toronto: 1998. More

54 pp. Large 4to (275 x 212 mm.), orig. pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Toronto: 1996.

A rare catalogue distributed by Art Metropole, the first large-scale North American distributor of artists’ publications. The upper wrapper is adorned with General Idea’s “untitled cockroach drawing,” advertising a new series of artists’ pamphlets. The catalogue was designed by Barr Gilmore.

In fine condition. More

Many illus. in the text. 78 pp. Large 4to (274 x 212 mm.), orig. pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Toronto: 1991.

A very rare catalogue of video works, with the cover designed by Tom Dean and layout by Barr Gilmore. Art Metropole was one of the earliest large-scale distributors of video artwork and they dedicated several catalogues to this type of material. Herein we find pieces by Acconci, Judith Barry, Constance de Jong, Filliou, General Idea, Dan Graham, Nancy Holt, Joan Jonas, Mike Kelley, Les Levine, Muntadas, Nauman, Martha Rosler, Serra, Tom Sherman, Alan Sondheim, Lisa Steele, William Wegman, Weiner, Paul Wong, etc., etc. The end... More

The obverse is from a triptych print entitled “Kabukiza nakamaku” by Kunisada III. The reverse shows a man gripping a sword, & in the lower left corner, we find carved Kunisada III’s artist’s name, “Kochoro Hosai.” [From the carved seal on obverse]: “Tokyo Fukuda Hatsujiro,” [ca. 1897].

This finely carved woodblock was used as one part of a triptych print depicting Kabuki actors originally created by Kunisada III. The carved image on the reverse is unrelated, and demonstrates the way in which such boards could be re-used for other compositions. We have not been able to identify where this other... More

Many full-page & double woodcut illus. 23; 29.5 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. pale gray wrappers (wrappers quite rubbed), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers (labels somewhat defective), new stitching. Osaka & other cities: Okada Gungyokudo, Kawachiya Chobei et al., from the colophon: “1836.”

First edition. Okura (1768-1856?), was one of the three most eminent agriculturalists of the Edo period. A reformer, he wrote more than 20 books on all aspects of agricultural improvement and technology; they were among the best of their period for range and clarity of explaining the new methods.

Rapeseed oil has been the favored cooking oil in Japan for more than 1000 years, since the introduction of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. It was also widely used for illumination. The present book is concerned with improved methods of the complex steps required to transform rapeseed into oil and to manufacture its meal as a by-product (used as an animal feed and a fertilizer). The fine woodcuts, by the famous Osaka ukiyo-e artist Hanzan Matsukawa, depict all the many stages of production. There is a series of really fine depictions of the presses and different methods and machinery used in the regions of Edo, Nada, and Osaka. More

1 blank leaf, [44] text leaves, 3 blank leaves; 1 blank leaf, [46] text leaves, 2 blank leaves; 1 blank leaf, [43] leaves, [1] p. of text, [3] blank pp.; 1 blank leaf, [69] leaves, [1] p. of text, [3] blank pp.; 1 blank leaf, [77] text leaves, 2 blank leaves; 1 blank leaf, [52] text leaves, one blank leaf; 1 blank leaf, [52] text leaves, 3 blank leaves. Seven vols. 4to (233 x 168 mm.), orig. semi-stiff dark indigo-dyed wrappers (a few minor defects), bound Tetsuyoso-style, each cover beautifully painted with different scenes of watery landscapes adorned with flowers... More

310 black & white illus., on rectos only. [24] leaves. 8vo (210 x 141 mm.), orig. semi-stiff printed wrappers, perfect-bound. Paris: CNAC, 1974.

First edition, an excellent copy of Boltanski’s fifth inventory, documenting all the earthly possessions of a randomly selected person, this time a resident from Bois-Colombes, a suburb of Paris. This book was published for an exhibition (15 October to 2 December 1974) at the Centre national d’art contemporain. Earlier versions of this piece took place in Baden-Baden, Jerusalem, Oxford, and Copenhagen.

Boltanski explains the intention of this work in the Avant-Propos (in trans.): “The inventory of objects belonging to a woman from Bois-Colombes is... More

1 p.l., ii, 34 pp. 8vo (213 x 136 mm.), late 19th-cent. marbled boards, leather lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Lacoste & Pérignon, 1817.

A very scarce sale catalogue dispersing paintings, drawings, and curiosities from the collection and inventory of Pérignon (1785-1864), the dealer, collector, and advisor to the Louvre. Pérignon was one of the eminent dealers to succeed Lebrun and Paillet after their deaths. The first recorded sale for which he was the expert took place in December 1813 (Lugt 8456). He went on to administer the important auctions of Hubert Robert’s widow, Girodet, Dominique-Vivant Denon, and two for Jacques Louis David. The Louvre... More

201 black & white illus on rectos only. [207] leaves. Thick oblong 4to (210 x 242 mm.), orig. cloth, title on spine. Berlin: Edition Block, 1978.

First edition of this scarce artist’s book documenting On Kawara’s telegrams affirming “I am still alive”; this is one of 450 numbered copies from Serie A, all of which are bound in cloth and housed in a slipcase. Arranged chronologically and reproduced at their original size, the telegrams of this project were sent from December 1969 until 31 December 1977. We find messages sent to Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, Teresa O’Connor, Germano Celant, Adriaan van Ravesteijn, Yutaka Matsuzawa, Tommaso Trini... More

Many fine woodcuts, including double-page, single-page, & text illus. 54; 64 (plus one leaf in duplicate); 57 folding leaves. Three vols. Oblong 8vo, orig. patterned blue wrappers (wrappers a little worn), manuscript title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Kyoto & Osaka: Fushimiya Toemon et al., 1746.

First edition and very rare; there is no copy of this edition in WorldCat. “In early 18th-century Japan, there emerged the new discipline of bonesetting (honetsugi) or bone adjustment (seikotsu), corresponding roughly to present-day osteopathy. Traditional physicians dealing with ‘internal medicine’ (hondo) could not do much with anatomy; however, for bonesetters, knowledge about bones, joints, vertebrae, and tendons was... More