1 p.l., 28 pp. Small 8vo (176 x 109 mm.), disbound, stitched. Antwerp: L. P. Delacroix, 1816.

The scarce, triumphant catalogue of paintings recovered from the French and exhibited in 1816 at Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts — now known as the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The Academy was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger. We locate no copy of this catalogue in North America.

Successive French occupations in the 1790s had led to the confiscation of Antwerp’s greatest cultural treasures from churches, museums, and private cabinets. A number of pictures by Rubens were among the spoliations. In the aftermath of... More

Many illus. 96 pp. Tall 8vo, orig. grey covers (upper cover bowed & spine sunned), title on spine. [London]: The Arts Council of Great Britain, 1976.

An essential early exhibition catalogue of artists’ books. This was published for a travelling exhibition arranged by the Arts Council. 157 artists’ books, anthologies, catalogues, periodicals, and important reference works were selected by Attwood and Phillpot, who also contributed essays. The catalogue is profusely illustrated with images of the earliest artists’ publications.

A near fine copy, small fold to a corner of the upper cover. More

Large illustrated single sheet poster (420 x 300 mm. unfolded). [Lund, Sweden]: Beau Geste Press, 1976.

An extremely rare poster issued by Beau Geste Press for an exhibition at the Galerie S:t Petri in Lund, Sweden; one of 500 copies produced. Managed by Felipe Ehrenberg, Martha Hellion, and David Mayor, Beau Geste Press, based in Devon, UK, was active from 1970 to 1976. The press collaborated with numerous artists and authors, all of whom are listed on this poster: Beuys, Carrión, Filliou, Gibbs, Higgins, Hompson, Kostelanetz, Maciunas, Saito, Schneemann, Shiomi, Valoch, etc., etc. For example, two of Ulises Carrión’s bookworks, Looking for poetry/Tras... 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

Three black & white illus. 9 unnumbered pages. 8vo (210 x 135 mm.), orig. gray printed wrappers (a little sunned), staple-bound. Paris: P. Rosenberg, 1936.

A scarce Braque exhibition catalogue of paintings made since 1931, featuring mostly still lifes along with two nudes. It lists 20 paintings, three of which are illustrated. Rosenberg had lured Braque away from Daniel Henry Kahnweiler and his brother Léonce in 1922. Braque’s first solo exhibition at Paul Rosenberg’s famed gallery on 21, rue la Boëtie took place in 1924. The final page of this catalogue announces future exhibitions for Seurat, Picasso, Monet, Matisse and Laurencin.

Very good copy, minor dampstaining to the first blank leaf. 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

42 photographic plates pasted-on & poster laid-in. Unpaginated. Large 8vo, orig. boards & orig. printed dust-jacket, perfect-bound. London: The British Council, 2001.

Scarce catalogue for the British Council’s exhibition of artists’ multiples. It begins with an insightful survey of the medium by Bury, then Head of the Modern English division at the British Library. Many of the items exhibited are illustrated, and there is a check-list at the end of the catalogue. The contents of the exhibition were selected by Diana Eccles, Brett Rogers, and Sarah Staton.

A handsomely designed and important catalogue, in fine condition (slightly warped due to the plates). More

Many black & white illus. Two large folded sheets (299 x 212 mm. folded), unbound. Purmerend: Museum Waterland, [1981].

An uncommon exhibition flyer for a display of bookworks at the Museum Waterland. Co-curated by Ulises Carrion and Agius, both included their own works, along with those of François Bouillon, Axel Heibel, Diderick van Kleef, Federico Sanguinetti, Ben Sleeuwenhoek, Ad Gerritsen, J. H. Kocman, Tom Ockerse, Gèza Perneczky, and Pawel Petasz. Several examples of each artist’s work are pictured. All of the works displayed were drawn from Agius and Carrión’s personal collections. This catalogue’s text, written by Alex A. M. de Vries, is in parallel... More

Many illus. Unpaginated. 8vo, stiff pictorial boards, cloth spine. [Mexico City]: Alias, 2013.

First edition, an uncommon book examining Carrión’s De Diefstal van het Jaar “exhibition” at the Drents Museum in 1982. This show entailed Ulises Carrion (1941-89) displaying a large diamond in a small and dark room of the museum, without any visible security or restrictions, as a social experiment. In the last decade of his life, Carrión’s practice involved similar investigations of societal norms and the dissemination of information. The previous year, the artist had delved into the spread of gossip and rumors through social networks in the performance... More

Many black & white illus. 267 pp. Thick 4to, printed softcover, title on spine, illustrated endpapers. Madrid: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, 2016.

The Spanish edition of this exhibition catalogue, now very scarce. The exhibition took place at the Reina Sofia (16 March-10 October 2016) and Mexico City’s Museo Jumex (9 February-7 May 2017). Profusely illustrated, the catalogue contains essays and remembrances by Guy Schraenen, Felipe Ehrenberg, Jan Voss, Joao Fernandes, Heriberto Yepez, Javier Maderuelo, and Maike Aden. An invaluable reference on Ulises Carrión’s life and works.

Near fine, minimal edgewear. With the inserted DVD present as issued. More

Text illus. Four unnumbered leaves. Printed sheets (297 x 210 mm.), orig. brown wrappers, staple-bound. [From the first page]: Hou, Denmark: Egmont Højskolen, Feb. 1979.

A very scarce exhibition catalogue crafted by Ulises Carrion. The artist also curated exhibitions on bookworks, mail art, and rubber stamp books in Emmastad, Curaçao; Warsaw; Amsterdam; Rotterdam; Budapest; Alkmaar; Maastricht; Cambridge, England, etc. The present catalogue, with text in English and Danish, begins with Carrión thanking the artist Niels Lomholt. He then describes the exhibited materials: “Time pressures didn’t allow for a wide research, but I believe that the show includes most if not all the... More

47 pp. Small 4to (210 x 158 mm.), orig. black wrappers (upper corner creased), staple-bound. [London]: Nigel Greenwood Inc. Ltd., 1972.

First edition of this seminal exhibition catalogue, which features the first English translation of Celant’s essay on artists’ books, as well as an important list of nearly 300 then-unheralded artists’ books. Originally published in the first issue of the Italian magazine Data (Sept. 1971),the essay is recognized as one of the earliest in-depth examinations of the book form and its bearing within Conceptual art. Celant (b. 1940), the art historian and critic, organized several Arte Povera exhibitions in Italy in the 1960s and... More