Many black & white text illus. [64] pp. Small 8vo (210 x 135 mm.), orig. pictorial wrappers (spine worn), staple-bound. Toronto: 1976.

Art Metropole’s very scarce third catalogue of books, periodicals, films, and videotapes. Two years before Printed Matter was established in New York, Art Metropole became the first large-scale distributor of artists’ publications in North America. The collective General Idea (AA Bronson, Felix Partz & Jorge Zontal), which had been working with printed matter since the creation of FILE in 1972, founded this artist-run space in 1974.

Expanding greatly on Art Metropole’s previous catalogues, which primarily featured North... More

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... More

Many illus. 77 pp. & ads. 4to, orig. pictorial wrappers, upper wrapper by C. Andre, staple-bound. New York: 1977.

A celebrated issue of the intrepid New York newsprint art magazine, which ran from 1973 to 1978. This issue was devoted to the subject of “artists’ books” and introduced many to the then embryonic concept. It opens with an “Idea Poll” that solicited responses to the relevance and potential of artists’ books. Responses from Acker, Baldessari, Carrion, Buren, Denes, Hoffberg, Huebler, Kaprow, Kostelanetz, LeWitt, Lippard, Nannucci, Piper, Schneemann, Steir, Tuttle, Weiner, are recorded. They project a mix of optimism and fatalism... More

Color illus. 71 pp. Tall 8vo, red printed softcover with flaps, title on spine. Morlanwelz, Belgium: Musée Royal de Mariemont, 2008.

Rare exhibition catalogue on artists’ books. The show was curated by Veronica Alarcon Ibanez and Pierre-Jean Foulon. Books by Broodthaers, Christian Dotrement, Jacques Louis Nyst, Jacques Lennep, Pierre Cordier, Anne Goy, Filliou, etc. were selected. Text in French and Spanish.

In excellent condition. We find just two copies in North America.

❧ A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on Artists Books (2nd ed.: 2013) 122. More

Many color illus. 7 p.l., 45 pp. Large 4to, pictorial wrappers, perfect-bound. London: Open Editions, 1992.

Uncommon and nicely illustrated exhibition catalogue, with the essays printed in Finnish and English parallel text. This travelling exhibition of British artists’ books was held at the National Gallery of Iceland, the Tokyo Gas Shinjuku Showroom, the Malmo Konstal, the National Museum of Contemporary Art (Norway), and the Vantaan Kaupunki. Work by Blamey, Büchler, Cutts, Fulton, Finlay, Long, Sackett, Stokes & Douglas, etc.

Near fine; a few scuffs.

❧ A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on Artists Books (2nd ed.: 2013) 62... 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... More

Many illus. Unpaginated. Large 8vo, brown pictorial wrappers, metal clip. Halifax: 2002.

Scarce fair catalogue. Very good copy. Edition of 200.

❧ Not in A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on Artists Books (2nd ed.: 2013). More

Many illus. [42] pp. Small 4to (170 x 125 mm.), pictorial dust-jacket & gray wrappers, staple-bound. [London: 1991].

An uncommon catalogue issued by the Coracle Press, interspersed with numerous, if a little blurry, illustrations of the books on offer. It lists the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay, Susan Hiller, Simon Cutts, Colin Sackett, Bernard Lassus, Hamish Fulton, Richard Long, Richard Tuttle, Bill Culbert, Stephen Willats, Erica van Horn, Yoko Terauchi, Shelagh Wakely, etc. All entries are priced and provide bibliographic information.

Near fine copy, a few small stains to the upper wrapper.

❧ A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on... More

Black & white illus. throughout. 319 pp. & colophon. 4to, rubber-stamped off-white softcover, title handwritten on spine, perfect-bound. London: The Everyday Press, 2026.

The 2026 “bootleg” re-edition of Arnaud Desjardin’s legendary bibliography of reference works on artists’ books. This new edition is textually the same as the 2013 second edition. The title is hand-stamped on the front cover and the artist/editor has written the title on the spine. The artist and publisher Desjardin (b. 1969) produced the first edition (with color illustrations) in 2011 as part of his COMMA commission, for which he staged an exhibition of the reference works... More

Many illus. 34 pp. & order form. Square 4to, printed wrappers, staple-bound. New York: 1995.

Interesting bookseller catalogue of artists’ books and related texts. It offers books by Pierson, Prince, Bloom, Piper, Frank, Baldessari, Boltanski, Kawara, etc. A fine copy.

❧ A. Desjardin, The Book on Books on Artists Books (2nd ed.: 2013) 511. More

Color lithographs by Roth on upper and lower wrappers & many black & white illus. 40 unnumbered pages. 4to (230 x 170 mm.), orig. pictorial wrappers (lower wrapper signed by “Roth”), staple-bound. Stuttgart, London & Reykjavik: 1974.

A rare catalogue bearing two striking original color lithographs signed and numbered by Dieter Roth; it was produced in an edition of 1000 copies. This catalogue presents many works Roth created in collaboration with Mayer, in addition to works by Emmett Williams, Eduardo Paolozzi, Dorothy Iannone, Emil Schult, Richard Hamilton, Hansjörg Schneider, Tom Phillips, Stefan Wewerka, Mark Boyle, Arnulf Rainer, etc. Records, posters... More

[17] leaves. Square 4to, semi-stiff printed wrappers, metal spiral-bound. Atlanta: 1994.

A wonderfully designed catalogue for the exhibition held at the Atlanta College of Art Gallery from 28 January to 4 March. The exhibition was engineered by Judith Hoffberg and Peter Frank, two keen observers of the artist’s book’s evolution in the United States. The exhibition consisted of loans from the collections of Printed Matter, Tony Zwicker, Granary Books, Nexus Press, Dick Higgins, etc. Most of this volume is taken up by the curators’ essay, which is inventively laid-out. With a bibliography and checklist at the end. The artists featured... More