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

A rare and early catalogue issued by Art Metropole, the first large-scale distributors of artists’ books and publications in North America. This 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... More

14 black & white illus. 36 unnumbered pages. Irregularly shaped small 4to (200 x 200 mm.), die-cut corners (spine faintly rubbed), staple-bound. [Chicago]: The University of Chicago Library, 1986.

An important exhibition catalogue as well as reference work on artists’ books. This catalogue was designed by the book artist Buzz Spector (b. 1948), and his pencil notes for the mock-up have been reproduced in this final version. Jeffrey Abt, the organizer of the exhibition, writes in an insightful essay: “The contemporary artist’s book…represents an evolution of the book’s use from a vehicle for text and its illustration to an artistically integrated, sometimes sculptural object. Though superficially... More

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

A very scarce exhibition catalogue crafted by Carrión. 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 significant artists... More

Many black & white illus. 13 unnumbered leaves, printed on rectos only (except for one leaf). Small folio (295 x 210 mm.), pictorial wrappers, fastened with plastic clasps. [From verso of the first leaf]: Amsterdam: Agora Studio, Sept. 1980.

A rare exhibition catalogue, printed in an edition of 200. Carrión (1941-89), the Mexican Conceptual and book artist, as well as publisher and bookseller, devised a retrospective of his works and communications with his collaborators, for which he investigates the use of names and addresses. Drawing on his archive of names and addresses, the artist accomplished this by “concealing the signature on each one of the... More

55 unnumbered leaves. Tall 8vo (230 x 109 mm.), orig. printed semi-stiff wrappers, title on spine. [From lower cover]: N.p.: Verlaggalerie Leaman, 1978.

One of Carrión’s scarce artists’ books, from an edition of 300. In this bookwork, the artist has recreated the genealogy of the Muxlow family in Yorkshire, whose history he discovered on the final pages of a very worn bible while he was studying at the University of Leeds. The birth dates, marriages, and death dates for the members of this family have been documented and preserved with the straightforward layout of the present book.

An uncommon work by Carrión, in near fine condition. Spine a bit sunned. 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

Color illus. throughout. 60 unnumbered pages. 8vo (210 x 150 mm.), white wrappers, stitched, title blind-stamped on cover. Brooklyn: Trying to Press, 2017.

A rare artist’s book, signed by Finch on the title-page in pencil; WorldCat locates only three institutional copies in North America.

From the artist: “Sunlight in a Room is a book documenting interesting natural sunlight and optical effects occurring in my Brooklyn studio throughout the day. The cover picks up on the idea as well, it was blind stamped and catches the light, which is necessary in order to be legible.” More

Eight perforated sheets (ca. 282 x 215 mm.) of continuous-feed green bar computer paper (perforated margins a little worn, minor loss of paper to final blank sheet), in orig. printed mailing envelope. Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1967-68.

Flavin’s famous and rare computer-produced exhibition catalogue Pink and ‘Gold’; this copy, in the original printed envelope, is addressed to the influential critic and artist Sidney Tillim (1925-2001). Each example of this catalogue is unique, due to the irregular printing from pre-punched paper cards fed into a rented IBM 1401 decimal computer. Each visitor could print their own catalogue. This was Flavin’s first solo... More

Numerous illus. Large folding poster (914 x 610 mm.), folded into eight panels (minor wear to the central fold). [San Francisco]: November 2010.

Leiber’s scarce penultimate catalogue (no. 51), a poster issued on the occasion of the 2010 New York Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1; WorldCat records no copies in the United States. “This poster mimics the event flyer for 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, a series that took place October 13-23, 1966, at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York. The series was the inaugural program of the Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) organization and involved a collaboration between invited... More

13 double-page illus. 5 pp. of text. 4to (280 x 215 mm.), orig. plain stiff boards, spine taped as issued. San Francisco: Steven Leiber, [2010].

Steven Leiber’s rare penultimate catalogue, devoted to the artists’ books of the Schmidt-Heins sororal twins, with color reproductions of their work. It is modeled after the exhibition catalogue Buchwerke, Barbara Schmidt-Heins, Gabriele Schmidt-Heins, Original-Bucher 1972 bis 1976, issued by the Kunstraum München & the Institut für moderne Kunst, Nuremberg, in 1976. This catalogue offers 14 unique bookworks for sale (seven by each twin), and provides detailed descriptions of their structures and illustrations.

Born in Rellingen, the twins (b. 1949) both studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Hamburg. Their bookworks garnered praise through exhibitions in 1976 at the Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst and documenta 6 the year after. More

Many black & white photocopied illus. 18 unnumbered leaves. 8vo (215 x 143 mm.), printed pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. [San Francisco: 2005].

A rare catalogue (no. 44) issued in zine form by Leiber that offers 39 works by Raymond Pettibon, including drawings, artist’s books, ephemera, and a collaborative piece with Ed Ruscha. These were all shown at 871 Fine Arts in an exhibition assembled by Adrienne Fish and Leiber. This catalogue is modeled after Pettibon’s zine Tripping Corpse, published by SST Records from 1981 to 1985.

In fine condition. WorldCat records only three copies in North America. More

Black & white and color illus throughout. 27 unnumbered leaves. Large 4to (266 x 235 mm.), orig. printed semi-stiff wrappers, title on spine. San Francisco: January 2010.

A rare Leiber catalogue modeled after publications by Dan Graham; this is Leiber’s 50th catalogue. WorldCat records only two copies. It offers books by Acconci, Applebroog, Boltanski, Broodthaers, Carrión, Dibbets, Duchamp, Filliou, Haring, Huebler, Kippenberger, Kosuth, Kruger, LeWitt, Messager, Ono, Prince, Vautier, Wool, etc. There are also a number of scarce exhibition catalogues and art periodicals. The cover of each item is reproduced at several points in the text. Laid-in is a single-leaf insert describing a run of... More