Announcement card, text on recto, verso blank. Amsterdam: Seriaal, 1970.

Card announcing an exhibition of artist-designed jewelry. Fine. More

Black & white illus. throughout. 34 pp. Small 4to, pictorial wrappers (designed by Barfuß), staple-bound. Berlin: Happy-Happy, 1981.

One of the earliest exhibition catalogues in which Kippenberger (1953-97) features, albeit here under the pseudonym “Hans Siebert.” The real Hans Siebert was a poster artist who executed the paintings in Kippenberger’s "Leiber Maler, male mir" series.

It reproduces approximately 15 of Kippenberger’s early paintings and drawings. The graphic upper wrapper was designed by Ina Barfuß (b. 1949). “Siebert” is pictured on the lower wrapper alongside Wachweger (1943-2015) and Barfuß.

A near fine copy; trivial wear to spine and lower wrapper. This... More

Eight leaves, each leaf larger by 1/2” from the previous. 8vo (202 x 148 mm.), orig. leather-backed boards, stitching on spine, title printed on upper cover. [From colophon]: Rochester: Visual Studies Workshop, 1985.

An uncommon visual and interactive poem by the celebrated book artist Keith A. Smith (b. 1938), bound by the artist and printed offset in a numbered edition of 200, signed by the artist on the colophon page. Like Book 107, the intricate structure of overlapping text on each leaf requires repeated manipulation of the book and the pages.

Smith writes in his auto-bibliography 200 Books (2000), “[The]... More

Silk-screened illus. & text. 10 unnumbered leaves, several hand-cut. Oblong 4to (224 x 296 mm.), self-bound with staples. [Rochester, NY]: 1978.

An uncommon early artist’s book by Keith A. Smith (b. 1938), intended as a children’s alphabet book. In 200 Books, he writes: “Aatis and Ping Lillstrom had their first child the year I made this book and I dedicated it to Alpha Gaylord Lillstrom, since it is an alphabet book. I called her ‘Alpha Betty.’ Their second daughter, Aeros Keith Lillstrom was born in 1979. These are five of several children who have given me cheer making me feel... More

Black & white illus. throughout, offset-printed. [25] leaves. Oblong 4to (205 x 315 mm.), orig. three-color silk-screened dust-jacket (minor wear to the extremities), stiff boards, saddle-stitched & case-bound. Rochester, NY: Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1977.

First edition. This is an excellent demonstration of Keith A. Smith’s virtuosity with the manipulation of photographic processes to create intricate and vivid imagery. One of Smith’s frequent motifs, a “tumbling block” quilt pattern, appears several times in this work. In the 60s and 70s, the artist experimented with adding images to quilts by photo silk-screen, etching printed directly onto cloth, and even gum bichromate... 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... More

22 leaves (including some blanks or pages ruled in ink for entries). Agenda format (315 x 100 mm.), stitched as issued, uncut. [Nuremberg]: 1598.

A fascinating document, of a type that rarely survives: the manuscript account book for the spring 1598 Leipzig fair of Hans Straub I (or the Elder, 1541-1610), the prominent Nuremberg gold- and silversmith, alderman, and son-in-law of Wenzel Jamnitzer, the best-known German goldsmith of his time. The first leaf bears Straub’s hallmark (interwined initials “HS” over an arrow pointing upward within a plain shield & also containing the inscription “No. 72”). Our manuscript sheds important light... More

23 black & white illus. 239 pp. 12mo (169 x 120 mm.), gold geometric covers. Berlin: Merve Verlag, 1981.

First printing of this essential Harald Szeemann (1933-2005) anthology. Later printings can be identified by the lack of a price on the upper cover.

“In the summer of 1980, [Peter] Gente travelled on short notice to Ascona, where Szeemann had taken up residence during his research for the exhibition because he found the magnetic anomalies personally stimulating. Szeemann readily agreed to publish a book of collected occasional texts, supplied his visitor with ‘towers of manuscripts,’ and handed him the house keys... More

Black & white illus. 77 pp. & colophon. 8vo, red printed wrappers, title on spine. Brussels: Jan Mot, 2019.

Scarce book published for Jan Mot’s exhibition Paul Thek: I AM, AM I? (6 September-29 October 2019), edition of 750 copies. Texts by the dealer Ted Bonin and reproductions of the artist’s etchings.

“In 1989, a year after his death, a multitude of works were discovered in Paul Thek’s New York storage unit. Among hundreds of sculptures, paintings, drawings, and notebooks were three sheets of paper with etched images. Each was printed from small metal plates, a traditional form of printmaking... More

Single sheet, printed on recto only, two rubber-stamped illus., horizontal & vertical folds. Amsterdam: 1977.

Other Books and So flyer for a performance by the Dutch artist Moniek Toebosch (1948-2012). This was one of a series of early exhibitions staged at the bookstore’s new premises at Herengracht 259. Allan Kaprow and Tom Ockerse had concurrent shows, 6-24 September.

Fine. From the collection of Tjeerd Deelstra (b. 1937), the collector and Fluxus adherent.

❧ Guy Schraenen, ed., Dear reader. Don’t read. (2016), pp. 184 & 201 (pictured). More

Many black & white illus. Unpaginated. Square 4to, pictorial wrappers, perfect-bound. London: Atlantis Gallery, 1984.

A nicely illustrated exhibition catalogue. This show, held at the Atlantis Gallery, focused on defining and highlighting British livres d’artiste, and included work by Breakwell, Julia Farrer, Eliusabeth Frink, Katrina Longden, Paolozzi, Pasmore, Tom Phillips, Ian Tyson, etc.

A fine copy.

❧ A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on Artists Books (2nd ed.: 2013) 146. More

One black & white illus. [31] leaves. Oblong 8vo, metal binder clip. Utrecht: 1972.

An excellent and early catalogue concerning collectors of conceptual art; WorldCat locates no example in North America. It contains interviews with Martin and Mia Visser and Herman and Henriette Van-Eelen, in Dutch. The present exhibition was organized by Eveline Grosfeld and Henk van de Schoor.

Near fine. More