Item ID: 6937 [From upper cover]: Catalogue No. 5 – Fall 1977: Featuring European Books by Artists. bookseller ART METROPOLE.
[From upper cover]: Catalogue No. 5 – Fall 1977: Featuring European Books by Artists.

[From upper cover]: Catalogue No. 5 – Fall 1977: Featuring European Books by Artists.

Black & white illus. (some full-page). 47 pp. Large 4to (277 x 205 mm.), pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. [Toronto: 1977].

[with]:

—. [From upper wrapper]: Supplement to Catalogue No. 5, Editions by Artists. [10] pp. (incl. inside wrappers). 4to, pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Toronto: 1978.

Two rare and early catalogues issued by Art Metropole, the first large-scale distributor of artists’ books and publications in North America; offered with the subsequent Supplement distributed in the summer and featuring artists’ editions. The first catalogue offers dozens of works by European artists such as Abramovic, Beuys, Boltanski, Broodthaers, Buren, Darboven, Dibbets, Ehrenberg, Filliou, Fulton, Graham, Rebecca Horn, Hansjörg Mayer, Merz, Nannucci, Polke, Maria Reiche, Rot, Schwitters, Spoerri, Lea Vergine, Vostell, etc. Publications from Art Metropole, periodicals, records, and videos are also listed for sale, with prices. The graphic cover art comes from Rudolf Schwarzkogler’s Portfolio of the 3rd Action, which is among the selections of European artists’ books. Each item is concisely described, and for the books, essential bibliographical information is provided.

I. In very good condition; minuscule tears to a couple of pages. WorldCat records only one copy, in Italy; however, the National Gallery of Canada, which houses Art Metropole’s archive, likely possesses a full run of the catalogues. II. Fine condition.

❧ See “Art Metropole’s Publications and Events History with Related Ephemera, January 1971 – April 2006,” on the National Gallery of Canada website. I. A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on Artists Books (2nd ed.: 2013) 420 (with incorrect pagination).

Price: $400.00

Item ID: 6937