Many text & full-page illus. [8] pp. Small 4to, green pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. New York: 1998.

A scarce catalogue issued by Barbara Moore to advertise re-publications of celebrated Fluxus books and multiples. It includes the work of artists such as Maciunas, Brecht, Friedman, Hendricks, Hutchins, Kosugi, Kubota, Liss, Miller, Ono, Shiomi, Vautier, and Watts. The first page highlights “The last multiple planned by George Maciunas,” his Flux-Deck, completed with Geoff Hendricks and Larry Miller.

In fine condition. More

Black & white illus. of Ruscha’s first eight books. Large poster intentionally separated horizontally in two & stapled twice to form an accordion booklet of 10 pp. (200 x 108 mm. fully folded). Hollywood, California: Heavy Industry Publications: [ca. 1968].

First state of this extremely rare trade catalogue advertising Ruscha’s first eight artists’ books. This is one of the earliest ephemeral publications promoting these fabled books. They are presented in typical Ruscha fashion: slightly askew and matter-of-factly. We date the present catalogue to 1968 or thereabouts based on the final item listed for sale, Nine Swimming Pools (retailed at $3.50, 1968). The second edition of... More

66, [10] pp. ads & index. Tall 8vo (200 x 110 mm.), pink printed wrappers, two glue-bound gatherings laid-in wrappers as issued. [Antwerp: 1976].

The scarce catalogue issued by the curator and publisher Schraenen (1948-2018), which lists hundreds of early artists’ books; one of 500 copies printed. At the beginning, it contains contributions by Schraenen, Carrión, Kostelanetz, and Klaus Groh. It then lists the works of Beuys, Burroughs, Cage, Carrión, Degottex, Downsbrough, Ehrenberg, Filliou, Ginsberg, Higgins, Jacks, Kostelanetz, Rot, Shiomi, Tuttle, Vostell, E. Williams, etc. There are also long listings of records, magazines, and posters. This catalogue was published to accompany events held in Brussels, Antwerp... More

41 hand-cut leaves (incl. upper cover). Small 4to (130 x 147 mm.), orig. printed covers, “long stitch through slotted wrapper cover” sewing. [Rochester, NY]: Feb. 1984.

A scarce example of one of Smith’s “no-picture books,” printed in an edition of 100 copies, bound and signed by Smith. Here the core of the book is a continuous circle and graduated circular hole through the entire work. The hole in each leaf was formed by a blade attached to a compass. This book was part of Smith’s effort to create affordable hand-bound works in larger editions, “which could be purchased by anyone, even by students —... More

Offset printed black & white illus. throughout. Leporello format (162 x 112 mm. closed, fully extends to 2.5 meters), stiff paper boards, printed pictorial label on upper board. Rochester: Visual Studies Workshop, 1986.

One of Smith’s works in leporello format, featuring a poem by the artist; printed offset in an edition of 300 and signed by the artist on the title-page. This work is dedicated to the book artist Philip Zimmerman.

In his auto-bibliography 200 Books, Smith (b. 1938) explains the origin of this piece, “I was not speaking of snow, but the snow job of governments spouting the safety of nuclear power plants. I.... More

[64] leaves, all trimmed in graduated widths. 8vo (229 x 167 mm.), orig. blue cloth-backed boards, title on spine, green paper endsheets. Atlanta: Nexus Press, 1985.

Produced in an edition of 50, this book is made up of the same offset-printed leaf, but each leaf is successively trimmed to a lesser extent. This technique of variable page width is best known in Buzz Spector’s work, such as A Passage (1994), where the pages have been carefully torn. Smith acknowledges Spector’s influence for the present book, although he experimented with this method in Book 40 (1974), Book 42 (1974), Book 47 (1975), and Book 53 (1974).

In fine condition; numbered and signed by the artist on the colophon leaf. This is the final copy available from Smith. More

Many black & white illus. 112 unnumbered pages. 8vo (211 x 145 mm.), printed wrappers. Rochester: Visual Studies Workshop, 1986.

An uncommon collection of visual poems by the American book artist, Keith A. Smith (b. 1938); this is an early photo-digital book, created using Thunderscan. Printed offset in an edition of 500 copies on Mohawk Vellum 70 lb. There was also a leather-bound edition of 25 copies. The present example is signed by the artist on the title-page.

“In Overcast/Outcast Smith takes [it] a step farther. While [Book 115] is almost entirely graphic — a flat pattern on the page — Outcast develops dimensionality with its verbal materials. The... More

Black & white illus. 16 pp. (incl. wrappers). Small 4to (175 x 136 mm.), orig. white printed wrappers, staple-bound. [New York: 1966?].

The very rare first Something Else Press catalogue. Founded by Dick Higgins, the press published and distributed an array of innovative American and European artists’ books. This catalogue opens with an article on book design and its limitations, as well as examples of attractive and structurally sound bookbindings. The article concludes: “We are not interested in built-in obsolescence. We want our books to be as fresh ten years from now as they are today, and as much of a joy to behold.” This... More

16 unnumbered pages. Tall 8vo (225 x 100 mm.), printed semi-stiff wrappers, staple-bound. New York, Cologne, Valencia: [1970].

A very scarce publisher’s catalogue. It offers works by John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Dick Higgins, Daniel Spoerri, Gertrude Stein, and Wolf Vostell. Presented in the Back List are books and pamphlets by Filliou, Alison Knowles, Ray Johnson, Claes Oldenburg, Allan Kaprow, George Brecht, Jerome Rothenberg, and Emmett Williams. Higgins and the Something Else Press also imported numerous innovative books from Europe, such as those produced by Hansjörg Mayer, Wolfgang Schmidt, Dieter Rot, Stefan Wewerka, and André Thomkins.

Near fine copy; staples rusted. A valuable and rare record of the Something Else Press’s efforts to disseminate affordable and creative artists’ books. More

Cover illustration by Max Ernst & 12 photographic closeups of authors, printed on both sides of six sheets of coated paper, tipped-in. 15 pp. 8vo (220 x 130 mm.), orig. printed paper wrappers. Paris: J. Corti, [1931].

A scarce bookseller’s catalogue issued by one of the principal distributors of Surrealist works in Paris. The famous chart of authors prescribed and invalidated by the Surrealists “Lisez / Ne Lisez” appears for the first time in print on the lower wrapper of this catalogue. The Librairie José Corti on the Rue de Clichy served as the occasional headquarters of the collective imprint Editions Surréalistes. Ernst’s steel-engraved collage on... More

Ca. 150 catalogue cards bolted. Washington, D.C. & New York: Independent Curators Incorporated, 1978-80.

An uncommon exhibition catalogue, important in the early popularization of artists’ books. Curated by Wilson and Frank, the exhibition included more than a hundred examples of book art, representing a wide variety of publishing methods. It also broadened the distribution of these publications, which were normally spread informally, to art spaces across North America. The show was hosted at six locations: Allen Memorial Art Museum; the University of Hartford; Dalhousie University Art Gallery; the University of California, Irvine; the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art; and the Washington... More

Text illus. [20] pp. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff printed wrappers. London: 1995.

A rare workfortheeyetodo catalogue of European artists’ books. workfortheeyetodo was a bookshop established in London by Simon Cutts and Erica van Horn of Coracle Press, and Maggie Smith. From 1992 until 1997, the space hosted exhibitions, marketed old and newly published works, and maintained a choice reference collection. It offers the work of artists such as Endre Tot, Vautier, Valoch, Andre, Boltanski, Downsbrough, Kosuth, Broodthaers, Darboven, Kawara, Nannucci, LeWitt, Cutts, van Horn, Hamish Fulton, Alfredo Jaar, Kippenberger, Prince, Keith A. Smith, etc. With an assertive foreword on the state of artists’... More