Full-bleed black & white illus. throughout. Eight unnumbered leaves. Small 8vo, pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. [Baden, Switzerland]: Kodoji Press, 2017.

A series of photographs focused on the imprints of artists’ books and exhibition catalogues published in New York. A number of the publications are instantly recognizable. It includes books published by Multiples, Inc. (Marian Goodman), Rizzoli, Sperone, Taschen, Skarstedt Gallery, Assouline, Siegelaub and J. Wendler, 38th Street Publishers, etc. The books are by LeWitt, Siegelaub, Tuttle, Prince, Graham, Wool, Judd, S. Levine, Koons, Lawler, Warhol, Halley, etc. A list of the artists featured is found on the inside of the lower wrapper.

One of Jonathan Monk’s rarer books. In fine condition. No stated edition size. More

Color illus. throughout. 44 pp. 8vo, orange printed wrappers, staple-bound. Rome: The British School at Rome, 2005.

Rare and nicely designed catalogue published in conjunction with Jonathan Monk’s ‘”Untitled and Unfinished (Afghanistan)”’ exhibition at the British School at Rome; signed by the artist on the title-page. For this show, Monk (b. 1969), with the help of gallerist Sonia Rosso, sent a video camera to an Afghan named Mustafa Shaibzada in order to film the lakes where Alighiero Boetti had wanted his ashes to be scattered, belatedly fulfilling his wishes. This catalogue is filled with stills from the film, which are accompanied by... More

Many black & white illus. throughout. Unpaginated. Small 4to, printed wrappers & orig. printed dust-jacket, staple-bound. London: Kettle’s Yard Gallery, 1986.

One of the great exhibition catalogues on artists’ books. This sharply conceived book was published for a 1986 exhibition at Kettle’s Yard Gallery (1 November-7 December). Organized by Pavel Buchler (b. 1952), who also designed and wrote this catalogue, the exhibition included loans from Christian Boltanski, Ulises Carrión, Nigel Greenwood, Richard Hamilton, Kasper Koenig, Annette Messager, Anthony d’Offay Gallery, Hansjörg Mayer, Barbara and Gabriele Schmidt-Heins, Michael Werner Galerie, Karsten Schubert, Lawrence Weiner, etc. The exhibition featured the work of Boltanski, Carrión... More

[28] pp. Square 4to, gray printed wrappers, staple-bound. Bremen: Neues Museum Weserburg, 1997.

Scarce exhibition catalogue on the work of Jiri Valoch (b. 1946); one of 1000 copies. This is part of an extensive series of shows and accompanying catalogues on artists’ books curated by Guy Schraenen (1941-2018) at the Neues Museum Weserburg. The catalogue contains an essay by Schraenen (“Wort als Wort”), a 10-page work by Valoch, and a biography and bibliography of the artist.

In excellent condition. Volume 18 in the Sammlung der Künstlerbücher. More

Black & white illus. throughout. 23, [1] p. Square 4to, aubergine pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Bremen: Neues Museum Weserburg, 1996.

Uncommon exhibition catalogue focused on Christian Boltanski’s artist's books. This show was one of many shows put together at the Neues Musuem Weserburg Bremen by curator Guy Schraenen (1941-2018) on the topic of artists’ publications. Boltanski (1944-2021) loaned several works to the exhibition, and the catalogue has several visual reproductions of his work. The catalogue essay, written by Schraenen, is entitled “Gedächtnis des Vergessens” [“Memory of Forgetting”]. This is a most useful reference in the study of Boltanski’s numerous books. With an extensive list of... More

Several black & white illus. [50] pp. Square 4to, printed wrappers, staple-bound. Bremen: Neues Museum Weserburg, 1995.

One of the most important exhibition catalogues from this series; it contains the most authoritative bibliography of the enigmatic artist’s books, multiples, and ephemera. This is one of the regular versions printed (1200 copies), a special edition was made in the format of a portfolio under the title: ‘”Perfect is my death word: Bücher, Editionen, Ephemera.”’ Byars (1932-97) had a varied and prodigious output of printed works, this “attempt at a catalogue raisonné,” compiled by Bettina Brach, records 186 pieces. Printed in parallel German and English... More

64 full-page woodcuts, 5 diagrams of family trees, & one illus. of the floor plan of the palace. 16; 12; 15; 14; 12; 12; 14; 12; 18; 18 folding leaves. Ten vols. Large 8vo, orig. pale blue semi-stiff boards (boards a little soiled), orig. block-printed titles on upper covers (one label lacking), new stitching. [Edo]: Ichirobei Shokai (or Matsue), [probably 1681].

An undated edition, published by Ichirobei Shokai, one of the two leading Edo publishers of the era, of this famous text, a digested and simplified version of Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji. Our illustrations are attributed to the publisher’s friend Hishikawa Moronobu (ca. 1631-94), the master illustrator and the first artist to be... More

14 double-page & three single-page fine brush & color-wash illus. 21, 19, 20 folding leaves. Three parts in one vol. Large 8vo (270 x 188 mm.), orig. semi-stiff blue patterned wrappers, manuscript title label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: copied by Mokuro Kimura in Tenpo era (1830-44).

A very rare manuscript account of the two expeditions in 1808 and 1809 of Mamiya (1775-1844), hydraulic engineer, cartographer, and explorer, to survey Sakhalin Island (J: Kita Ezo or Karafuto), off the coast of Siberia. The “Todatsu kiko” is Mamiya’s main Sakhalin travel narrative. During these journeys, Mamiya discovered that Sakhalin is separated from the mainland by a strait, crossed... More

Many woodcut maps throughout. 25; 19; 24; 20 folding leaves. Four vols. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff blue boards (boards rather rubbed), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. [Osaka]: 1689.

First edition of one of the most important and finely illustrated meisho-ki (“records of famous places” or guidebooks) of the second half of the 17th-century; the illustrations in this genre of book make them “not only a source of never-ending interest, but extremely valuable to the student of Japanese history and customs.”–Louise Norton Brown, Block Printing & Book Illustrations in Japan, p. 35–(including our book in her list). Meisho-ki “concentrated on contemporary life in... More

Illus. throughout. Total of 4790 pp. 12 vols. Thick 4to (217 x 156 mm.), uniform gray cloth, titles on spines. Brussels: Editions Micheline Szwajcer & Michèle Didier, 2004.

The massive and rare reproduction of the On Kawara’s I Met series (1968-79); signed by the artist. During this period, Kawara (1932-2014, i.e., 29,771 days) documented every single person with whom he conversed in the course of a day. He eventually grew tired of the practice, as did some of his closest friends (explained below), but it ended only when Kawara’s attaché case containing the rubber stamps integral to several of his works was stolen at a.... More

Black & white and color illus. throughout, some folding illus. 121; 149; 139 & [13] leaves; 156; 138 pp. All small 4to (210 x 150 mm.), color softcovers, perfect-bound. Paris: Yvon Lambert, 1979-83.

All five issues of Mot pour Mot, an annually published periodical; each issue was devoted to an exhibition or artist. A pioneering Parisian gallerist, Lambert was one of the first European dealers to exhibit American Minimalist and Conceptual artists such as LeWitt, Kawara, Robert Barry, Agnes Martin, Andre, Ryman, etc. Three of the issues were edited by René Denizot, and Barry (no. 3) and Giulio Paolini (no. 4) also co-edited issues. All issues are in French and... More

Black & white illus. throughout. 76, [3] pp. with biographies of artists. 12mo, printed softcover. New York: 1977.

Rare exhibition catalogue from René Block’s New York outpost which opened at 409 West Broadway in May 1974. This show (21 May-11 June 1977) was the last to take place at the New York gallery.

Adherents of the “Wiener Aktionismus” were the focus of the present exhibition: Gunter Brus, Otto Muhl, Hermann Nitsch, Arnulf Rainer, Gerhard Ruhm, and Rudolf Schwarzkogler. There are many pictures of the artists' works within. Curator Peter Weiermair has written the introduction. More