Here we have two obviously related groups of items. The nudes are self- explanatory: the model takes off her clothes and the photographer takes off his lens cap. The “Bad Boys of Photography,” however, deserve a few words. Arthur Ollman, former director of San Diego’s Museum of Photographic Arts, came up with the concept many years ago and mentioned to me that he was hoping to organize an exhibition on the theme. However, when he contacted some of the photographers he wished to include (who will remain unnamed), they responded, indignantly, that they were neither “bad” nor “boys.” So, he shelved the idea, and I retrieve it here, with his blessing. Many of the images made by these fellows are nudes of course, but they address other subjects as well, such as drug culture and religious conformity.
NUDES
l. ALPERN, Merry. Dirty Windows, Zurich: Scalo, 1995. Hardcover (red-stamped paper over boards), 11 ½ x 9 ¼ inches, 112 pages, 85 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition. Signed, with ephemera.
This is Alpern’s defining series of grainy pictures made looking into a bathroom window of a sex club in New York’s financial district, in which people urinate, take drugs, have sex, and count money. A fabulous voyeuristic study. Laid in are an announcement for the book and Alpern’s business card, plus this copy is signed by her. One corner lightly bumped, in mildly rumpled dustjacket. $125
2. BELLOCQ, E. J. E. J. Bellocq: Storyville Portraits, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1970. Hardcover (gold-stamped maroon cloth), 11 ¼ x 9 ¾ inches, 88 pages, 34 duotone illustrations. Stated fourth printing.
This book represented the initial public rediscovery of work by Bellocq, a New Orleans professional photographer. Working on his own around 1912, he made portraits of prostitutes in the city’s red-light district, known as Storyville. A group of Bellocq’s 8-x-10-inch glass plate negatives were discovered and then acquired by photographer Lee Friedlander, who makes prints on the antiquated printing-out paper. The subjects, both clothed and nude, recline on lounges, sit against neutral backgrounds, and stand in their rooms. Adding to the vintage nature of many of the images are the plate’s deteriorating emulsion and broken pieces. Near fine condition, in rubbed dustjacket. $100
3. BELLOCQ, E. J. Bellocq: Photographs from Storyville, the Red-Light District of New Orleans, New York: Random House, 1996. Hardcover (blind-stamped black cloth), 12 ¼ x 11 ¾ inches, 84 pages, duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first U.S. edition.
Another selection of Bellocq’s hooker portraits. With a preface by Lee Friedlander and essay by critic Susan Sontag. According to Museum of Modern Art curator John Szarkowski, “In his own way, in these pictures, Bellocq consummates many love affairs. His prostitutes are beautiful, innocently or tenderly or wickedly or joyfully or obscenely, but all beautiful, in the same sense that they are present, unique, irreplaceable, believable, and receptive.” Near fine condition, in rubbed dustjacket. $150
4. BERNHARD, John. John Bernhard: Nudes, Houston: John Bernhard, 1999. Softcovers, 7 x 5 inches each, color and black-and-white halftone illustrations, slipcase. Signed.
This set of five small booklets was Bernhard’s first publication, each with six accordion-style panels of reproductions from different bodies of nude work. They include stone and wood, in which he projected images of these materials onto nude figures and then photographed them. The group of color photographs, “Skindream,” presents the female figure suggesting natural formations such as “Prairie Fire” and “Oasis.” John Bernhard (no relation to Ruth Bernhard) was born in Switzerland in 1957 and immigrated to Houston, Texas, in 1980. In addition to his creative nude work, he runs a graphic design and advertising firm. This copy inscribed by Bernhard. Booklets near fine condition, in slipcase that is lightly scuffed and creased. $35
5. BERNHARD, Ruth. Original photograph. Classic Torso with Hands, 1952 (printed later), gelatin silver print, 13 ¾ x 10 ¾ inches (image/sheet), 20 x 16 inches (mount).
Signed, in pencil, on front of mount. Verso: signature, title, and date, in pencil, and photographer’s wet stamp. Image sent upon request. $6,500
6. BERNHARD, Ruth. The Eternal Body [A Collection of Fifty Nudes], San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1986. Softcover, 11 ½ x 12 inches, unpaginated, 50 duotone illustrations. Signed.
As the title states, fifty nudes by one of the female masters of the genre. Features all of Bernhard’s best-known ones, dating 1934-1976. Includes an introduction by the photographer and commentary by writer/photographer Margaretta Mitchell. This copy signed by both Mitchell and Bernhard. Near fine condition. $150
7. BERNHARD, Ruth. Ruth Bernhard: The Collection of Ginny Williams, Denver: Ginny Williams Foundation, 1993. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth),
12 ¼ x 11 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 43 tritone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Denver Art Museum. Comprises a good selection of Bernhard’s still lifes and nudes, including some little-known images, like a 1929 portrait of a woman. Features text by Peter C. Bunnell and Williams, who begins, “Ruth Bernhard is a Renaissance woman. She is a timeless artist who lives by principle, curiosity, love, and discovery. She has been an influence in defining my gallery, sharpening my focus, and softening my life—all without advice.” Near fine condition. $150
8. BERNHARD, Ruth. Signed ephemera.
Two Portfolios, prospectus for “The Eternal Body” and “The Gift of the Commonplace,” c. 1976. Folder, 8 ½ x 11 inches, 3 halftone illustrations. Each portfolio contained ten gelatin silver prints and cost $1,000.
Printed form letter, dated November 1, 1982, announcing that she would no longer be represented by Collected Visions and would begin selling her own work. Signed, in ink, by Bernhard.
Card reproducing her image “Skull and Rosary” signed twice by Bernhard, in mailed envelope, 1993.
Ruth Bernhard, San Francisco: Vision Editions, 1993. Folder, 7 x 4 ¾ inches, 11 loose cards, 10 halftone illustrations. This portfolio included ten platinum/palladium prints of nudes, featuring such popular pictures as “In the Box” and “Classic Torso.” The card with information about the portfolio is signed in ink by Bernhard.
Gift of the Commonplace, San Francisco: Vision Editions, 1994. Accordion-style brochure, 6 x 4 ¼ inches, 12 panels, 10 halftone illustrations. This portfolio of ten platinum/palladium prints comprises still lifes like “Teapot” and “Two Leaves.” This copy signed in ink by Bernhard.
“Ruth Bernhard, Photographer, Dies at 101,” obituary. New York Times, December 21, 2006 (on original newsprint). Reproduces her 1952 image “Classic Torso with Hands.”
A very nice group of six items, most of them signed: $50
9. BODY WORK: Photographs of Nudes: Calendar 2001. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2001. Spiral bound, 18 x 9 inches, 18 pages, 12 halftone illustrations.
This nudie calendar was produced on the occasion of an exhibition of work by twelve photographers, allowing each a single month of the year (how convenient). They were E. J. Bellocq, John Bernhard, Bill Brandt, Anne W. Brigman, Judy Coleman, Wellington Lee, Roger Mertin, Eadweard Muybridge, Edward Steichen, Max Thorek, Thomas Weir, and Edward Weston. Each month includes a few dates relevant to the nude, such as January 12, 1966, when the U.S. District Court declared Tennessee’s anti-nudist law unconstitutional. Fine condition, in shrink wrap. $25
10. BRANDT, Bill. Perspective of Nudes, New York: Amphoto, 1961. Hardcover (red-stamped paper over boards), 11 x 9 ½ inches, 106 pages, 90 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
Preface by Lawrence Durrell and introduction by Chapman Mortimer. Brandt’s most revered book, with quality, gravure plates. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that has a few tears, is chipped and missing a small piece from the back. $1,500
11. BRANDT, Bill. Bill Brandt: Nudes, 1945-1980, Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1980. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 11 ½ x 10 inches, 114 pages, 100 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first U.S. edition.
Introduction by Michael Hiley. Examples of Brandt’s most important subject. Fine condition, in dustjacket with a few chips. $125
12. CAMERA, April 1969. Softcover, 11 ¼ x 9 inches, 66 pages, 34 screen-gravure and color illustrations.
Entire issued devoted to nudes, with work by Jeanloup Sieff (France), Will McBride (Germany), John Pfahl (U.S.A.), Sam Haskins (England), William G. Larson (U.S.A.), and Kishin Shinoyama (Japan). Pfahl’s pictures are color close-ups, completely unrelated to later work for which he is known. Larson’s consists of extremely elongated images created by both the camera and the models moving during exposure, presented on gatefold pages. Near fine condition. $25
13. CAMERA, September 1971. Softcover, 11 ¼ x 9 inches, 60 pages, 31 screen-gravure and color illustrations.
An entire issue of the Swiss magazine devoted to “The Nude and the Window.” Most of the 28 photographers are represented by a single image. Among them are Judy Dater, Harvey Himelfarb, Jan Saudek, Jack Welpott, and Christian Vogt. Cover edges lightly worn. $25
14. CARROLL, Lewis. Morton N. Cohen, Lewis Carroll, Photographer of Children: Four Nude Studies, Philadelphia: Rosenbach Foundation, and Clarkson N. Potter, 1979. Hardcover (brown-stamped yellow cloth), 10 x 7 inches, 32 pages, 4 color halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Examines just four pictures of nude girls by English writer Charles L. Dodgson (1832-1898), acquired by the Rosenbach Foundation in the 1950s. The images are heavily hand-worked, all but obscuring their photographic origins, and show the subjects on seashores, seated beside a tree, and in the studio. Carroll proclaimed that “I have been largely privileged in tête-à-tête intercourse with children.” Near fine condition, with one short tear to dustjacket. $35
15. CARTER, Keith. Opera Nuda, Revere, Pennsylvania: Lodima Press, 2005. Softcover, 8 ½ x 9 ½ inches, 24 pages, 16 quadtone illustrations. Signed.
Dream-like, recent images primarily of the female nude. Carter’s subjects, presented in selective focus, remove their shoes, lounge on beds and chairs, and interact with a still-life painting. Very high-quality printing, produced in an edition of 1,000 copies. This copy is signed by Carter. Near fine condition. $35
16. CLERGUE, Lucien. Née de la Vague, Bellegarde, France: Editions Pierre Belfond, 1968. Hardcover (black-stamped gray paper over boards), 12 x 9 ¾ inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
This is Lucien Clergue at his best: parts of women’s bodies asplash in ocean waves. He commences the book with a few pages of just the water itself, violently encountering shore rocks. Then, he essays the female form, primarily the torso and breasts, but also buttocks, arms, and back. While they are usually recognizable, some images border on the abstract, somewhat akin to Bill Brandt’s nudes. The book closes with images that represent the calm after the storm; shimmering quite water on the sand and shore. It is a dramatic presentation, lacking any text except for basic publishing information (apparently he felt his images were above words), richly printed in gravure (with extraordinarily dark blacks), with all of the images bleeding off at least two edges of the page. Lucien Clergue (French, born 1934) is best known for his voluptuous female nudes in water, in both black-and-white and color, but also photographed bullfights, landscapes, and Marseille, France. For many years he taught at both the New School for Social Research in New York and the University of Provence in France. He also served as a cinematographer on many short films and a feature-length one on Pablo Picasso. In 1970, he founded the Recontres Internationales de al Photographie in Arles. This copy is boldly signed by Clergue on the title page. Near fine condition, in dustjacket with a few spots and wrinkles, and missing the top ¼-inch of the spine. $150
17. COPLANS, John. Foot: Self Portraits by John Coplans, New York: Gallery Lelong, 1989. Softcover, 9 x 9 inches, 44 pages, 19 halftone illustrations. With signed ephemera.
Catalog for exhibition of photographs Coplans made of his own, aged feet. They are brutally honest and monumental, the originals measuring three feet and larger. Most are multiple images, comprising of up to nine separate negatives. English born John Coplans (American, 1920-2003) worked at Artforum, was a museum curator, and began photographing seriously in 1980. He is most renowned for his portraits and close-up images of his own body. This catalog is accompanied by the 1991 exhibition brochure Self Portraits and the 1988 exhibition brochure A Body of Work, signed by Coplans. Near fine condition. $35
18. DE DIENES, André. Natural Nudes, New York: Amphoto, 1966. Hardcover (black-stamped tan cloth), 12 x 9 ¼ inches, 160 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
“Gorgeous natural settings are used as integral compositional elements to produce those evocative analogies between Woman and Nature for which the photographer has won world renown.” Accompanied by the photographer’s text on the model, location tips, posing, backgrounds, and the darkroom. Includes some combination prints, a la Jerry Uelsmann. Hungarian born De Dienes (1913-1985), was indeed widely recognized for his outdoor studies of the well-endowed female form. He began in Paris and worked freelance in Hollywood for many years. Tiny spots on cloth, in dustjacket with light edgewear and two tears. $50
19. DE DIENES, André. Nude Pattern, London: Bodley Head, 1967. Hardcover (red-stamped gray paper over boards), 11 x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, 104 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated fourth impression.
Another selection of voluptuous subjects in the following categories: Interior Settings, With Sand and Rock, Bathed in Sunlight, Above and Below Water, and Superimposed Pictures. With a foreword by Norman Hall. Near fine condition, in price-clipped dustjacket with light edgewear. $45
20. DRTIKOL, František. Katerina Klaricová, František Drtikol, Prague: Panorama, 1989. Hardcover (white-stamped black cloth), 10 ¾ x 9 ½ inches, unpaginated, 108 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Published just before Czechoslovakia broke free from the Soviet Union, this monograph remains a rich visual resource on Drtikol, the country’s leading exponent of nude photography. All of the reproductions are full color, reveling the richness of his pigment prints. Drtikol (1883-1961) vies with Josef Sudek for being the most influential twentieth-century Czech photographer, and is universally revered for his modernist nudes. While the book’s main text is in Czech, it includes summaries in English and other languages. Tiny shelf wear, in near fine dustjacket. $125
21. DRTIKOL, František. Anna Fárová, František Drtikol: Art-Deco Photographer, Munich, Germany: Schirmer Art Books, 1993. Softcover, 11 ¾ x 8 ½ inches, 200 pages, 181 duotone illustrations.
An in-depth examination of Drtikol’s adventuresome nude studies. All made in his studio, often with dramatic lighting and custom props, they are the pinnacle of Czech modernist figure work. Fárová, the country’s senior photo historian, breaks down the photographer’s life and work into thematic and chronological sections, from 1883 to 1961. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $50
22. DRTIKOL, František. Vladimir Birgus, Fotograf František Drtikol, Prague: Postor, 1994. Hardcover (black-stamped white cloth), 12 x 8 ½ inches, 206 pages, 128 halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket.
Czech photographic historian Birgus’ take on Drtikol’s work, mostly his well-known studio nudes. Also includes reproductions of some of the artist’s paintings and a dozen of his signatures and chopmarks. Text in Czech, with summaries in French, German, and English. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that is lightly wrinkled and rubbed. $50
23. DUTTON, A. A. A. A. Dutton’s Compendium or Relevant But Unreported Twentieth Century Phenomena, Phoenix, Arizona: Dutton/Buse, 1977. Softcover, 9 x 12 inches, 152 pages, halftone illustrations.
Comprises rather outlandish images of female nudes collaged with nature and architectural elements, sometimes with repetitive imagery. Most are accompanied by prose or poetry that is equally surreal or subjective. The cover image, “A Group of Boobpersays Watching the Photographer,” shows about 100 large female breasts stacked up like fruit at the grocery store. Allen A. Dutton (born 1922) founded and ran the photography department at Phoenix College during the 1960s and seventies, and published four books of his photographs. Covers worn and small stains to bottom of early pages. $35
24. EAKINS, Thomas. Thomas Eakins: His Photographic Work, Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1969. Softcover, 10 ½ x 7 ½ inches, 78 pages, 82 halftone illustrations.
The text by Gordon Hendricks discusses Eakins’ relationship to his family, Walt Whitman, his pupils, his friends, his animals, the Academy of Fine Arts, and various other aspects of his life and work. The reproductions sometimes juxtapose his paintings with their related photographs. Thomas Eakins (American, 1844-1916) was a leading American realist painter, photographer, and educator in Philadelphia, from the 1870s until his death during World War I. He studied and taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and made photographs of the figure, often as studies for his paintings. Errata slip laid in. Browning to spine and tiny edgewear to covers. $35
25. EAKINS, Thomas. Gordon Hendricks, The Photographs of Thomas Eakins, New York: Grossman, 1972. Hardcover (gold-stamped blue cloth), 10 ¼ x 11 inches, 214 pages, 291 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
This was the first major monograph on Eakins as a photographer, a revelation to many in both the painting and photography fields. It is heavily illustrated, with quality reproductions by Meriden Gravure, showing individuals, nudes, and motion studies. Also featured are over fifty photographs of Eakins himself, from age ten to a few years before he died. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that is lightly smudged and rubbed. $250
26. EAKINS, Thomas. The Olympia Galleries Important Collection of Photographs by Thomas Eakins and the Original Manuscript Record Book of the Art Students’ League of Philadelphia, New York: Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1977. Softcover, 9 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches, 32 pages, 22 halftone illustrations.
Auction catalog for twenty-one albumen prints by Eakins. They show men in classical Greek costume or nude boys, men, and women, posing in the studio, swimming, and performing other athletic activities. The estimates for the prints ranged from $3,000 to $12,000. Tiny cover edgewear. $25
27. EAKINS, Thomas. Photographer Thomas Eakins, Philadelphia: Olympia Galleries, 1981. Softcover, 8 x 10 inches, 50 pages, 49 halftone illustrations.
Comprises photographs by Eakins of groups, individuals, and nudes. The subject index includes names such as Alexander Calder, Joseph Pennell, and Walt Whitman. Essay by Dr. Ellwood C. Parry, III, and catalog notes by Dr. Robert Stubbs. Tiny loss to top of spine and tear to bottom. $35
28. EVERARD, John. Living Colour, New York: Dodge, 1938. Hardcover (red-stamped pink cloth), 11 x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, 24 color halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
According to the flap, “Not only is the first photographic book to be done exclusively in color, but it is also the first book of nudes to be made from direct color photographs. Mr. Everard, who is one of the foremost photographers in England, has here done a book of incomparable beauty.” He presents the female form outdoors and in the studio, singly and in groups. Each image includes technical information and a drawn dissection of the composition. This book preceded Paul Outerbridge’s Photographing in Color by two years. Endpapers glue darkened, tiny wear to tips, in worn dustjacket. $50
29. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. Lee Friedlander, Nudes, New York: Pantheon Books, 1991. Hardcover (blind and gold-stamped maroon cloth), 10 x 11 inches, 108 pages, 84 tritone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first American edition.
This book reveals Friedlander’s fifteen-year foray into new territory—the female nude. The pictures are surprising not only for their subject matter, but also for the non-idealized nature of the models and their surroundings—the subject’s own domestic environment, as opposed to a “neutral” studio setting. While the singer Madonna is recognizable in some of the pictures, many of the models are rendered as faceless expanses of flesh. Perhaps the most classic of the images is the one on the cover, showing a nude stretched out on a couch, reminiscent of a famous image by the early twentieth-century New Orleans photographer E. J. Bellocq, whose negatives Friedlander rescued. Printed in an edition of 8,000 copies. Afterword by Ingrid Sischy. A few creases to the back of the dustjacket. $250
30. GELLERT, Vance. Carlvision, Portland, Oregon: Blue Sky Gallery, 1987. Softcover (plastic spiral binding), 8 x 10 ½ inches, 54 pages, color halftone illustrations. Signed.
These pictures, often with vibrant colors, document Gellert’s first few years with his son, Carl, after becoming a househusband with a camera. Carl, usually naked, interacts with his father, television, raw meat, toys, broken glass, and other everyday objects. He even appears in Gellert’s darkroom, in a playful image that shows him simultaneously under an enlarger and in a developing tray (an original print of this image is also available; please inquire). Gellert (American, born 1944) is a Minneapolis-based photographer who ran such non-profit spaces as Parts Photographic Arts and the Minnesota Center for Photography, during the 1980s and 1990s. This copy signed by Gellert. Near fine condition. $25
31. GOWLAND, Peter. How to Photograph Women, New York: Crown, 1953. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 6 ¾ x 4 ¾ inches, 144 pages, halftone illustrations. With ephemera.
This is Gowland’s first book, in which he covers the “difficult but pleasant art of photographing the female sex—both indoors and out—dressed and undressed, by flash or flood, by sunlight, daylight or even moonlight. It tells what kind of makeup, light, background, film, exposure and development you need—and also how to pose your model for best results.” Part of the publisher’s Little Technical Library and original selling for one dollar ($1.00), the title was reprinted many times (this copy is the first). Peter Gowland (American, 1916-2010) was a famous glamour photographer, active for six decades. He shot more than 1,000 magazine covers, including for Playboy and Rolling Stone, and constructed some of his own equipment, such as the 4-x-5-inch Gowlandflex, which he marketed to other photographers. Laid into this copy is the New York Times obituary for Gowland (April 10, 2010, on original newsprint). Covers lightly rubbed and spine slightly racked. $25
32. HANNA, Forman G. Forman Hanna: Pictorial Photographer of the Southwest, Tucson: University of Arizona, 1985. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 138 pages, 67 halftone illustrations.
The only monograph on Hanna includes an essay on him by Mark Sawyer, the story of one of his pictures in his own words, and fifty-seven full-page plates, dating as late as 1948. They picture largely landscapes, Native Americans, and female nudes. Forman G. Hanna (1881-1950), a pharmacist based in Globe, Arizona, was active in the Pictorial Photographers of America. He was widely revered for his pictures of young nude women in rocky surroundings, exhibiting them in salons for forty years beginning in the 1910s. Fine condition. $25
33. HASKINS, Sam. Five Girls, New York: Crown, 1962. Hardcover (white-stamped red cloth), 14 ¼ x 11 inches, 144 pages, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
“Here are five luscious girls affectionately caught, with wit, with daring, and an impudent camera eye, by an artist who appreciates them, not only for what they are, but for what they can be.” Bes, Gill, Anna, Helmi, and Shirl pose in Haskins’ studio, with period hats, furniture, clothing, and hairstyles; very 1960s. All five appear together once—on the cover. With a foreword and technical information by the photographer. An oversize production, richly printed in gravure. English photographer Sam Haskins (1926-2009) was born in Johannesburg, where he worked until 1968. He then relocated to London and continued photographing primarily the nude, the subject for which he is best known. Near fine condition, in dustjacket with a few chips and tears. $350
34. HENLE, Fritz. Fritz Henle’s Figure Studies, New York: Studio-Crowell, 1954. Hardcover (gold-stamped cloth and paper over boards), 10 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 72 pages, 47 halftone and one color illustration, dustjacket.
Safe nude images, made on the beach and in the studio, rarely showing the model’s face. Henle writes about the “aesthetic problem” and the “technical problem,” and provides data for every image except the color frontispiece, which features a figure with much sand sticking to her side and back. Foreword by Modern Photography editor Jacqueline Judge. German born Fritz Henle (1909-1993) became known as “Mr. Rollei,” for his use of the popular camera that took 2 ¼ inch square negatives. His work appeared in leading mid-century magazines such as Life, Holiday, and Town and Country, in addition to many books he published on locales like Hawaii and Mexico. Light wear to tips, in dustjacket that is chipped and torn. $25
35. HILLER, Lejaren à. Kendall Banning, Bypaths in Arcady: A Book of Love Songs, Chicago: Brothers of the Book, 1915. Hardcover (gold-stamped vellum), 13 ¼ x 9 ¾ inches, 64 pages, 26 photogravure illustrations. Signed, with ephemera.
Comprises two dozen love poems by Banning, each with an image by Hiller. The figure studies, all shot in a studio against dark backgrounds, frequently show nude women with ancient instruments and other props. This is number 23 of the edition of 77 copies printed on Japanese vellum. In addition, this copy has a handwritten poem by Banning (signed and dated 1937), with two typed and signed letters from him, of the same year, and the prospectus laid in. Lejaren à Hiller (American 1880-1969) began as a magazine illustrator and then revolutionized the discipline by using the camera to make often flamboyant pictures, in both black and white and color. He was active for most of the first half of the twentieth century, and is most remembered for his illustration of the history of surgery. Previous owner’s bookplate, two corners bumped, and covers rubbed and lightly stained. $500
36. HILLER, Lejaren à. Surgery Through the Ages, New York: Hastings House, 1944. Hardcover (gold-stamped brown cloth), 10 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 178 pages, halftone illustrations.
Commissioned by the surgical device manufacturer Davis & Geck, this was apparently a legitimate history of surgery, written by Paul Benton and John H. Hewlett. Hiller was a leading photographic illustrator at the time and he provides highly stylized images depicting events and conditions from ancient Egypt to the nineteenth century. While many of the figures are clothed, Hiller took every opportunity to strip naked those being operated on, in order to titillate the reader of the book. Female breasts abound and many patients writhe in pain, up to the last image with depicts “The Blessing of Anesthesia,” in 1846. Two corners lightly bumped. $50
37. HILLER, Lejaren à. Sutures in Ancient Surgery, Danbury, Connecticut: Davis & Geck, c. 1948. Folder (gold-stamped), 12 x 9 ½ inches, 29 loose halftone plates.
Includes many of the images that also appear in the above book, each with a paragraph of text. Among those with reveling female anatomy are the ones on Celsus (25 B.C.-40 A.D.) and William Harvey (1578-1657). The most gruesome image illustrates men having their hands chopped off, for the medical study of wound treatment. Plates near fine (with slip sheets), in lightly worn folder. $200
38. HOSOE, Eikoh. Original photograph. Man and Woman #20, 1961, gelatin silver print, 35 x 39 ½ inches.
This is one of Hosoe’s most well-known figure studies, showing a woman’s head with a man’s arm wrapped around it. This print was used in a Shinnyo Daiko (traditional drumming) performance at the 1998 Oracle conference of photography curators in Japan. It was torn up at the end of the performance, and it remains in six sections, with a few small pieces missing. Undoubtedly, a unique item, given its provenance. Image sent upon request. $950
39. HOSOE, Eikoh. Man and Woman, Tokyo: Camera Art, 1961. Hardcover (paper over boards), 9 ½ x 7 ¼ inches, 60 pages, 32 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket and slipcase. Signature laid in.
This is one of Hosoe’s most elegant books, small in scale and richly printed in gravure. The images, primarily of nude women, frequently bleed off the page and appear somewhat abstracted. Text in Japanese. Lacking the English translation booklet. Laid into this copy is a 1998 letter signed by Hosoe. Near fine condition, in original printed slipcase. $1,250
40. HOSOE, Eikoh. Killed by Roses, Tokyo: Shueisha, 1963. Hardcover (printed cloth), 16 ¾ x 11 inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, acetate jacket and cardboard box. Signed.
This is one of Hosoe’s most elaborate books, over-sized, richly printed, and featuring some gatefolds. His collaborator was the author Yukio Michima, who is the subject of most of the pictures, rendered surrealistically and with strong graphic impact. Issued in an edition of 1,500 numbered copies (this one 586), signed by both Michima and Hosoe. Near fine condition, in worn (as usual) box. $4,000
41. KELLY, Jain. Nude: Theory, New York: Lustrum Press, 1979. Hardcover (blind-stamped black cloth), 12 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 176 pages, 118 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. With ephemera
This book presents nude images by eight leading photographers, with reproductions of their work, essays by them, and biographies. The contributors are Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Harry Callahan, Lucien Clergue, Ralph Gibson, Kenneth Josephson, André Kertész, Duane Michals, and Helmut Newton. Long a standard reference book, with a promotional page on it from the Popular Photography Book Club laid in. Near fine condition, in a dustjacket that has light edgewear and a few tears. $35
42. KERTESZ, André. Distortions, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. Hardcover (gold-stamped gray cloth), 11 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches, unpaginated, 120 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Edited by Nicolas Ducrot, with an introduction by art critic Hilton Kramer. Kertész’s now renowned surrealistic series of female nudes photographed in a distorting mirror. Made around 1930 in Paris, they remained largely unseen for many years due to oxidation of the negatives. Presented here in rich gravure, the women are stretched, compressed, bloated, and otherwise visually altered by the mirror. Fine condition, in dustjacket with light wrinkling along edges and tears at top and bottom of spine. $300
43. KINSEY INSTITUTE. Peek: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Arena Editions, 2000. Hardcover (purple-stamped green cloth),
11 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 188 pages, 125 color and duotone illustrations, dustjacket.
This is a truly wide-ranging group of sexual and erotic images, the first published from the vast holdings of the institute at Indiana University founded by the sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey. They cover intercourse, oral sex, bondage, gay, and other proclivities. While most are by unknown photographers, George Platt Lynes and Wilhelm von Gloeden also contribute. Features scholarly essays by critic Carol Squires, curator Jennifer Pearson Yamashiro, and professors Betsy Stirratt and Jeffrey A. Wolin. There is something for everyone here, though it represents less than one percent of the institute’s holdings. Near fine condition, in dustjacket with a few tiny wrinkles. $50
44. KRAUSE, George. I Nudi, Philadelphia: Mancini Gallery, 1980. Softcover,
10 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 24 pages, 22 duotone illustrations, with original photograph.
Catalog for an exhibition of studio nudes, mostly made in Rome around 1980. Tipped onto the first page is a color Polaroid print of a woman holding open her robe. It is signed, dated 1980, and number 159/500. George Krause (American, born 1937) taught photography at the University of Houston for many years. Near fine condition. $50
45. LACEY, Peter. The History of the Nude in Photography, New York: Bantham, 1964. Softcover, 7 x 4 ¼ inches, 216 pages, screen-gravure illustrations.
While not a scholarly publication, this little, thick book covers a lot of ground visually, in rich gravure. After a short introduction, Lacey presents the work of about two dozen photographers, with commentary on each. Among them are Delacriox, Muybridge, the Photo-Secessionists, Weston, Brandt, Callahan, Clergue, and Bernhard. Lesser-known figures include Charles Schenk, Ferenc Berko, Rene Groebli, Marvin Newman, Frank Horvat, J. Frederick Smith, and Robert Wilson. Light cover wear. $25
46. LEE, Wellington. Original photograph. Nude in Frame, 1950 (printed later), gelatin silver print, 19 ¾ x 15 ¾ inches (image/sheet). Signed.
This is one of Lee’s entertaining studio set ups, with an oversize picture frame used as a prop for the nude female. The frame is made of weathered wood and has punctured the seamless paper backdrop. The woman’s legs rest on the frame and the rest of her recumbent body is inside of it. Verso is Lee’s signature and the title, in pen, and his wet stamp. Wellington Lee (1918-2001) operated a portrait studio in New York’s Chinatown from the 1950s to 1970s. As a pictorialist he was the world’s all-time most exhibited photographer, beginning in the 1940s and continuing for decades longer than his compatriots. Acquired directly from the photographer. Image sent upon request. $500
47. LEE, Wellington. Pair of original photographs. Betty Page, 1950s (printed later), gelatin silver prints, 15 x 19 inches each (image/sheet). Signed.
The great pin-up model Betty Page (1923-2008), in a pair of studio images, one titled “My Reflection” and the other “Butterfly Lady.” In both Page admires herself in a mirror on the floor surrounded with leopard-skin material, suggesting a pool and Narcissus. So, in two prints you actually get four images of the beauty. Lee’s signature and titles, in pen, along with his wet stamp, verso. Acquired directly from the photographer. Images sent upon request. Set of two: $950
48. LEE, Wellington. Artistic Photography, New York: Wellington Lee, 1968. Hardcover (red and gold-stamped purple cloth), 11 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches, 170 pages, 147 halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed.
This is the first and most entertaining book that Lee self-published of his own work. It includes bilingual text (in English and Chinese) on his importance and working methods, plus reproductions of hundreds of medals and trophies he won. The photographic illustrations feature primarily urban scenes, figure studies, and high-contrast pictures. Most striking, however, are his nudes, which he places in fabricated studio settings of over-sized objects and fantasy-laden backdrops. This copy signed by Lee. Near fine condition. $50
49. MEISEL, Steven. Madonna Sex, New York: Warner, 1992. Hardcover (spiral-bound metal sheets), 13 ¾ x 11 inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, plastic sleeve and CD (unopened). Stated first printing.
Singer Madonna’s provocative look at sex, pleasure, and the human body. She and othesr perform varies acts, in high-quality reproductions that bleed off the page. Her running text includes such short essays a “I Like My Pussy.” The half million copies reportedly sold out quickly. Steven Meisel (American, born 1954), a friend of Madonna’s, is a highly successful fashion photographer, working regularly for U.S. and Italian Vogue. Near fine condition, in original sleeve that has some wrinkles. $250
50. MEISEL, Steven. Madonna Sex.
Another copy, this one the French edition. Near fine condition, in unopened sleeve. $250
51. MEISELAS, Susan. Pandora’s Box, New York: Magnum Editions, 2001. Hardcover (paper over boards), 8 ¼ x 12 inches, unpaginated, color halftone illustrations. Stated first edition.
A nice and naughty book of pictures that Meisales made at a high-end New York sex-domination club of the same name. She pictures the workers with clients and statements by the owners and “mistresses.” Reproduces the form that customers would fill out upon entry, with their sexual preferences, such as gloves, spanking, humiliation, and foot worship. Bound in are seven pages of material used at the club, such as rubber and latex. Produced in an edition of 1,650 copies, each hand numbered. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $150
52. MERTIN, Roger. Plastic Love Dream, Davis: University of California, Memorial Union Art Gallery, 1969. Box (plastic with label), 4 x 4 ½ x 1 ¼ inches, 7 inserts. Signed.
This is a rare and unusual exhibition “catalog” created by curator Fred R. Parker, who was partial to such productions. “Plastic Love Dream” was Mertin’s earliest successful body of work, depicting female nudes outdoors, with mirrors, and under plastic. The inserts include halftone illustrations, biographical information, text from an interview, and an essay by Eastman House curator Robert Sobieszek. This and a few other interesting catalogs by Parker are pictured in the 2006 book The Collectible Moment (Norton Simon Museum, p. 43). This copy bears the signatures of both Mertin and Parker (not called for in the edition). Near fine condition. $750
53. MICHALS, Duane. Homage to Cavafy, Danbury, New Hampshire: Addison House, 1978. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 6 inches, 48 pages, 11 halftone illustrations, glassine dustjacket. Signed.
Constantine Cavafy was a Greek gay poet active around the turn of the twentieth century. This little item includes ten of his poems along with the same number of photographs by Michals. However, the photographer points out that his images were not illustrative of the poems; “they are separate and sympathetic.” Many have nude men, in interior tableaux. This copy signed and dated 1992 by Michals. Near fine condition in darkened dustjacket (as is normal). $125
54. MUYBRIDGE, Eadweard. Animals in Motion: An Electro-Photographic Investigation of Consecutive Phases of Muscular Actions, London: Chapman and Hall, 1907. Hardcover (gold-stamped red cloth), 9 ¾ x 12 ½ inches, 264 pages, halftone illustrations. Stated third impression.
Features about 120 reproductions from Muybridge’s original series on human and animal locomotion. The first impression of this title appeared in 1899, while the photographer was still alive. The images are categorized into eleven sections: walk, amble, trot, rack, canter, gallop, ricochet, leap, buck and kick, change of gait, and the flight of birds, each with an introduction. Covers lightly worn, bumped, and spotted. $300
55. MUYBRIDGE, Eadweard. The Human Figure in Motion, New York: Dover, 1955. Hardcover (gold-stamped brown cloth), 11 x 8 inches, unpaginated, 195 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
A large selection from Muybridge’s unequaled study of motion, performed at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1880s. It shows men, women, and children, usually undressed, in all states of activity against a gridded backdrop. Introduction by photography historian Prof. Robert Taft. This is the first Dover edition (reprinted many times as softcovers), not particularly common, especially with the dustjacket. Tiny edgewear, price-clipped dustjacket that is rubbed, wrinkled, and torn. $35
56. NATKIN, Marcel. Photography of the Nude, San Francisco: Camera Craft, 1937. Hardcover (red-stamped tan cloth), 10 ¾ x 7 inches, 72 pages, 32 screen-gavure illustrations, dustjacket.
Dr. Natkin writes about the nude in painting, sculpture, and photography, and gives technical information about lighting and soft-focus effects. He features the work of but four photographers: Laure Albin Guillot (“Expressive Treatment”), Pierre Boucher (“Phantasmagoria”), Man Ray (“Stylized Nudity”), and Roger Schall (“Realistic Treatment”). Each photographer gets eight plates, rendered in rich gravure. A little shelf wear and a few bumped corners, in worn dustjacket that is missing a few pieces. $125
57. OKUHARA, Tetsu. Original photograph. Woman with Crossed Hands, 1971, gelatin silver print, 6 ¾ x 7 ¾ inches (image), 10 x 8 inches (sheet). Signed.
Okuhara used the same technique in this photograph as that of his most famous image, Susan, which was included in John Szarkowski’s 1978 exhibition and book Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since 1960 (Museum of Modern Art, page 109). He photographed his model from different angles and then created a composite image that flattened the figure. In this one, over 300 little pictures form the woman’s arms and twelve seemingly identical breasts, making for a surreal and somewhat robotic-looking nude. Tetsu Okuhara (American, born 1942) is known for his photomontages using minimalist grids, often of his wife, Susan. Accompanied by a handwritten note from Okuhara. Print signed, titled, and dated, in ink, along with the photographer’s wet stamp, verso. Image sent upon request. $250
58. PEEL, Fred P. Shadowless Figure Portraiture, New York: Galleon Press, 1936. Softcover (metal spiral binding), 11 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches, 112 pages, 61 screen-gravure and 31 halftone illustrations.
Shadowless images are created by using multiple light sources. Peel writes about models, the darkroom, the print, equipment, theory, and composition. Most of his images are female nudes, made in the studio with a ring light, which imparts a soft glow to the figures’ outlines. Fred P. Peel (c. 1884 – c. 1959) simultaneously pursued professional and pictorial photography from the mid-1920s to mid-century. He was a charter member of the Photographic Society of America and a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. This is his only book, addressing the genre of creative work for which he was most known. Covers soiled, torn, and worn. $25
59. PENN, Irving. Earthly Bodies, New York: Marlborough Gallery, 1980. Softcover, 11 ½ x 9 ¼ inches, 12 pages, 4 halftone illustrations. With ephemera.
Addresses Penn’s body of work with heavy-set models, with an introduction by Rosalind E. Krauss. Laid in is a complimentary card from the gallery and the Newsweek review of the exhibition. Very good condition. $25
60. PENN, Irving. Maria Morris Hambourg, Earthly Bodies: Irving Penn’s Nudes, 1949-50, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. Hardcover (black-stamped white cloth), 11 ¾ x 11 ½ inches, 96 pages, 64 tritone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
This is a much fuller examination of the series in the above catalog, beginning with models who were not as buxom. “The women Penn chose and the ways he viewed them produced nudes that were highly unorthodox by mid-twentieth-century standards: folded, twisted, and stretched, with extra belly, mounded hips, and puddled breasts, their fleshy torsos are sister of Titan’s and Rubens’, while their mother in prodigality is the archaic fertility idol.” Near fine condition, in dustjacket that is lightly rubbed. $50
61. PETRBOK, Jiri. Alexandr S. Puskin, Tajne Zapisk z let 1836-1837, Prague: Concordia, c. 1980. Seven loose color halftone plates, 8 ½ x 6 inches each.
This seems to be illustrations for author Puskin’s “Secret Journal” of 1836 and 1837. It comprises seven pictures of female genitalia, each with a hairdo superimposed upon it. The black-and-white vulvas are rendered in low contrast and with morié patterns, while the hair imagery appears sharp and in color. Notably, each plate has a woman’s name written in it, such as Eva and Jana, suggesting personalization and/or conquest. Jiri Petrbok (Czech, born 1962) studied at Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts and is known for his images of the human form. This is a rare and curious little piece of Czech erotica. Light folding to a few corners. $150
62. ROYE. Nude Ego, London: Chantry, 1958. Hardcover (blue-stamped pink cloth), 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 222 pages, 130 halftone illustrations (one in color), dustjacket.
This is the autobiography of the English photographer Horace Roye (1906-2002). He recounts his international travels, adventures, photographic work, and encounters with stars, models, and personalities. According to the flap, “More than a million and a half copies of his books of photographic studies have been sold—a world record.” His nudes are in the typical period cheesecake and glamor styles. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that is chipped and missing a few pieces. $25
63. SCRAPBOOK.
This is a unique collection of clippings of male nudes, dating from the 1960s. They are pasted into a manufactured blank journal (7 x 5 ¼ inches), with nice fabric covers, marbled endpapers, and a bound-in piece of ribbon for marking one’s preferred page. The compiler hand-lettered the title page, “Take one Large Cow: Favorite Ballard and Braswell Menus, Accompanied by Recipes/Kitchen Drudge Press, Minneapolis,” and dated the book September 12, 1967. The nearly one hundred halftone clippings appear one to four per page and usually show individual naked young men, indoors and out. They are mostly well endowed, but never erect. Images sent upon request. Covers browned. $250
64. SHIGETA, Harry K. Alice Thompson, Justine, Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 1998. Hardcover (gold-stamped paper over boards), 6 ½ x 4 ¾ inches, 226 pages, one halftone illustration, dustjacket. Stated first printing.
This is a curious, recently published item related to Shigeta, as it features one of his nudes on the cover. His 1937 image Curves: A Photographer’s Nightmare shows a female nude in dark shadow with abstract curves superimposed upon her by way of the photogram process. It is one Shigeta’s most memorable and modernist pictures. The story, an erotic mystery, is set in contemporary London and (according to the dustjacket) “chronicles one man’s obsession with beauty and his journey through the darkest recesses of the mind in its pursuit.” Fine condition, in dustjacket with light scuffing and a fold to inside flap. $25
65. SKREBNESKI, Victor. Skrebneski, New York: Ridge Press, 1969. Softcover, 14 x 14 inches, 60 pages, screen-gravure illustrations.
Comprises a selection of highly controlled studio images of nude men and women, rendered in often quite dark gravure. Includes his famous image of Venessa Redgrave with tasseled hair and her arms folded over her bare chest. His brief preface reads, in full, “People, timeless. They will last my time. Designed as sculpture. I have left them alone. In the human contact they live in reality. I live with them.” Victor Skrebneski (American, born 1929) worked in New York and Europe before settling back in his native Chicago, where he opened a studio in 1952. He is known for his work in fashion, cosmetics, ad campaigns, and with personalities. Lacking the slipcase. Previous owner’s name and date, covers edge worn. $50
66. STEREO-CLINIC. Dr. Howard A. Kelly, Troy, New York: Southworth Company. Hardcovers (gold-stamped tan cloth, ring-bound), 9 x 7 ¼ inches, about 40 pages each, stereo gelatin silver prints.
These are instructional medical booklets, with original photographs pasted on to many of the pages. Doctor Kelly (1858-1943), an American surgeon, gynecologist, and professor, was one of the founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore. Seven ring-bound books, with two original slipcases. Fascinating material, for both medical historians and the ghoulish. There is much blood and guts in these images; they are not for the faint of heart, especially in three-dimensions.
Abdominal Hysterectomy for a Fibroid Uterus, 1909.
Examining and Recording a Pelvic or Other Abdominal Tumor, 1909.
Dr. J. A. Bodine’s Operation for Inguinal Hernia, Under Cocaine: Part First, 1909.
Dr. J. A. Bodine’s Operation for Inguinal Hernia, Under Cocaine: Part Second, 1909.
Suspension of the Uterus, 1909.
Bismuth Paste Injections: Part First, 1911.
Bismuth Paste Injections: Part Second, 1911.
Edgewear and occasional foxing. Set of seven: $1,000
67. STIEGILTZ, Alfred. Georgia O’Keeffe: A Portrait by Alfred Stieglitz, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1978. Hardcover (black-stamped white and gray cloth), 14 ¼ x 11 inches, unpaginated, 51 duotone illustrations, dustjacket, slipcase.
A resonant selection, dating from 1917 to 1933, of Stieglitz’s images of his young wife, making his point that a true portrait comprised not one photograph but a series that shows many aspects of the subject. In addition to O’Keeffe’s face, he captured her paintings, her automobile, and her neck, hands, and torso. They are richly reproduced by the Meriden Gravure Company, along with O’Keeffe’s commentary printed in letterpress, making for a splendid production. Fine condition, in shrink wrap. $125
68. STURGES, Jock. Radiant Identities: Photographs by Jock Sturges, New York: Aperture, 1994. Hardcover (white-stamped black cloth and paper over boards), 11 ½ x 9 ¾ inches, 96 pages, 65 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Sensual, quiet images by Sturges in which he explores issues of youth and the liberation of body and spirit. Using his own family and friends, he photographed at their homes and at naturalist beaches in France and California. This is Sturges’ second major body of work, published a few years after his groundbreaking book The Last Day of Summer. Includes an introductory essay by Elizabeth Beverly on the photographer’s collaborative process and an afterword by critic A. D. Coleman that puts Sturges’ photographs in the context of current debates about censorship and innocence. Near fine condition. $50
69. SULLIVAN, Constance. Nude: Photographs, 1850-1980. New York: Harper & Row, 1980. Hardcover (gray-stamped black cloth and paper over boards), 13 x 10 inches, 204 pages, 134 halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket. Stated first edition.
A “moving, engrossing, and provocative visual experience,” presenting photographs of nude children, women, and men from over 125 years. From the nineteenth century, it features delicately hand-color daguerreotypes, plates from Eadweard Muybridge’s series “Animal Locomotion,” and artists’ models by Thomas Eakins. Among the twentieth-century photographers represented are F. Holland Day, Edward Weston, Paul Outerbridge, Jr., Man Ray, André Kertész, Emmet Gowin, and Robert Heinecken. Curator Robert Sobieszek contributed the essay “Addressing the Erotic” and Ben Maddow addresses “Nude in a Social Landscape.” A relatively early serious endeavor that became a standard reference. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that is lightly worn at a few tips, with a few wrinkles and tears. $65
70. SWEDLUND, Charles A. Original photograph. Guess the Date and Time Number Two Will Arrive, 1974, gelatin silver print, 8 x 3 ¼ inches.
This is a fun item that Swedlund presumably sent out to friends and family before the birth of his second child. He indicates the due date and then solicits guesses, with the one closest to the actual date and time winning one of his photographs. Swedlund (American, born 1935) studied at Chicago’s Institute of Design and taught photography at Southern Illinois University for about thirty years, beginning in 1971. Includes his return address stamped on the corner of an envelope. Image sent upon request. $175
71. SWEDLUND, Charles A. Photographs: Multiple Exposures with the Figure, Cobden, Illinois: Anna Press, 1973. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 60 pages, 24 duotone illustrations.
Comprises nude subjects, usually outdoors, made during the 1960s. Swedlund makes the distinction that the multiple exposures were performed in the camera, not later in the darkroom, as he preferred this accidental and less-controlled way of working. Light rubbing to covers. $25
72. TAJIRI, Shinkichi. Tajiri, Haarlem, Netherlands: Galerie Kunstbezit, 1982. Brochure, 8 panels, 10 halftone illustrations.
This is the announcement for a show solo show by Tajiri of sculpture, daguerreo-types, stereographs, panoramics, and mementoes. Most of the reproductions are of female nudes posed indoors. The announcement is die cut, with five pairs of images that fold in the opposite direction of the panel they are on. Los Angeles born Tajiri (1923-2009) studied in Paris with Fernand Leger and lived in the Netherlands from 1956. He was also active in Germany, teaching in Berlin and exhibiting in three Documenta shows, between 1959 and 1968. In the original mailed envelope, with the photographer’s return address. $25
73. TELBERG, Val. Anais Nin, House of Incest, Chicago: Swallow Press, 1961. Softcover, 8 x 5 ½ inches, 72 pages, 9 halftone illustrations.
French-born Anais Nin was heralded as a diarist and writer of erotic literature. House of Incest, initially published in 1936 as her first book of fiction, was told from the writer’s subconscious, as she tried to escape from a dream in which she was trapped. Telberg’s photomontages are well paired with the surrealistic text; they show female figures superimposed with architectural interiors or natural subjects such as water and clouds. It seems that Telberg’s imagery appeared with only the 1958 and 1961 Swallow Press printings of the book. Russian-born Vladimir Telberg-von-Teleheim (1910-1995) was known for his multiple imagery, often making montaged, solarized, and kaleidoscopic photographs. Light edgewear to covers. $35
74. THOREK, Max. Creative Camera Art, Canton, Ohio: Fomo Publishing Co., 1937. Hardcover (three-dimensional black cloth, printed in white and maroon), 11 ¼ x 9 inches, 156 pages, halftone illustrations. With ephemera.
This is one of the most significant books on pictorialism between the World Wars. In it Thorek presents sound technical advice on everything from exposure to print finishing. He also freely expresses his strong opinions about photography and art, railing against purists and modernists. It includes examples of his figure studies, portraits, landscapes, and the flamboyant, confrontational nudes at which he excelled. Dr. Max Thorek (American, born Hungary, 1880-1960), a renowned Chicago surgeon, was one of the top American pictorialists during the 1930s and forties. He produced highly manipulated prints from paper negatives, often picturing female nudes. He was one of the world’s most exhibited pictorialists, showing almost 4,000 prints in over 1,000 salons by the middle of the twentieth century. Laid into this copy is an unused piece of letterhead for the Photographic Society of America, with Thorek listed as the president (c. 1935). Endpapers browned (as usual), with previous owner’s inscription, bright cloth with two mildly bumped corners. $95
75. WARHOL, Andy. Andy Warhol Nudes, Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 1995. Hardcover (paper over boards), 12 x 9 ¾ inches, 64 pages, 53 halftone illustrations (some in color).
This book, issued without a dustjacket, was published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Robert Miller Gallery, New York. It includes the essay “Sex is so Abstract” by art historian Linda Nochlin. Warhol’s images, primarily of men, include drawings from the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s, and silkscreen paintings (of the 1970s), made from photographs. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $35
76. WEIR, Thomas. Original photograph. Oracle, 1968, vintage cyanotype,
9 ¾ inches (diameter). Signed, titled, and dated below image.
An iconic but underappreciated San Francisco psychedelic image, it gets to the heart of the counterculture’s sexual freedom and communion with nature. It presents a nude woman laying down outdoors with her arms and legs spread, seen from between her feet. The landscape is an immense expanse of sky, trees, hills, and ocean shoreline. The circular picture is rendered in rich high contrast and fine-grained tonalities. This image was reproduced on the cover of the last issue of the leading street tabloid San Francisco Oracle (1968) and in Minor White’s Be-ing Without Clothes (Aperture, 1970). Thomas Weir (American, born 1935) was a prominent San Francisco photographer during the heyday of hippiedom in the mid to late 1960s, and was unrelated to Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. He was most known for his images of nudes, such as this one, and the psychedelic bands, usually printed as highly detailed cyanotypes and in circular or other non-rectangular shapes. His images appeared on album covers for the Grateful Dead, Steve Miller Band, and Big Brother and the Holding Company. Weir’s work was included in the 2007 exhibition “San Francisco Psychedelic” at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In addition to Minneapolis, museums that have his photographs in their permanent collection include the Oakland Museum, Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena), and the Menil Collection (Houston). Though the edition limitation is 70 prints, Weir personally assured me that he made no more than 20 of them. Print acquired directly from the photographer. Image sent upon request. $4,500
77. WEIR, Thomas. Avant-Garde, January 1970 (issue no. 10). Softcover, 11 ¼ x 11 inches, 64 pages, halftone illustrations.
Includes the portfolio “The Virgin Forest,” with seven black-and-white images by Weir (including the above “Oracle”), plus the cover, which is a three-color rendition. The pictures, all dating from 1968 and 1969, present nude women and girls out in Mother Nature, in his highly-detailed, pointilistic manner, often framed as a circle. Tiny edgewear. $25
78. WELPOTT, Jack, and Judy Dater. Women and Other Visions, Dobbs Ferry, New York: Morgan and Morgan, 1975. Hardcover (silver-stamped cream leatherette), 10 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 107 halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Judy usually gets the first listing, due to the alphabet, so here Jack gets his due. This defining book for the married couple of Dater and Welpott represents their likely unique collaboration of photographing the same female subjects. Most were strangers they encountered who expressed elements of the “feminine mystique.” Their pictures are generally paired on double-page spreads, making evident their differing responses to the women. Some of the images picture Dater, and Welpott appears once, in the final plate, which is a portrait of the couple by Arnold Newman. All the text pages are printed on a distinctive orange stock: an introduction by professor Henry Holmes Smith, list of images, and biographies of both photographers. Near fine condition. $50
79. WESTON, Edward. Original photograph. Nude, 1936 (printed later by Cole Weston), gelatin silver print, 9 ½ x 7 ¾ inches (image/sheet), 15 x 13 ¼ inches (mount). Cole’s signature and wet stamp, verso.
This is the classic image of Charis Wilson sitting curled up in a sunlit doorway, with her hair up in bobby pins. It appears on page 83 in the Edward Weston Nudes book below. Image sent upon request. $6,500
80. WESTON, Edward. Desnudos, Carmel, California: Weston Studio, 1972. Brochure, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 4 panels, 12 halftone illustrations.
This is the prospectus for a posthumous portfolio of eleven nude photographs by Weston, printed by Cole. It was limited to 100 numbered copies and cost $700. Tina Modotti and Charis Wilson were the models for many of the images, dating from 1920 to 1943, and Weston’s son, Neil, is seen in one. Laid in is an order form and addressed envelope. $35
81. WESTON, Edward. Edward Weston Nudes, Millerton, New York: Aperture, 1977. Hardcover (gold-stamped brown cloth), 11 ¾ x 9 ¾ inches, 120 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
A strong selection of Weston’s female nudes, one of his best known bodies of work. Dating from 1920 to 1945, they emphasize his classic images of the 1930s, and are interspersed with excerpts from his daybooks and letters. Includes a remembrance by Charis Wilson, long-time model and second wife, who is the subject of many of the photographs. Near fine condition. $50
82. YEAGER, Bunny. How I Photograph Nudes, New York: A. S. Barnes, 1963. Hardcover (green-stamped black cloth), 11 ¼ x 8 ½ inches, 144 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket.
This healthy selection of Yeager’s female nudes comprises one of her most entertaining books. She melodramatically lights and poses her models, who are always well endowed. The front flap proclaims, “Figure photography is much more than recording a likeness of a naked female. It is an art form—an expression of feeling, both of the photographer and the model, for the model must feel part of what the photographer feels in order to set the mood of the photograph.” Bunny Yeager (born 1930) modeled in Florida and then became a prominent glamour photographer during the 1960s, when she published over ten books of her figure and pin-up work. Tiny edgewear, in dustjacket that is torn, worn, and missing a small piece. $75
83. UNKNOWN. Original photographs. The Series of Studies: Volume I: Hands and Arms, unknown publisher and place, c. 1900. Folder, with 31 gelatin silver prints, 9 ¾ x 8 inches each.
Comprises thirty numbered plates, with a silver print title page, likely made as an aid to artists. Each sheet features five to ten photographic images that have been initially pasted together and then rephotographed, to provide the negative that was used to print the present photographs. While the emphasis is on hands and arms, more of the models’ bodies appear in some of the images, including occasional breasts and genitals. Those posing include men, women, and children. The most visually stimulating sheets combine many isolated hands, creating a proto-modernist look. Prints in very good condition, in folder with mild edgewear. $300
The BAD BOYS of PHOTOGRAPHY
84-188
84. BEARD, Peter. Original photograph. Friday, April 6, 1973, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches.
This picture presents a two page spread from Beard’s diaries, held open by two hands. Female figures dominate the imagery, including Faye Dunaway in the film “Bonnie and Clyde” and a young buxom woman happily carrying two ice-cream floats. Also featured are miniature versions of covers of Andy Warhol’s magazine Interview and Christine Jorgensen’s autobiography. Three creases, outside of the image area. Image sent upon request. $750
85. BEARD, Peter. Original photograph. Monday, April 16, 1973, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches.
Another diary two-page spread with many female figures, although a football player also makes an appearance. Here Beard focuses on special bras, including a “15 minute Beauti-Breast treatment” kit that was guaranteed to increase the user’s bustline by one-quareter inch or more. Beard traveled from Miami to New York on this day and the most prominent piece of collage typography reads “Fine, I’m Wrong.” Three creases and a tear, outside the image area. Image sent upon request. $750
86. BEARD, Peter. The End of the Game, New York: Viking, 1965. Hardcover (gold-stamped cream cloth), 11 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 256 pages, screen-gravure illustrations (some in color), dustjacket. Signed.
Beard’s first book, published when he was 26 years old and only a few years out of Yale. With the title’s play on words, Beard blends past and present Africa, showing how much the country’s wildlife and landscape had changed. He combines historical maps, drawings, and photographs with his own, all rendered in high-quality gravure. Isak Dinesen, author of Out of Africa, witnessed the project in production and declared, “Very few matters could move me as deeply as this epitaph, or monument, to the Old Africa which was so dear to my heart.” See below for a 1988 edition of this title. This copy warmly inscribed on the front pastedown and free-end paper, with some comments about the book’s production, with an outline of Beards’ hand and his inked footprint. Extraneous ink marks (by Beard) to covers, in dustjacket that is chipped with a tear and small piece missing on the back. $1,000
87. BEARD, Peter. Alistair Graham, Eyelids of Morning: The Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men, Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Society, 1973. Hardcover (silver-stamped blue cloth), 12 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 260 pages, screen-gravure illustrations (some in color), dustjacket. Stated first printing, signed.
This book resulted from a year that zoologist Graham and Beard spent collaborating in a study of the crocs in Africa’s Lake Rudolf. Five hundred of the beasts were captured, killed, and examined, with the help of native divers who sometimes sacrificed their limbs and lives. The book is dedicated to “all heroes, missionaries, and martyrs—their perils, adventures and achievements.” And the title page resembles nineteenth-century books in its elongated subtitle of eight paragraphs. This copy customized by Beard, with an inscription, additional writing, outline of his hand, ink footprint, and a drop of the photographer’s own blood. Wear to tips, in price-clipped dustjacket that is chipped. $750
88. BEARD, Peter. Longing for Darkness: Kamante’s Tales from Out of Africa, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 12 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket. Stated first edition, signed.
This journal-like book, combines photographs by Beard and Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) with the stories of Dinesen’s lead servant, Kamante, along with his fanciful drawings. It comprises Kamante’s version of Blixen’s classic book Out of Africa, told in a personal and enlightening manner. Beard idolized Dinesen to the point of buying land next to her estate outside of Nairobi, Kenya, and befriending Kamante. Demonstrating how well connected Beard was, he got Jacqueline (Kennedy) Onassis to write an afterword for the book. This copy with drawings and an inscription by Beard. Previous owner’s inscription, mild edgewear, and chipping and tears to dustjacket. $500
89. BEARD, Peter. Longing for Darkness: Kamante’s Tales from Out of Africa, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.
Another copy, without the drawings and inscription. Previous owner’s name and address, mild edgewear, and tape on dustjacket. $250
90. BEARD, Peter. Peter Beard: The Last Word from Paradise, New York: International Center of Photography, 1977. Single folded sheet, 58 x 42 inches.
This large-scale piece accompanied a solo show that Beard presented at ICP. Printed on quality newsprint, one side features eight double-page spreads from Beard’s diaries and a text by Nelson Doubleday (a pseudonym for Beard?). The flip side is an homage to Beard’s great cause of the survival of African elephants; it presents large scale images of elephant carcasses and herds, all aerial shots. Laid out by the great graphic designer Marvin Israel, it is a rare early Peter Beard item. Mild stains to one corner. $1,000
91. BEARD, Peter. Fleetwood Mac, Tusk, Burbank, California: Warner Brothers Records, 1979. LP, 12 ½ x 12 ½ inches.
Presumably, the band chose Beard to illustrate the two inner sleeves for the record because of the album title and cover track, referencing an elephant’s tusk—saving the endangered African animal was one of the photographer’s causes. Beard’s images are a couple of two-page spreads from his famous diaries, in which he collages found items and his own photographs with his fanciful hand-written accounts of his daily activities. A close reading of Beard’s scribbles include mention of the band members, a partial song list for the album, and notes such as “Lindsey [Buckingham] and Mick [Fleetwood] sending Tusker tunes,” perhaps suggesting a variant album title. Features collaged images of band members and, most prominently, an ear and the shadow of a small airplane falling on the skeleton of an elephant on the ground. I remember buying this album when it came out in 1979 and having no idea who Peter Beard was, as at the time his profile in the art world was nil. A few corners bumped. $25
92. BEARD, Peter. The End of the Game, San Francisco: Chronicle, 1988. Softcover, 10 ¾ x 9 ¾ inches, unpaginated, duotone illustrations. Signed.
This is a complete visual reworking of Beard’s first book, initially published in 1965 (see above). The text has been substantially reduced and the visuals ampted up. Most importantly, this copy is heavily customized by Beard. The inside covers (front and back) feature about twenty pasted in images along with a Peter Beard matchbook. It is inscribed and dated 2004 and features three handprints (one multicolored) and his inked footprint. Fabulous, unique handwork by Beard. Near fine condition. $1,000
93. BEARD, Peter. Jon Bowermaster, The Adventures and Misadventures of Peter Beard in Africa, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1993. Hardcover (black-stamped tan cloth), 10 ¾ x 9 ½ inches, 200 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket. Stated first edition, signed.
This is the only authorized biography of Beard, chronicling his flamboyant life and lifestyle, in Africa, New York, and elsewhere. Among those who make appearances are girlfriends, family members, the models Iman and Veruschka, author Karen Blixen, painter Francis Bacon, and the photographer’s beloved crocodiles, elephants, and tigers. This copy customized by Beard with a red handprint and inscription on the title page. Near fine condition. $250
94. BEARD, Peter. Diary, Japan: Libro Port Publishing, 1993. Hardcover (black-stamped white paper over boards), 12 x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, color halftone illustrations, dustjacket and belly band, with ephemera. Signed.
The book is filled with full-bleed color photographs by Beard of his richly collaged diary pages. While they feature his distinctive handwriting, there is an overabundance of visual material, such as newspaper clippings and photographs, plus three-dimensional objects placed on the pages before he photographed them. Includes two short essays and an artist’s chronology, in Japanese. The copyright page states, “Catalogue for show ‘Diary,’ From a Dead Man’s Wallet: Confessions of a Bookmaker.” Laid into this copy are a few pieces of ephemera from the publisher. Most importantly, this copy is customized by Beard: reproduction pasted in, red and black inked handprint and inscription, plus partial footprint on inside back flap. Near fine condition. $1,000
95. BEARD, Peter. Diary, Japan: Libro Port Publishing, 1993.
Another copy, without the customization. Near fine condition, $500
96. BEARD, Peter. Peter Beard, Paris: Photo Poche, 1996. Softcover, 7 ½ x 5 inches, unpaginated, 62 halftone illustrations (most in color). Signed.
Number 67 in the series of little books published by France’s Centre National de la Photographie. Comprises an introduction by Christian Caujolle, a quotation by painter Francis Bacon, and a selection of plates. Text in French. This copy is customized by Beard, with an inscription, date of 2004, and an inky red-and-black handprint that spans two pages (inside cover and half-title page). Tiny chips to cover. $125
97. BEARD, Peter. Peter Beard, Paris: Photo Poche, 1996.
Another copy, without the customization. Fine condition, in shrink wrap. $25
98. BEARD, Peter. Peter Beard: Fifty Years of Portraits, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Arena Editions, 1999. Hardcover (red-stamped leatherette with mounted reproduction), 10 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 206 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color), with ephemera. Signed.
A dense book, issued without a dustjacket, of Beard’s photographs and collages of people and African wildlife. Texts by Peter T. Tunney, David Fahey, and Anthony Haden-Guest. Laid into this copy is a large, undated announcement for a show by the same name, at the New York gallery, The Time is Always Now. This copy heavily customized by Beard: four full-page illustrations pasted in, red and black ink handprint with inscription. Near fine condition. $850
99. BEARD, Peter. Peter Beard: Fifty Years of Portraits, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Arena Editions, 1999.
Another copy, without the customization. Near fine condition. $250
100. BEARD, Peter. 28 Pieces, Paris: Galerie Kamel Mennour, 2000. Softcover, 10 ½ x 8 inches, 60 pages, halftone illustrations (most in color). Signed.
Another fine grouping of African animals, diaries, and personalities, such as Francis Bacon and Karen Blixen. Includes a chronology of the artist and essay “Forever Young” by Jérome Sans. Bilingual text in French and English. This copy customized by Beard, with a Christmas inscription and collaged materials including an actual coin to which the artist added dripping red ink (presumably to represent blood). Near fine condition. $500
101. BEARD, Peter. 28 Pieces, Paris: Galerie Kamel Mennour, 2000.
Another copy, without the customization. Near fine condition. $150
102. BEARD, Peter. Stern Spezial Fotografie, No. 26, 2001. Softcover, 14 x
10 ½ inches, 94 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color).
This issue is nearly completely devoted to Beard and features the introduction, “Picture Man,” by Von Jochen Siemens, in both German and English. The oversize magazine comprises largely collages, diaries, and individual pictures, all mashed together into full-page spreads and bleeds. Near fine condition, in opened shrink wrap. $75
103. BEARD, Peter. Dynamic Mosaics by Peter Beard, Milan, Italy: Armani/Arte, 2004. Softcover, 10 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 64 pages, color halftone illustrations. With signed ephemera.
An exhibition catalog with but a paragraph of text, in Italian. Most of the images are of unique prints of African animals. However, also included are three recent (2003) color collages made with a Sony camera. Laid in is a 2005 handwritten card from Beard’s wife, Najma, wishing a happy new year and lamenting the publication’s mediocre printing quality. Despite its recent date, a hard to find item, especially with the ephemera. $150
104. BEARD, Peter. Zara’s Tales from Hog Ranch, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. Hardcover (gold-stamped red leatherette), 9 ½ x 7 inches, 158 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed, with ephemera.
Subtitled “Perilous Escapades in Equatorial Africa,” the book features eleven true stories set on Beard’s piece of property outside of Nairobi, Kenya, named after the warthogs that cohabitated it. Among his topics are photographing for Life magazine, rounding up rhinos, and encounters with crocodiles, other reptiles, and the people and environment of central Africa. Printed to resemble a nineteenth-century journal, it sports handwritten captions and fake foxing on the brown pages. The first printing of the book is identified by the last word in the text, “beast,” which is misspelled “best.” This copy is customized by the entire Beard family—Peter, his wife, Najma, and daughter, Zara, with handprints, inscriptions, other writing, and a notice of their appearance in St. Paul, Minnesota pasted in. A triple signature! Also, laid in is the New York Times Book Review coverage (December 5, 2004, on original newsprint). $350
105. BEARD, Peter. Zara’s Tales from Hog Ranch, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.
Another copy, without the customization. Very good condition. $35
106. BEARD, Peter. Guillaume Bonn, Peter Beard: Scrapbooks from Africa and Beyond, New York: Empire Editions, 2006. Hardcover (orange-printed red leatherette with pasted on reproduction), 10 ½ x 7 ¼ inches, halftone illustrations (some in color). Stated first edition, with compact disc.
Issued without a dustjacket, the cover leatherette resembles the pattern of crocodile skin. The book chronicles Beard photographing, making art, interacting with native Kenyans, and spending time in Paris and his Long Island house. Features a long interview conducted by Edward Behr and includes an hour-long film of the subject on a CD. Near fine condition, with the original shrink wrap laid in. $50
107. BELLMER, Hans. Bellmer! Geneva, Switzerland: Galerie D. Benador, 1966. Softcover, 8 ½ x 4 ¼ inches, 24 pages, 14 halftone illustrations.
A delicate and nicely designed catalog for a show of 32 gravures (“dessins inavouables”) and a piece of sculpture. It begins with a love letter from Bellmer, printed on pink paper, and includes a chronology of his life. Almost half of the pieces are reproduced, most of them erotic linear images. The cover features a gold-stamped design that frames an image of the sculpture “Le Poupée,” on felt-like pink stock, which undoubtedly pleased the artist, who was still alive. Printed in an edition of only 200 copies. Mild rubbing to covers. $300
108. CLARK, Larry. Tulsa, New York: Lustrum Press, 1971. Softcover, 12 x 9 inches, 64 pages, 50 halftone illustrations. Signed.
Clark’s first book, a searing personal document of drug culture in Oklahoma around 1970. The photographer states, “I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1943. When I was sixteen I started shooting amphetamine. I shot with my friends every day for three years and then left town, but I’ve been back through the years. Once the needle goes in it never comes out.” He presents sex, gun violence, and, most shockingly, a very pregnant woman shooting up, in an image beautified by glowing natural light. Some of the portraits are accompanied by the simple caption “Dead.” This was also the first book for Lustrum Press, run by Ralph Gibson. This copy inscribed to fellow photographer and bad boy Ramon Muxter. Some pages loose and covers worn. $750
109. CLARK, Larry. Camera, September 1979.
One of the magazine’s three portfolios is devoted to pictures from Clark’s Tulsa. Includes one page of text on him (in French) and eight halftone illustrations plus the cover, which show a man pointing a gun with an American flag hanging on the wall behind him. A few faint folds. $25
110. CLARK, Larry. Tulsa, New York: Larry Clark, 1981. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 12 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 64 pages, 50 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed, with ephemera.
This is the second edition of the 1971 one above and the first hardcover. Clark self-published it, printing 3,000 copies and signing all of them. Laid into this copy is an order form for the book. Near fine condition, with miniscule edgewear to dustjacket. $750
111. CLARK, Larry. Teenage Lust, New York: Larry Clark, 1983. Softcover,
8 ½ x 9 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations. Signed.
Commencing with the touching image on the cover of a nude teenage couple in the backseat of a car, the photographer revels in the sexual escapades of young people, indoors and out. Clark declares the book an autobiography and includes childhood and youthful images of himself, such as with his parents and musician Jimmy Reed, and as an adult, doing drugs and other misadventures. He owns up to his criminal activities by including newspaper clippings and a police report. The book ends with a long, rambling autobiographical text by the photographer. This copy inscribed to fellow bad boy Ramon Muxter and dated a year after the publication, making it an important association copy. Scratches, folds, rubbing, and other marks to the covers. $850
112. CLARK, Larry. Larry Clark 1992, New York: Thea Westreich, and Gisela Capitain, Köln, 1992. Softcover, 10 ¾ x 8 ¼ inches, 336 pages, halftone illustrations.
A thick book, without text and featuring bleed halftones of primarily adolescent boys, with guns, nooses, and in various states of undress. Though designated in an edition of one thousand copies, about half of them were inadvertently destroyed. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $850
113. CLARK, Larry. The Perfect Childhood, London: Larry Clark Books, 1993. Hardcover (gray-printed paper over boards), 11 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Clark’s tribute to youth, with collages of photographic images, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera. Most of the full-page pictures are color images of young men, some of them apparently shot from a television or video monitor. The book, which was also published in a German edition by Scallo, was banned in the United States, due to some sexual content. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $350
114. CLARK, Larry. Kids, New York: Grove Press, 1995. Softcover, 7 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 160 pages, halftone color illustrations.
Film stills and photographs made on the set of Clark’s film of the same name. Color images of kids skateboarding, drinking, and having sex; kids being kids. Includes the full screenplay by nineteen-year old Harmony Korine. Clark explains that he wanted to make a film that would ring true for the subjects, and it comes off as a documentary. Fine condition, in shrink wrap. $35
115. CLARK, Larry. Teenage Lust, Tokyo: Taka Ishii Gallery, 1997. Softcover, 11 ½ x 8 ¾ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
Originally self-published by Clark in 1983 (see above) and 1987, this is the third incarnation of Teenage Lust and the only Japanese edition. It has about ten extra pictures and Clark’s 23-page autobiographical text in Japanese, printed in an edition of 1,000 copies. Fine condition. $500
116. CLARK, Larry. Punk Picasso, New York: AKA Editions, 2003. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 496 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color), in original cardboard sleeve. Signed.
This two-inch thick tome continues Clark’s autobiographical publishing streak. It features reproductions of records, baseball cards, newspaper clippings, letters, and images from his projects such as Tulsa, Teenage Lust, and Kids. The book’s title was coined by David Denby, who referred to Clark as a “punk Picasso” in a review of the photographer’s 2001 film Bully. Printed in a numbered edition of 1,000, it includes a folded sheet of three color pictures of his nineteen-year old girlfriend, and is signed and dated 2003 by Clark. Mint condition. $750
117. CLARK, Larry. The Tulsa Reader: 1971-2010, New York: Chelsea Spengemann, 2010. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
This substantial volume, running about 400 pages, reprints seemingly every printed reference to Clark’s book Tulsa, in the forty years since it was published. It includes book reviews, exhibition releases, editorial letters, and general articles on Clark, and serves as both an exhaustive reference work and collage-like publication. Near fine condition. $150
118. CLARK, Larry. Larry Clark: Kiss the Past Hello, New York: Luhring Augustine, 2010. Box (12 ½ x 9 ¾ inches), with book, booklet, and poster.
This item was produced on the occasion of an exhibition of the same title at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The 128-page softcover book presents black-and-white and color images from Clark’s major projects—Tulsa, Teenage Lust, Kids, and others. The 66-page booklet reproduces, in small format, 132 images, presumably the contents of the exhibition. It also features essays by Fabrice Hergott, Sébastien Gokalp, Jim Lewis, Thea Westreich, Mike Kelley, and Dominique Baqué, bilingual in French and English. The poster reproduces a color street portrait of a youth wearing a tea shirt that says “Zero.” The title “Kiss the Past Hello” honors Danny Seymour, a friend of Clark’s; Seymour financed the printing of the first edition of Tulsa, which was on press simultaneously with Seymour’s own book A Loud Song, in which he wrote the little epigram, “Kiss the Past Goodbye.” Near fine condition, except for a mild bump to one corner of the box and a mild fold to one corner of the book cover. $300
119. CLARK, Larry. Ephemera.
Tulsa/Larry Clark, Rochester, New York: George Eastman House, 1972. Brochure (single folded sheet), 8 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches, 6 panels, one halftone illustration. With a statement by Clark and short text by Alex Sweetman, this piece promotes a traveling exhibition of the entire Tulsa project, for the whopping fee of $250 a month. This is a rare early piece of ephemera, dating from only a year after the book was published.
Tulsa: Larry Clark, Hancock, New Hampshire: Colloquium, 1974. Brochure, 5 ½ x
4 ¼ inches, 16 pages, 10 halftone illustrations. This brochure offers the original Tulsa portfolio of only ten original gelatin silver prints. All of them are reproduced here and priced at $1,250 total. Laid in is an order card.
Larry Clark: Tulsa, New York: Robert Freidus Gallery, 1980. Brochure (single folded sheet), 11 x 8 ½ inches, 4 panels, 4 halftone illustrations. This item offers the second Tulsa portfolio, with the full set of fifty prints. Includes positive press response to the book Tulsa, published about ten years earlier. Also mentions Clark’s ongoing series “Teen Lust,” later renamed “Teenage Lust.”
Order Form: Tulsa Book, New York: Larry Clark, 1981. Single sheet, 11 x 8 ½ inches, one halftone illustration. Offers the second edition (first hardcover) of Tulsa, for $35. Also available in a special edition, with an original print of the cover image.
Letter, London: Philip Wilson Publishers Limited (London), April 1994. The trade manager informs the recipient that they cannot sell copies of The Perfect Childhood to anyone in the United States, because the book was banned there. In mailed envelope.
Jamie Malanowski, “Larry Clark, Moralist, In the Florida Suburbs,” New York Times, July 8 2001. Review of Clark’s film Bully, on original newsprint.
Larry Clark, New York: International Center of Photography, 2005. Exhibition invitation and booklet for Clark’s first, surprisingly late, retrospective. The 28-page booklet reproduces color and black-and-white images and features essays by Brian Wallis, Katherine Dieckmann, and Jim Lewis. The invitation includes a sheet about the patrons’ reception.
Nice archive of 7 pieces: $100
120. GATEWOOD, Charles. The Flash, 1976-1979. Six issues. With signed ephemera.
This self-published magazine was “an occasional tabloid dedicated to high seeing.” Printed on quality newsprint and measuring about 15 x 11 inches, it, in fact, depicted much nighttime lowlife. Among the other photographers contributing work were Elaine Mayes, Ramon J. Muxter, Toby Old, Marcia Resnick, and George W. Gardner (Gatewood’s mentor). One issue was devoted to “Off the Wall,” a national exhibition of off-beat and humorous photography at the Catskill Center for Photography in Woodstock, New York. Born in Chicago in 1942, Charles Gatewood made his way to New York by 1970, to begin his photographic odyssey into the city’s thriving underworld of sex, tattooing, and body piercing. With side trips to New Orleans and San Francisco, he morphed into something like a cross between Weegee and Diane Arbus. The full run lasted only eight issues. Accompanied by a handwritten note from Gatewood in the original 1999 “Flash” envelope, this is a rare grouping. Minor folds. $500
121. GATEWOOD, Charles. Spider Webb, X, New York: R. Mutt Fine Art Publishers, 1977. Softcover, 8 x 8 inches, 52 pages, halftone illustrations. Signed, with ephemera.
This artist’s book concerns Spider Webb’s tattooing his one-thousandth “X” on a man’s leg, comprised of 1,000 tiny X’s. Gatewood photographed the operation at various stages and included portraits of those involved; Webb, Gatewood, Marco Vassi, and the unidentified man receiving the tattoo. Taped in is a small piece of blotter paper with human blood. Printed in an edition of 1,000 (naturally), individually numbered and signed by the three artists. In addition, this copy inscribed by Gatewood to Ramon Muxter, a fellow bad boy, whose work is included elsewhere in this catalog. Laid into this copy is an announcement for Spider Webb’s 1982 book Tatooed Women. Covers lightly browned and rubbed. $250
122. GATEWOOD, Charles. Forbidden Photographs, Woodstock, New York: Flash Publications, 1981. Hardcover (silver-stamped black leatherette), 11 x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations. Signed, with ephemera.
As the title suggests, challenging photographs that together form a “compassionate record of the grotesque.” Among the subjects are a tattooed fetus and penis, a severed finger, and semi-nude female mud wrestlers. Sex star Annie Sprinkle makes a few appearances, including one where she is shown photographing a man masturbating. Fun stuff. Printed in a signed, numbered edition of one thousand. Laid into this copy is an announcement for the book. Tiny tip and edgewear. $100
123. GATEWOOD, Charles. Photographs: The Body & Beyond, Woodstock, New York: Flash Publications, 1993. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 12 ¼ x
9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 50 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed, with ephemera.
Another selection of Gatewood’s unique take on the weird of the world. Nudity abounds in sections such as “Mardi Gras: Carnival in New Orleans,” “Tattoo: Dermagraphic Pleasures & Terrors,” and “Primitives: Tribal Body Art & the Left-Hand Path.” Introduction by photography critic A. D. Coleman. Numbered and signed edition of two-thousand copies. Laid into this copy is a flyer for the book and Gatewood’s business card. Near fine condition. $100
124. GATEWOOD, Charles. Ephemera.
Unusual Documentary Videos, San Francisco: Flash Publications, c. 1980. Softcover,
8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 12 pages, halftone illustrations. Catalog for about twenty racy videos about sex and tattooing. Includes such titles as “Erotic Tattooing and Body Piercing,” “Weird Amsterdam,” “Painless Steel,” and “We Bad.”
Charles Gatewood’s “Wall Street,” San Francisco: Flash Publications, 1984. Single sheet, 11 x 8 ½ inches, one halftone illustration. Prospectus and order form for a book that “shows us the public face of that bastion of democratic capitalism, Wall Street, serving up a set of visual metaphors for that most secretive perversion, high finance.”
Pair: $15
125. GOLDIN, Nan. The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, New York: Aperture, 1986. Hardcover (gold and blind-stamped blue cloth), 9 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches, 114 pages, halftone color illustrations, dustjacket. First edition.
Okay, okay, she’s not a boy, but she certainly was bad; I had to include one deviant from the opposite sex. This is Goldin’s influential visual diary of her daily life with friends and lovers. Intensely personal, it covers a decade of human relationships, in which socio-sexual awareness is always present. Goldin grouped her color snapshot-like images into potent clusters that address women, men, children, marriage, coupling, and death. One of the most potent photographic books of the 1980s, it began as an hour-long slide show of about 700 images. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $250
126. HEINECKEN, Robert. Thonet 19th Century Bentwood Furniture, Los Angeles: University of California Art Galleries, 1961. Softcover, 8 ½ x 7 ½ inches, 36 pages, halftone illustrations.
So here’s a Heinecken piece you’ve never heard of. It is the catalog for a show of bentwood furniture at U.C.L.A., for which Heinecken provided the graphic design and photographs. The pictures are straightforward images, but are perhaps his earliest appearance in print, preceding by four years the first entry in the bibliography in his Friends of Photography monograph. It was produced one year after Heinecken earned his M.A. and began teaching drawing, design, and printmaking, before he established the school’s photography department. A must for the Heinecken completist. Minor marks to covers. $25
127. HEINECKEN, Robert. Original art. Periodical No. 5, 1979 (second state of 1971 first). Magazine page with additional offset lithography and hand-applied white-out, 11 x 7 ½ inches. With signature.
In 1971 Heinecken took pages from popular magazines and printed over them (on both sides of the sheet) with a grizzly image of a smiling Vietnamese soldier holding two severed human heads. Eight years later, when curator Fred R. Parker organized the exhibition “Attitudes: Photography in the 1970s,” the two decided to include “restrikes” of this work in the show’s catalog (Santa Barbara Museum of Art). Heinecken had either lost the original printing plate or wished to slightly alter the image. To do so, he took one of the 1971 printed pieces (printed on only one side) and added white-out in order to make a new printing plate, which constitutes the piece offered here. It is clear that the two editions vary, as the heads touch the soldier’s legs in the first printing and do not in the second, due to the white-out. See the 1980 Heinecken monograph (Friends of Photography) for two examples of the 1971 piece, reproduced as plate 47. This piece is unique and shows the hand of the artist. Although it has no inscriptions, it is accompanied by a portion of an envelope from U.C.L.A. (where Heinecken taught) that bears his signature. Image sent upon request. $2,000
128. HEINECKEN, Robert. Heinecken, Carmel, California: Friends of Photography, 1980. Hardcover (silver and blind-stamped black cloth), 9 ¼ x
12 ¼ inches, 160 pages, 92 halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed, with ephemera.
This was the first major monograph on Heinecken, issued without a dustjacket. It was edited by James Enyeart, with contributions by Marvin Bell, Carl Chiarenza, Candida Finkel, Charles Hagen, John Upton, and William Jenkins. According to Jenkins, “Nearly all of Heinecken’s work is directed at synthesizing the information disseminated by modern culture concerning the elevation and selling of beauty, sex, and money. Advertising and pornography are neither condemned nor revered, but recognized as significant.” Includes a statement by the artist, an extensive bibliography, plus other back matter. Edition of 2,000 copies, signed and machine-numbered. Laid into this copy is a large, six-panel prospectus for the book. Near fine condition except for a few smudges to the covers. $250
129. HEINECKEN, Robert. Heinecken: Selected Works, 1966-1986, Tokyo: Gallery Min, 1986. Softcover, 11 x 11 inches, 74 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color).
Exhibition catalog covering bodies of work such as “Are You Rea?” “He/She,” “Lessons in Posing Subjects,” “Fast Food,” and “News Women.” Essay, “Warning: Playing with Images Can be Deadly Serious (Art) Game,” by critic Mark Johnstone, bilingual in Japanese and English. Tiny bump to one corner. $100
130. HEINECKEN, Robert. Studiesnineteenseventy, Tucson, Arizona: Nazraeli Press, 2002. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 7 ¼ x 5 ¾ inches, 16 pages, 12 halftone illustrations and one original photograph. Signed by Heinecken.
Heinecken made these combination images, rendered in negative tones, from pornographic magazines. Originally created in 1970, they were part of his ongoing investigation of printed imagery and the female nude. This title is from the Nazraeli Press’ “One Picture Book” series, all issued without dustjackets. The original tipped-in gelatin silver print is signed and dated 2002 by Heinecken, and numbered 32/500. Fine condition. $250
131. HEINECKEN, Robert. Ephemera.
Heinecken, Carmel, California: Friends of Photography, 1980. Single folded sheet, 9 x 10 ¼ inches, 6 panels, 3 halftone illustrations. Mailed prospectus for the major monographic book.
Heinecken, New York: Light Gallery, 1981. Single folded sheet, 6 x 8 inches, 6 panels, 2 color halftone illustrations. Mailed invitation to exhibition reception and book signing.
1984: A Case Study in Finding an Appropriate TV Newswoman, Culver City, California: Robert Heinecken, 1984. Single sheet, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 2 color halftone illustrations. Notice of the availability of a book and original Cibachrome print.
Letter. Short handwritten and signed note thanking the recipient for a prompt response to a request of his. In mailed envelope, dated August 4, 1997.
Andy Grundberg, “Robert Heinecken, Artist Who Juxtaposed Photographs, Is Dead at 74,” New York Times, May 22, 2006. Obituary, with a halftone of Heinecken, on original newsprint.
Robert Heinecken: Image as Object, New York: Andrew Roth, 2007. Poster and press release for show of 30 photo-based works, in original mailed envelope.
Group of 6: $50
132. KRIMS, Les. The Incredible Case of the Stack O’Wheats Murders, Buffalo: Les Krims, 1972. Box (paper over boards with printed label), 10 loose plates, 5 x
5 ¾ inches each, 2 printed sheets. Signed.
Small folio of staged crime scenes that Krims created, with nude female victims usually in indoor domestic settings. He used Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup to simulate blood, as its viscosity and color (in black and white) was a good match. Some of the images are grizzly, with the victims seemingly stabbed, bound, or gagged. In every case the murderer left behind a stack of pancakes, as his mysterious calling card. Perhaps the most memorable image appears on the cover of the box, showing a body on a bathroom floor, her underwear soaking in the sink, and the word “wheats” spelled out in “blood” next to her. Text by Eastman House curator Robert Sobieszek. Inserted sheet signed by Krims. The best of three limited-edition boxes he issued in 1972 (see other entries here). Normal minor wear to corners of box. $250
133. KRIMS, Les. The Incredible Case of the Stack O’Wheats Murders, Buffalo: Les Krims, 1972. Press sheet, 23 x 29 inches, 20 duotone illustrations. Signed.
This is an uncut press sheet for the above portfolio. It includes the ten images in the box plus additional ones from both the Deerslayers and Little People folios, demonstrating that all three of the boxes were printed at the same time. Krims appreciated the collective look of this sheets, so he signed, dated, and numbered it 72/200. $100
134. KRIMS, Les. The Deerslayers, Buffalo: Les Krims, 1972. Box (paper over boards with printed label), 23 loose plates, 5 x 5 ¾ inches each, printed sheet. Signed.
Small folio of images Krims made of successful deer hunters with their prey secured to their cars. The images, some shot at night, are high contrast and brown toned. Text by Alex Sweetman on a folded sheet, also with Krims’ signature. One of three limited-edition boxes he issued in 1972 (see other entries here). Normal minor wear to corners of box. $250
135. KRIMS, Les. The Deerslayers, Buffalo: Les Krims, 1972. Press sheet, 23 x 29 inches, 20 duotone illustrations. Signed.
Another uncut press sheet, this one solely devoted to the deer hunters. Krims signed, dated, and numbered this one 51/200. Obviously rarer than the finished folio. $100
136. KRIMS, Les. The Little People of America 1971, Buffalo: Les Krims, 1972. Box (paper over boards with printed label), 24 loose plates, 5 x 5 ¾ inches each, printed sheet. Signed.
Small folio of images Krims made of midgets and dwarfs, collectively known as “little people.” He presents them doing everyday activities such as swimming, ironing, and dancing, presented in high contrast and brown tones. Text by New York critic A. D. Coleman, on a folded sheet, also with Krims’ signature. One of three limited-edition boxes he issued in 1972 (see other entries here). Normal minor wear to corners of box. $250
137. KRIMS, Les. Fictcrptokrimsographs, Buffalo: Humpy Press, 1975. Softcover, 6 ½ x 6 inches, 90 pages, 40 color halftone illustrations.
Comprises reproductions of recent Polaroid SX-70s, mostly of nude young women. Krims included props such as pencils, brooms, and food, and hand manipulated the prints as they were developing, in order to heighten the surreal quality of the images. The cover and endpapers feature a repeat pattern of a man with a penis for a nose. Fellow photographer Hollis Frampton provided the introduction. Near fine condition. $150
138. KRIMS, Les. Fictcrptokrimsographs, Buffalo: Humpy Press, 1975. Two press sheets, 38 x 25 inches each, 40 color halftone illustrations. Signed.
This pair of uncut press sheets comprise all the images that appeared in the above book. Each is signed and dated by Krims, and editioned in a set of only 200. Much rarer than the final publication. Pair: $300
139. KRIMS, Les. Les Krims, Vienna, Austria: Galerie Die Brücke, 1976. Press sheet, 24 ¾ x 17 ½ inches, 17 duotone illustrations. Signed.
This an uncut press sheet for a set of cards of Krims’ Kodalith series, 1968-1975. They feature figures, nude and clothed, indoors and out, acting out the photographer’s absurd and fanciful directions. In one, a man performs surgery on his own chest; in another a host of mushrooms make their way up the legs and torso of a recumbent woman. Krims apparently liked the appearance of the uncut sheet, as he signed, dated, and numbered it (this one 3/30). $100
140. KRIMS, Les. Original photograph. “Happy Easter Christians!” 1978. Polaroid SX-70, 4 ¼ x 3 ½ inches, in folder.
In 1978, Krims spoke at the annual convention of the Photographic Society for Education (S. P. E.), the national organization of photography teachers, where he apparently made this item available. The color print shows a crowded still life of toys and figurines, most prominently plastic pigs and piglets. On the back is a wet stamp with the title, Krims’ name, and “S. P. E. 1978/Polaroid SX-70 Print.” It is tipped into a folder
(8 ½ x 11 inches) with a black-and-white reproduction of a robot near a window and “SPE/78” in the lower left. By nature, a unique photograph, though Krims undoubtedly produced many more, of probably related subjects. Image sent upon request. $1,000
141. LYON, Danny. Aspen Magazine, Spring 1967 (vol. 1, no. 4).
This item includes the first appearance of images from “The Bikeriders,” a year before the book was issued (see below). Published in New York as the “magazine in a box” (12 ¼ x 9 ¼ x ¾ inches), it comprises about ten loose printed pieces and was the “Marshall McLuhan Issue.” Lyon’s item is a booklet titled “Psychles,” measuring 11 x 4 ½ inches, with 24 pages and 15 halftone illustrations. Most of the text is the words of the bikers, which also appeared in the finished book. Laid in is a 2012 e-mail from Lyon stating, “It was a big sale for me, first serial rights to the BR’s. I got $1,000. A lot then.” A rare item. Very good condition. $650
142. LYON, Danny. The Bikeriders, New York: MacMillan, 1968. Softcover,
9 ¼ x 6 ½ inches, 94 pages, halftone illustrations. Stated first printing, signed.
Lyon’s first and most important book. Working in the personal documentary mode, he became a member of the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club and photographed its activities as an insider. He shows its members riding, racing, partying, and burying one of its own. Includes substantial statements by over a dozen individuals, like Cockroach, Funny Sonny, and Zipco. Indicative of the meager number of creative photography books being issued at the time, the publisher suggested its classification for booksellers on the back cover as “Adventure.” This copy boldly signed on the title page. Minor edgewear and tiny piece missing from top of spine. $850
143. LYON, Danny. Born to Lose: Fifteen Pictures of the Texas Department of Corrections, Huntsville, Texas: Danny Lyon, 1968. Folded sheet with 7 loose plates, 9 x 10 inches, 9 halftone illustrations. Signed.
This is an extremely rare and little-known item that relates to Lyon’s 1971 book Conversations with the Dead. It comprises biographical text about three inmates who appear in one of the images. Two of the pictures did not make it into the book, adding to our understanding of this early important project by Lyon. It is hard to imagine the Texas prison system today allowing a photographer to have the kind of access that Lyon apparently did. Adding to the item’s interest is the fact that three inmates (named on the title sheet) actually performed the layout and lithographic printing of the piece. Lyon begins his “Note of Thanks” in Conversations by stating that “the original version of this work appeared as a small unfinished portfolio printed in the print shop of the Walls and entitled Born to Lose.” Indeed, only eight sheets were printed, rather than the projected fifteen. In a 2012 phone conversation with me, Lyon indicated that about twenty copies were printed, that he had to smuggle them out of the prison, that the folder with seven sheets (as offered here) is complete, and that he has only one copy (in poor condition). With portion of Department of Corrections envelope with Lyon’s name and return address, written in his hand (thus, signed). Very good condition, with light bending to two corners and the spine of the folded sheet. Images sent upon request. $1,250
144. LYON, Danny. Conversations with the Dead, Houston: Rice University Institute for the Arts, 1970. Softcover, 9 x 6 inches, 12 pages, 5 halftone illustrations (2 in color).
This is the brochure for an exhibition that preceded by a year the book of the same title (see below). The show comprised 42 photographs of prison life by Lyon and 44 color drawings and letters by inmate Billy McCune, including a portrait of Danny Lyon, reproduced here. Very good condition. $35
145. LYON, Danny. Conversations with the Dead, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971. Hardcover (black-stamped white and gray cloth), 8 ½ x 11 ¼ inches, 196 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition, signed.
In 1967 Lyon gained nearly unfettered access to the inside of Texas penitentiaries, an unimaginable feat today. He proceeded to befriend many inmates and captured them working in fields, eating, showering, and being strip searched. The final section features the compassionate letters and drawing of Billy McCune, inmate #122054. This copy boldly signed on the title page. Small sticker marks to front pastedown, otherwise in near fine condition (unusual in this shape, in hardcover, and signed). $1,000
146. LYON, Danny. Billy McCune, The Autobiography of Billy McCune, San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books, 1973. Hardcover (green-stamped blue cloth),
8 ½ x 5 ¾ inches, 154 pages, 8 halftone illustrations. Stated first printing.
The riveting story of a Texas inmate that Lyon befriended while working on his book Conversations with the Dead (see above). Lyon wrote the introduction and was undoubtedly largely responsible for the book being published. McCune was first incarcerated in a mental institution at age sixteen and later was convicted of rape. After being sentence to death he amputated his penis and experienced a religious conversion. His death sentence was eventually commuted but he subsequently spent seven years in solitary confinement. Amazingly, he retained the fortitude to pen his own autobiography. Near fine condition, in dustjacket with small edgewear. $25
147. LYON, Danny. The Bikeriders, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Twin Palms, 1997. Hardcover (red-stamped black cloth), 11 x 8 inches, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
Retains the original text and pictures and their order, with an added introduction by Lyon. However, the format is slightly larger and the images are rendered in rich gravure. Printed in an edition of 3,850 copies. This copy boldly signed on the title page. Near fine condition. $300
148. LYON, Danny. Business card.
Gives Lyon’s address in Clintondale, New York, his e-mail address and website. In his hand he has written “website” with an arrow. The back reproduces one of his color images. $25
149. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Postcard. New York: Artists’ Postcards, 1978. Card, 6 x 4 inches, one halftone illustration. Signed.
This is a hand-written card to Santa Barbara curator Fred R. Parker, responding to a request. Mapplethorpe indicates that he will be sending a copy of his only exhibition catalog to date (from the Chrysler Museum, listed below), mentions a few magazines in which his images have appeared and two galleries where his photographs are available. The Mapplethorpe image is Torso, a detail of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body, not showing his face. Postmarked November 24, 1978. Accompanied by a remembrance, “Robert Mapplethorpe, 1946-89,” by Vince Aletti, Village Voice, March 21, 1989 (on original newsprint). Two rare pieces of Mapplethorpe ephemera. $100
150. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Robert Mapplethorpe: Photographs, Norfolk, Virginia: Chrysler Museum, 1978. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 16 pages, 13 halftone illustrations.
This was the first exhibition catalog of Mapplethorpe’s work. It comprised about thirty-five items, virtually all portraits he made between 1975 and 1977. Among those reproduced are Patti Smith, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and David Hockney and Henry Geldzahler (together). Text by museum director Mario Amaya. Light rubbing and wear to covers. $35
151. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Lady Lisa Lyon, New York: Viking Press, 1983. Softcover, 11 x 9 inches, 128 pages, halftone illustrations.
Mapplethorpe’s in-depth picture essay on Lyon, a California bodybuilding champion. He pictures her as fashion model, athlete, sculptural nude, and stylized model. Text by Bruce Chatwin. Light rubbing and miniscule edgewear to covers. $35
152. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Robert Mapplethorpe: 1970-1983, London: Institute of Contemporary Arts, 1983. Softcover, 11 ¾ x 8 ¼ inches, 64 pages, halftone illustrations. Stated third printing.
Catalog for a show presented at five venues in the United Kingdom. Preface by Sandy Nairne and essays by Stuart Morgan and Alan Hollinghurst. Tiny wear to tips and small bend to front cover. $25
153. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Certain People: A Book of Portraits, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Twelvetrees Press, 1985. Hardcover (black-stamped blue cloth),
14 ¼ x 11 ¼ inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Richly printed in sheet-fed gravure, the large-scale portraits feature subjects such as David Byrne, Patti Smith, and Sam Wagstaff. With an insightful preface by critic Susan Sontag. Edition of 5,000 copies. Near fine condition. $175
154. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Black Book, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 11 ½ x 11 ½ inches, 108 pages, 92 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Mapplethorpe’s homage to the contemporary black male figure, nude and otherwise. His highly stylized studio portraits include many of the actor Ken Moody and some lesser known, such as the unknown model used for his “Man in Polyester Suit,” where a sizable uncircumcised penis protrudes from an open fly. The foreword by Ntozake Shange comprises primarily the poem “Irrepressibly Bronze, Beautiful & Mine.” Near fine condition, with a few indentations to the back of the dustjacket. $75
155. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Richard Marshall, Robert Mapplethorpe, New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1988. Hardcover (black-stamped purple cloth), 12 x 9 ½ inches, 85 duotone and 45 color illustrations, dustjacket.
Published on the occasion of a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney, a year before the artist died. The reproductions feature portraits, still lifes, flowers, and little-known color collages from as early as 1970. Includes essays by Marshall, Ingrid Sischy (“A Society Artist”) and Richard Howard (“The Mapplethorpe Effect”) and a bibliography and exhibition chronology. Near fine condition, in dustjacket that has a few wrinkles and two short tears at top of spine. $100
156. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Some Women, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1989. Hardcover (black-stamped yellow cloth), 12 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches, 120 pages, 86 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition.
Published shortly after Mapplethorpe died, this collection was among his last projects. It explores female beauty “both idealized and externalized,” and includes luminous nudes, fashion shots, and portraits. The women cover a range of ages and both the unfamiliar and the notable. Gracing the pages are images of Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Cyndi Lauper, Grace Jones, Isabella Rossellini, and many others. Joan Didion, in her introduction, probes the relationship between the photographer and his subjects. Near fine condition, with a short tear and rubbing to the rear of the dustjacket. $100
157. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment, ephemera.
In 1989, the year of his death, the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Contemporary Art organized a retrospective of Mapplethorpe’s work that ended up generating great controversy about obscenity and art. The show seems to have gone off smoothly in Philadelphia, but subsequent venues were not so fortunate. It attracted national attention when it was presented at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center, and Washington’s Corcoran Gallery of Art canceled its showing. Following are articles (all on original newsprint), press releases, and invitations related to the exhibition, listed chronologically. Includes almost daily coverage of the Cincinnati obscenity trail in September-October 1990. The following abbreviations for newspapers have been used: NYT = New York Times and VV = Village Voice.
Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment, Washington, D.C.: Corcoran Gallery of Art, June 30, 1989, invitation.
Form letter, Washington, D.C.: Corcoran Gallery of Art, June 14, 1989. Informs members that the show has been cancelled.
Three press releases, Washington, D.C.: Washington Project for the Arts. “WPA Board of Director Votes to Host Mapplethorpe Exhibition,” June 15, 1989; “WPA to Host Mapplethorpe Retrospective Exhibition,” June 27, 1989; “Final Day Draws Record Crowds to Mapplethorpe Retrospective,” August 16, 1989. In envelope, with the business card of the WPA’s director of public relations.
Hilton Cramer, “Is Art Above the Laws of Decency?” NYT, July 2, 1989.
“Art on the Firing Line,” NYT, July 9, 1989.
“The Critic and the Commissar,” VV, July 18, 1989.
Michael Kimmelman, “Helms’ Bill, Whatever Its Outcome, Could Leave Mark on Arts Grants,” NYT, July 30, 1989.
Letters to the editor, NYT, July 30, 1989.
Andy Grundberg, “Blaming a Medium for Its Message,” NYT, August 6, 1989.
John Russell, “Getting High on Moral Indignation,” NYT, August 6, 1989.
“Mapplethorpe Goes to Washington,” VV, August 8, 1989.
Letters to the editor, NYT, August 27, 1989.
Newsletter, April-May 1990, Cincinnati: Contemporary Arts Center.
Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment, Cincinnati: Contemporary Arts Center, April 7 – May 26, 1990, brochure.
“Cincinnati Center Indicted for Mapplethorpe Show,” NYT, April 8, 1990.
“Obscenity on Trial Today,” USA Today, September 24, 1990.
“Obscenity Trial of Museum Director Begins Today in Ohio,” NYT, Sept. 24, 1990.
“Jury Selection Begins in Obscenity Trial,” NYT, September 25, 1990.
“Selection of Jurors Ends in Ohio Obscenity Case,” NYT, September 28, 1990.
“Jury Hears Passionate Arguments as Obscenity Trial Opens,” NYT, Sept. 29, 1990.
“Focus is on Judge in Trial of Museum,” NYT, October 2, 1990.
“Clashes at Obscenity Trial on What an Eye Really Sees,” NYT, October 3, 1990.
“Curator Defends Photo Exhibition,” NYT, October 4, 1990.
“Obscenity Trial is Told Photos are Destructive,” NYT, October 5, 1990.
“Cincinnati Jury Acquits Museum in Mapplethorpe Case,” NYT, October 6, 1990.
“Both Sides in Cincinnati Case Expect More Obscenity Battles,” NYT, Oct. 7, 1990.
“The Cincinnati Obscenity Trial and What Makes Photos Art,” NYT, Oct. 18, 1990.
“Obscenity Jurors Were Pulled 2 Ways But Deferred to Art,” NYT, Oct. 20, 1990.
“Art on Trial: Cincinnati’s Dangerous Theater of Ridiculous,” VV, Oct. 23, 1990.
David A. Ross, “Strange Summer: Hosting the Mapplethorpe Exhibition Can Change Your Life,” Syracuse University Magazine, March 1991.
“Remembering a Sensation in Cincinnati,” NYT, April 2, 2000.
A substantial, undoubtedly unique archive of over 30 pieces, particularly valuable for reference and research. $125
158. MORTENSEN, William. Monsters and Madonnas, San Francisco: Camera Craft, 1936. Softcover (internal metal ring binding), 12 x 9 ½ inches, unpaginated, 20 screen-gravure and 10 halftone illustrations. Stated second edition, second printing (February 1943).
This is Mortensen’s acknowledged magnum opus and one of the most important books from the second generation of pictorialists. The first edition (also 1936) was printed in halftone, so this is the first one in gravure. The gravure edition was so popular that it was printed four times, over twelve years. The well-designed cover, which has the subtitle “A Book of Methods,” features the provocative full-frontal nude Torso. Inside, the book includes text by Mortensen on both his photographic technique and aesthetic theories. The rich, full-page gravures are divided into three sections: characters, nudes, and grotesques. Each plate is accompanied by a page of analysis and sometimes a small halftone of the image before Mortensen manipulated it. Light browning and wear to covers. $250
159. MORTENSEN, William. The Command to Look: A Formula for Picture Success, San Francisco: Camera Craft, 1937. Softcover (metal-ring binding), 6 x
4 ¾ inches, 190 pages, 55 halftone illustrations. Stated first edition, third printing (1943).
This was one of Mortensen’s most important and popular books, reprinted many times. In it he writes about his personal history, the “pictorial imperative,” and impact, sex, sentiment, and wonder in pictures. Despite the color cover image of a baby worthy of an ad for Gerber Baby Food, much of this little book comprises fifty-five of his salon prints with his commentary and analysis. Covers lightly spotted and worn. $175
160. MUXTER, Ramon J. Fun, Friends, and Family, Minneapolis: Sure Co., 1973. Softcover, 9 ¼ x 12 inches, 64 pages, 32 halftone illustrations (one in color). Signed.
“Ray” Muxter (1945-2007) was a fixture in the Twin Cities art scene, a gonzo street photographer who literally shot from the hip. He essayed people at the edges of life, frequenting bars and strip clubs, and produced a whole series of self-portraits with famous figures he ran into, such as writer William Burroughs. He lived life hard, as is evident in his gritty black-and-white images. He had at least four solo exhibitions, including one in 1970 at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which now owns nearly 100 of his prints. What would have been his last show was scheduled to open in New York on September 13, 2001, but was cancelled after the events of 9/ll. Tragedy had a way of finding Mr. Muxter.
This is Muxter’s only book, produced in the new style of artist’s photobooks, like Danny Seymour’s A Loud Song. It shows him and others cavorting in bars, cars, and backyards, sometimes partially undressed. Muxter shows up, at a funeral, posing with Mae West, and pissing into an ice-filled trough urinal. The cover features an airborne horseshoe heading towards a basketball hoop and the color frontispiece presents the photographer’s father in a Harlem Globetrotters outfit dribbling down a sidewalk. This is a little-known book of wacky imagery. This copy signed by Muxter. Covers rubbed, with other minor imperfections. $125
161. MUXTER, Ramon J. Real photographic postcards.
Eight gelatin silver prints printed on “photo post card” stock, all but one on fiber-based paper. They measure about 3 ½ x 5 ½ inches each. Some portray known Minneapolis art figures, such as artist Billy Golfus and gallery owner Martin Weinstein. Other typically arcane Muxter subject matter includes one of a woman in silky underwear sleeping on two chairs. Four were mailed and are signed by Muxter, dating between 1994 and 2006. Images sent upon request.
Group of 8: $350
162. NEWTON, Helmut. Big Nudes, New York: Xavier Moreau, 1982. Hardcover (blind-stamped black cloth), 12 ½ x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Simultaneously published in New York, London, Paris, and Munich. Most of the subjects are big of stature, being tall female models, but Newton also includes pictures of the athletes Gayle Olinekova and Lisa Lyons. Features a few pairs of images where women inhabit the same space, both clothed and nude, along with the striking “Sie Kommen,” in which four nudes walk toward the low-positioned camera. With the introduction, “Nordfleisch,” by fashion impresario Karl Lagerfeld. Near fine condition. $100
163. NEWTON, Helmut. Portraits, New York: Pantheon, 1987. Hardcover (gray and blind-stamped gray cloth), 11 ½ x 9 ¼ inches, 248 pages, 191 duotone and color illustrations, dustjacket. State first American edition.
A series of photographs of the famous, the rich, and the beautiful; actors, musicians, artists, socialites, and fashion designers from both sides of the Atlantic. Among them are Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Sigourney Weaver, Mick Jagger, Sophia Loren, Werner Fassbinder, Grace Jones, and Elizabeth Taylor (on the cover, shown in a pool with a parrot). Includes an introduction by critic Carol Squiers and an index to the sitters. Near fine condition. $50
164. NEWTON, Helmut. Sleepless Nights, Munich, Germany: Schirmer Art Books, 1991. Hardcover (pink-stamped paper over boards), 10 ½ x 7 ¾ inches, 152 pages, 71 duotone and color illustrations, dustjacket.
A selection of Newton’s sexual fantasies, involving bondage, saddles, mannequins, and other props, set in New York, Paris, and other European cities. “His ambivalent relation to the glittery world of luxury and fashion is artistically conveyed in aloof compositions that present, in absolute perfection beauty, and perversion, eroticism, decadence and the discrete charm of the bourgeoisie. Somehow he manages to convey the cruelty as well as the elegance of this self-contained milieu.” Near fine condition, in lightly rubbed and wrinkled dustjacket. $75
165. NEWTON, Helmut. Jesse McKinley, “Helmut Newton is Dead at 83; Photos Were Vogue Mainstay,” New York Times, January 25, 2004.
Original newsprint obituary, with an image of him with a camera and his 1975 Condé Nast shot of a woman in a bathing suit next to an Airstream trailer. Newton died after accidentally crashing his car while leaving the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles. Complimentary with the purchase of any of the above Newton books.
166. OLD, Toby. Lucky Strikes, Northampton, Massachusetts: Chameleon Books, 1995. Softcover, 10 x 8 inches, 36 pages, 37 halftone illustrations. Signed.
Photographs from the photographer’s major series on discos and boxing, plus other images, dating from the late-1970s to early-1990s. Drawn to the fringes of American society, Old searches for poignant moments at public events like county fairs, where he captured, for instance, a horse diving into a pool of water. All the pictures here are from the permanent collection of New York’s International Center of Photography, whose curator, Miles Barth, provides an introduction. Toby Old (born 1945) is a native of Minnesota, practiced as a dentist for a while, and has been a New York street photographer for decades. This copy signed by Old. Fine condition. $25.
167. OLD, Toby. Times Squared, Chesterfield, Massachusetts: Chameleon Books, 2002. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 10 ½ x 9 ¾ inches, 120 pages, 114 duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
Images made by Old over 25 years in the vicinity of New York’s Times Square, “the cross-roads of the world.” Working both at night and day, he captured the spectacle of the street, the banter of boxing, the fiction of fashion, and the sex of disco. Essay by author/photographer Richard Gordon. According to Norman Mailer, Old’s photographs made him think of “Toulouse-Lautrec and Hieronymous Bosch, which is not a bad day’s work for a photograph.” This copy warmly inscribed and dated in the year of publication. Near fine condition. $50
168. OLD, Toby. Waterlog: The Beach Series, Syracuse, New York: Light Work, 2005. Softcover, 10 x 9 inches, 48 pages, 40 duotone illustrations. Signed.
Published as an issue of Light Work’s Contact Sheet, this catalog presents Old’s ongoing fascination with summer life on the sand, both here at home and abroad. Light Work director Jeffrey Hoone observes in his introduction that “with elegance, wit, and an uncanny ability to separate and save a decisive moment from a mass of confusion, Old’s photographs find us letting our hair down as he reveals how surprising, strange, and magical our entire life would be if every day were a day at the beach.” This copy inscribed in the year of publication. Near fine condition. $25
169. OUTERBRIDGE, Paul, Jr. Photographing in Color, New York: Random House, 1940. Hardcover (black-stamped gray), 11 ¾ x 8 ¾ inches, 204 pages, 14 color halftone illustrations. Stated first edition.
This, the only book Outerbridge authored, is his treatise on color photography, primarily the carbro process. He begins it by stating, “The importance of fine craftsmanship in photo-engraving cannot be overemphasized, as knowledge of most graphic art is generally obtained these days through the medium of reproduction.” Among the topics he covers are cameras, equipment, lighting, exposure, composition, and separation negatives. Also included are formularies and a fold-out color chart. The color reproductions of his work are tipped-in and feature nudes, figure studies, and still lifes such as his modernist “Images de Deauville.” In a smart marketing move, the publisher varied the dustjackets, by using one of all fourteen of the color plates, pasted on. Cloth lightly worn, lacking the dustjacket. $75
170. OUTERBRIDGE, Paul, Jr. Robert Glenn Ketchum and Graham Howe, Paul Outerbridge, Jr., Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, 1976. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 40 pages, 29 halftone illustrations. Stated first printing.
This is an understated, little item, the first monograph on Outerbridge. It features largely his early black-and-white work, presented with glassine interleaving, although a color nude is seen on the cover. Howe provides a biographical sketch on the photographer and an appreciation. Printed in an edition of 3,000 copies, of which this is number 1,298. Cover lightly rubbed. $35
171. OUTERBRIDGE, Paul, Jr. Graham Howe and G. Ray Hawkins, editors, Paul Outerbridge, Jr., New York: Rizzoli, 1980. Hardcover (gold-stamped brown cloth), 11 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches, 160 pages, 140 halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket.
A selection of Outerbridge’s nude, still life, and commercial work, dating from the early 1920s to late 1930s. The section of plates commences with his renowned 1922 “Ide Collar.” Includes the essay “From Ideal Form to Idealized Fetishism” by Howe and Jacqueline Markham. Front free endpaper with a crease and short tear, dustjacket is lightly rubbed. $75
172. OUTERBRIDGE, Paul, Jr. Elaine Dines and Graham Howe, Paul Outerbridge: A Singular Aesthetic: Photographs and Drawings, 1921-1941: A Catalogue Raisonné, Santa Barbara, California: Arabesque Books, 1981. Hardcover (tan cloth with mounted reproduction and mat, and black-stamped board mounted on spine), 12 ¼ x 9 ½ inches, 240 pages, 564 halftone illustrations (some in color), printed acetate jacket, with ephemera.
An ambitious project, this is one of the few catalog raisonnés for a photographer. It includes an introduction by Dines, Howe, and Bernard Barryte, a 1940 essay by Outerbridge on the color carbro process, a selected bibliography, and, most importantly, every image by him known at the time. Featured are his modernist ink drawings, delicate platinum prints, and color nude and advertising images. The challenging cover image shows a nude woman wearing only a mask and gloves with metal fingertips. Laid into this copy is a prospectus for this limited edition of 1,500 copies. Fine condition, in a rubbed jacket. $450
173. OUTERBRIDGE, Paul, Jr. Elaine Dines and Graham Howe, Paul Outerbridge: A Singular Aesthetic: Photographs and Drawings, 1921-1941: A Catalogue Raisonné, Laguna Beach (California) Museum of Art, 1981. Softcover, 11 ¾ x 9 inches, 240 pages, 564 halftone illustrations (some in color).
This is the softcover version of the above, without the elaborate cover or prospectus. It accompanied a traveling exhibition organized by the museum. Fine condition. $75
174. OUTERBRIDGE, Paul, Jr. Graham Howe, Paul Outerbridge: Nudi, Milan, Italy: Motta Fotografia, 1996. Hardcover (white-printed black paper over boards), 9 x 9 inches, 60 pages, 39 halftone illustrations (most in color), dustjacket.
Outerbridge expert Graham Howe provides an essay on Outerbridge’s interest in fetishism and Cubism. The cover image, once again, is the 1937 “Woman with Claws.” Usually seen as a softcover. Near fine condition, in lightly wrinkled dustjacket. $50
175. SAMARAS, Lukas. Photo-Transformations, Long Beach: California State University, 1975. Softcover, 9 x 9 inches, 64 pages, 61 halftone illustrations (most in color).
Exhibition catalog that begins with a small selection of early black-and-white images from the 1950s and sixties. However, most of the reproductions, printed full bleed, are after manipulated Polaroid SX-70s, from 1973-75. They represent an extension of his unique self-referential surrealist imagery into an almost hallucinatory examination of himself, his environment, and his fantasies. Essay by Arnold B. Glimcher, edited by Constance W. Glenn. Light rubbing and bend to covers. $25
176. SAMARAS, Lukas. Sittings, 1979-1980, New York: Pace Gallery, 1980. Softcover, 10 x 8 inches, 48 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color).
This series comprises figures situated on a chair in the artist’s studio, always with Samaras peering on at the edge of the image. It pairs different subjects, one black-and-white, and the other in saturated hues, mostly reds and greens. Essay by Carter Ratcliff. Covers rubbed and lightly edgeworn. $25
177. SAMARAS, Lukas. Ben Lifson, Samaras: The Photographs of Lucas Samaras, New York: Aperture, 1987. Hardcover (red-stamped black cloth), 9 ¾ x 12 ½ inches, 184 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color).
A substantial monograph on Samaras, covering his ten major bodies of work to date, beginning with “AutoPolaroids” from 1969-71 and ending with “Adjustment” of 1986. Includes artist chronology and bibliography. Fine condition. $50
178. SAUDEK, Jan. Daniela Mrázkova, Jan Saudek: Theatre of Life, Prague, Czechoslovakia: Panorama, 1991. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 13 ¼ x 9 ½ inches, unpaginated, 124 halftone illustrations (most in color), dustjacket. Stated first edition, signed.
This was the first Saudek monograph published in his home country of Czechoslovakia, two years after the Velvet Revolution freed it from the Soviet Union. While many other countries had already released books on him, his work was too subversive for Communist rulers. It surveys his pictures from the late 1960s, when he was initially heavily influenced by Western popular culture. His primary subjects are love and sex, through the guise of the female nude, at various ages. It includes reproductions of some of his hand-written notes and short essays, bibliography, and list of solo shows. The primary text is in Czech, but summaries appear in English and three other languages. Jan Saudek (born 1935) is the most well-known living Czech photographer, not to be confused with Josef Sudek, the country’s top photographer, of a few generations earlier. This copy signed by Saudek on the title page. Fine condition. $300
179. SAUDEK, Jan. Jan Saudek: Life, Love, Death & Other Such Trifles, Amsterdam: Art Unlimited, 1991. Hardcover (black cloth), 12 ¾ x 9 ¾ inches, 160 pages, halftone illustrations (most in color), dustjacket.
Features an essay by Michel Tournier, some text by the photographer, and an artist’s chronology. According to the flap, “Jan Saudek has an artistic shamelessness which makes his work almost provocatively beautiful. For example, he is not afraid to show his preference for the sentimental, he likes to use the artificial, and he has no trouble allowing the color of kitsch or the atmosphere of the 19th-century erotic postcard.” Many of the images are set in Saudek’s basement studio, with a window and ragged walls, and hand-colored. All text in English. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $200
180. SAUDEK, Jan. Pair of original photographs. Gelatin silver prints,
3 ¾ x 4 ¾ inches each.
These small prints presents two heavy-set women reading an 1884 poster on a wall. Like other pairs by Saudek, the figures are clothed in one picture and nude in the other. Seen from behind, their behinds are prominent, and each holds cleaning tools, like a bucket. Saudek frequently made his images look antique, by toning them brown and lopping off a corner (to suggest a broken glass plate), elements present here. Light rubbing to surfaces. Images sent upon request. Pair: $750
181. SERRANO, Andres. Andres Serrano: Body and Soul, New York: Takarajima Books, 1995. Hardcover (blind-stamped black cloth), 12 x 10 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 68 color halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
This was the first comprehensive selection of Serrano’s photographs, made between 1983 and 1995. They present his ongoing thematic investigation of the material body and the dogma and spirit of religion. Included are early tableaux, portraits of nomads, morgue bodies, Klu-Klux Klansmen, and his infamous “Piss Christ.” Essays by Bell Hooks, Bruce Ferguson, and Amelia Arenas. Near fine condition, in dustjacket with light rubbing and a few scuffs. $65
182. SERRANO, Andres. A History of Andres Serrano/A History of Sex, Groningen, Netherlands: Groninger Museum, 1997. Hardcover (gold and blind-stamped black leatherette), 11 ½ x 9 ½ inches, 120 pages, 60 color halftone illustrations.
A handsome production, published on the occasion of a retrospective in Holland. Issued without a dustjacket, it subversively suggests a Bible, with gilt pages edges and a red ribbon page marker. It features ten bodies of work; among them are “Immersions,” which include his controversial “Piss Christ,” and “Fluid Abstractions,” with two examples of “Ejaculation in Trajectory.” The final and largest grouping is “A History of Sex,” which includes bondage, oral sex, and urination. It ends with the text from a conversation with Serrano and maps of the U.S., Europe, and Holland, marked with the locations of where pictures were made. Fine condition. $150
183. STYRSKY, Jindrich. Emilie Comes to Me in a Dream, New York: Ubu Gallery, 1997. Softcover, 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 36 pages, 12 color halftone illustrations. With ephemera.
In 1933 Styrsky produced his masterpiece Emilie Prichazi ka Mne ve Snu as a book of ten photomontages in a deliberately small edition (69 copies) in order to elude censors. It showed male and female genitalia combined with fish, water, and a skeleton; a woman masturbating; and couples and a threesome having sex, against the starry heavens and oversize human eyes. Photographer Jindrich Styrsky (1899-1942) was also a painter, stage and book designer, illustrator, and writer. He joined the Czech avant-garde group Devetsil in 1923 and worked in the late twenties in Paris, where he assimilated Surrealist themes and motifs. Back in Prague, he coedited and contributed to Erotic Review from 1930 to 1933, and exhibited in many international Surrealist exhibitions until World War II. In 1938 a retrospective of his work (along with fellow Czech artist Toyen) was shown in Prague, Brno, and Bratislava. Czech photo historian Vladimir Birgus noted that “Styrsky’s unusual openness toward sexual themes hastened his unprecedented, forceful imagination toward extremely potent visions that had an immediate effect on the young generation.”
A copy of the original book sold at Christie’s New York in 2008 for $193,000, and it is included in Andrew Roth’s The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century. The present copy is a reprint, with the photographer’s introduction and Bohuslav Brouk’s afterword translated into English. The Ubu Gallery produced it in conjunction with a 1997 exhibition of Styrsky’s original collages, printed in an edition of 1,000 copies. This copy with the gallery’s card announcement of the show in a black plastic envelop with a sticker attached warning “Discretion Advised! Sexually Explicit Material Enclosed.” Fine condition. $125
184. WITKIN, Joel-Peter. PhotoVision, Issue 19, 1981. Softcover, 11 ½ x 8 ¼ inches, 74 pages, halftone illustrations. Signed.
The entire issue of this Spanish photographic periodical is devoted to Witkin. It features thirty full-page plates and many smaller reproductions of his work. Witkin contributes a statement and scholar Lee Fontanella wrote the essay “From Matters of Fact to Matters of Value.” Both appear bilingually, in Spanish and English. This copy boldly signed by Witkin. Two corners bumped. $45
185. WITKIN, Joel-Peter. Joel-Peter Witkin, Pasadena, California: Twelvetrees Press, 1985. Hardcover (blind-stamped black cloth), 12 x 12 inches, unpaginated, duotone illustrations, slipcase. Signed.
This was the first monograph on Witkin, printed in Switzerland in an edition of 4,000 copies. It features his earliest successful body of work, made between 1975 and 1984, among them “Women Breastfeeding an Eel” and “Woman Masturbating on the Moon.” The Bosch-like images are variously horrific, explicit, and challenging. The artist, contrary to appearances, is methodical and deliberate in the making of his photographs, often inspired by masterpiece paintings and making preparatory drawings (two of which are reproduced here). Acknowledging the unusual nature of most of his models, he incudes an appeal to some specific types to help him make future photographs, such as pre-op transsexuals, people with tails or missing or additional limbs, and “all manner of extreme visual perversions.” The book and pictures are not for the faint hearted. This special edition copy is signed and numbered (79/100), housed in a slipcase. Absolutely fine condition, in slipcase with opened shrink wrap. $1,000
186. WITKIN, Joel-Peter. Gods of Earth and Heaven, Altadena, California: Twelvetrees Press, 1989. Hardcover (silver and gold-stamped black cloth), 13 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches, duotone illustrations, dustjacket. Stated first edition, signed.
This book, Witkin’s second, features new work and three color images that include substantial handwork. The latter are “Siamese Twins,” a maquette for a crucifix, and the title piece, a triptych. Includes a poem by John Yau and essay by Gus Blaisdale. This copy signed by Witkin. Near fine condition. $250
187. WITKIN, Joel-Peter. The Bone House, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Twin Palms, 1998. Hardcover (black-stamped green cloth), 10 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches, 196 pages, duotone illustrations, slipcase. Stated first edition, signed.
Features a handful of early images, including his “first photograph,” made in 1950 in Brooklyn. The bulk of the book comprises a substantial amount of his mature work, from 1976 to 1998, the year of publication. It includes an essay by scholar Eugenia Parry and was published in an edition of 5,000 casebound and slipcased copies. This one is boldly signed by Witkin across the front endpapers. Near fine condition, except for slight ink loss to type on spine, in opened shrink wrap. $250
188. WITKIN, Joel-Peter. Otto M. Urban, Joel-Peter Witkin: Vanitas, Revnice, Czech Republic: Arbor Vitae, 2011. Softcover, 10 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches, 164 pages, duotone and color illustrations. Stated first edition.
A handsome monograph, in its design and reproduction quality. Produced on the occasion of a solo exhibition in the Czech Republic, it includes many of his drawings, work from as recent as 2010, and a gatefold triptych. Urban’s essay, “Joel-Peter Witkin and the Idea of Decadence,” appears in both Czech and English. Not to be confused with the reprint of a year later (with a different I.S.B.N.). Fine condition, in opened shrink wrap. $250
Catalog 7 — May 2014