This catalog brings together two related categories of printed matter, some of it photographic and some not. Ephemera—I love it, I love it, perhaps even more than books, as the stuff, my definition, is fleeting, small, and rare because most people did not save it. Pieces of ephemera often contain information stored nowhere else, like the dates of an exhibition or reproductions of little-known work. Artist’s books, on the other hand, are usually more substantial, having been self-consciously made as freestanding works of art in their own right. However, there can be some cross over between the categories, and I sometimes had a little trouble deciding where to place an item. In 2005, I organized an exhibition of about 100 pieces of photographic ephemera at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It comprised primarily small pieces of printed paper, nicely matted and framed for the gallery walls. A few of the very items in that show appear in this catalog, along with its tabloid-style catalog (herein #86), a complimentary copy of which I am including with every order from this catalog.
EPHEMERA
1-119
1. ABNEY, William de Wiveleslie. Handwritten letter, 7 x 4 ½ inches,
4 panels, c. 1895.
On his letterhead of Rathmore Lodge in London’s fashionable South Kensington borough, the letter is dated February 18 and addressed to a Mrs. Clark. In it, Abney thanks her for her letter and discusses his books and travel plans to Ireland. Accompanied by Abney’s 20-page article “Photography,” extracted from the 1905 edition of The Encyclopedia Britannica. Captain Sir William Abney (1843-1920) invented printing-out paper and wrote over twenty books on photographic technique. In 1876, he published the book Thebes and its Five Greater Temples, with woodburytypes of Egypt, and he later served as president of London’s Photographic Society. $50
2. ADAMS, Ansel. The Ahwahnee, California: Yosemite National Park, 1951. Menu, 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches (folded), 4 panels, 1 halftone illustration.
Menu for breakfast on August 14, 1951, at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. It offered an impressive array of food, including juice, cereal, eggs, meat, pastry, toast, and steamed Alaska cod with parsley potatoes. Gracing the front cover is the image “Half Dome and Merced River” by Adams, who frequented and boosted the park. Light edgewear. $25
3. ADAMS, Ansel. Hills Brothers Coffee Can, 1969. Metal, 7 x 6 inches (diameter), with plastic lid.
In 1969 Hills Brothers asked Adams for permission to reproduce one of his images on their coffee cans. This was one of Adams’ last commercial jobs, and certainly the most amusing. It was issued with a paper label (few of which have survived) that wrapped around the three-pound can when it was on the grocery store shelves, where customers could purchase it for about $2.50. The art press humorously noticed the can, but few people seemed to have saved theirs, making this an uncommon Adams item. Check your garage and workbench for one being used for nails or spare parts. $250
4. ARBUS, Diane. A Box of Ten Photographs ephemera.
A Box of Ten Photographs, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1973. Postcard announcement for a show of the museum’s portfolio, bought shortly after Arbus’ death in 1971 and one of the earliest to enter an institutional collection.
A Box of Ten Photographs, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1973. Brochure for the above exhibition, with a statement by curator Carroll T. Hartwell, who signed this copy.
A Box of Ten Photographs, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1973. Member’s January calendar with information on the above show.
Set of 3: $25
5. ARBUS, Diane. Delta, Gun/Tonight, Bristol, England: Dishy Records, 1994. Record cover, with vinyl 45 r.p.m. record, 7 ¼ x 7 ¼ inches.
Features Arbus’ haunting image of a boy holding a toy grenade in a park. Like the below item, an unauthorized use of one of her pictures. Near fine condition. $25
6. ARBUS, Diane. Hellnation, Cheerleaders for Imperialism, San Francisco: Slap A Ham Records, 1999. Record cover, with vinyl LP and lyric sheet, 12 ¼ x 12 ¼ inches.
The entire front of the record sleeve reproduces Arbus’ 1967 image “Patriotic Young Man with a Flag, N.Y.C.” As was common among punk bands, Hellnation undoubtedly used the image without permission, as the Arbus estate is very controlling and the photographer is not credited. This Kentucky trio called itself “kings of the motherfuckin’ thrash,” and, indeed, the record comprises nearly thirty short, fast, and furious songs that are nearly indistinguishable from one another. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $25
7. AVALON BALLROOM. Post cards for dance concerts at the San Francisco ballroom, Family Dog Productions. Each measures about 5 x 6 ½ inches.
Victor Moscoso, Quicksilver Messenger Service, May 10-11, 1967 (FD #51).
Rick Griffin, Charlatans, May 26-28, 1967 (FD #63).
William Henry, Junior Wells, May17-19, 1968 (FD #119).
San Andreas Fault, Country Joe & the Fish, July 23-25, 1968 (FD #129).
Bob Schnepf, Pink Floyd, August 2-4, 1968 (FD #131).
George Hunter, Bill Haley & the Comets, August 16-18, 1968 (FD #133).
Wes Wilson, Buddy Miles Express, October 25-27, 1968 (FD #143).
Wes Wilson, Byrds, November 1-3, 1968 (FD #144).
San Andreas Fault, Mother Earth, November 8-10, 1968 (FD #145).
Most in near fine condition, a few with pin holes. Group of 9: $150
8. AVEDON, Richard. Evidence: 1944-1994, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1994. Paper bag, 19 x 16 inches, unillustrated.
This bag, with handles, was produced in conjunction with the presentation of the traveling exhibition of the same name. One side features the typography in blue on a white background, while the other side does the reverse. A few small creases. $25
9. 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. $950
10. BEARD, Peter.
Carnets Africains: A Retrospective (1955 – Present), New York: The Time is Always Now,
1996. Brochure, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 4 panels, 1 halftone illustration. Text by Christian
Caujolle.
Fifty Years of Portraits, New York: The Time is Always Now, c. 1999. Brochure, 10 x 8
inches, 4 panels, 3 color halftone illustrations. Probably produced at the time of the
Arena Editions book of the same title.
Pair of exhibition brochures: $15
11. BIEDERMAN, Charles. Charles Biederman: 60 Years of American Modernism, Minneapolis: Weinstein Gallery, 2012. Metal sheet, 8 x 5 inches, one color halftone illustration.
This is a clever announcement for an exhibition of sculpture and other art by Biederman at the Weinstien Gallery. Printed on a metal sheet, it suggests the weight and physicality of his De Stijl-like three-dimensional pieces. Biederman (1906-2004) was an abstract artist who settled in Minnsota in 1942 and coined the term “Structurism” for his pieces. Miniscule edge chipping to image, in original mailed envelope. $25
12. BISHOP, Elvin. Laminated button, 3 ½ inch diameter, 1 halftone illustration.
This is a button, with pin clasp on back, promoting a concert at Bill Graham’s Winterland hall in San Francisco. The October 20-21, 1967, show included the bands, Sons of Champlin, Joy of Cooking, Copperhead, and the Elvin Bishop Group as headliners. Features a small circular image of Bishop and a black woman, presumably one of his singers. Near fine condition. $25
13. BRUEHL, Anton. Lord Dunsany, A City of Wonder, New York: Linweave Limited Editions, 1932. Folder, 12 x 9 ¼ inches, 1 screen-gravure illustration, loose sheet.
This is the prospectus for the book, with an excerpt from the text and its one image. Bruehl provided a nighttime view of a skyscraper, dramatically lit and framed from below, and rendered in rich gravure. The laid in sheet discusses the quality Linweave paper, the author, and the photographer. It addresses Bruehl’s Australian heritage and his immigrating to New York as an engineer. “Mr. Bruehl found a superabundance of good engineers, but a scarcity of good photographers. So, he abruptly switched professions and set about becoming the country’s outstanding photographer—a goal he has very nearly reached.” Tiny creases to folder. $175
14. BUDAPEST. Budapest, Hungary: Calendar for the Year 1939, Budapest: Municipal Information Office, 1938. Calendar (spiral bound), 9 ¾ x 7 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
This calendar features a page for each week of the year, with reproductions primarily of scenes in Budapest but also some taken in rural Hungary. Included are images of palaces, bridges, museums, fairs, churches, and individuals in traditional Hungarian dress. Includes a short text on the city of Buda and Pest, which is known for its baths and as the “Queen of the Danube.” Though the individual images are not credited, ten photographers are listed as contributors, among them Tibor Csörgeö, Jenö Dulovits, and Ernö Vadas. Text in English. Light wear to covers and damp wrinkling to one edge. $50
15. BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD. Bio of the Buffalo Springfield, New York: Atco Records, c. 1967. Six pages, 11 x 8 ½ inches.
Comprises two pages on the group’s history, with the remaining text given over to accounts of the five individual musicians. It begins, “The Buffalo Springfield was formed in California in the spring of 1966. Too poor to afford rehearsal space, they were practicing at the edge of a road in Los Angeles one day when a steam-roller came by. On its sides were colorful signs which read ‘Buffalo Springfield.’ The boys had found themselves a name.” Of course, the two most famous members were Stephen Stills and Neil Young, whose backgrounds are given first. This is a vintage press release, with the first page on original ATCO letterhead. A few folds and tiny stains. $25
16. BUNNELL, Peter C. Photography Invitational, Gainesville: University of Florida, c. 1960. Softcover, 5 x 8 ½ inches, 16 pages, 18 halftone illustrations. Signed.
Exhibition organized by Van Deren Coke, of student work from six universities that had photography programs. Among those listed are Jerry Uelsmann and Jack Welpott from Indiana, Ted Hartwell from Minnesota, Peter Bunnell from Ohio, and John Pfahl from Syracuse. This is an early piece, before these individuals began their professional careers. Accompanied by a 2009 typed, signed letter from Bunnell (with envelope), in which he discusses the show. For many years, Bunnell (born 1937) taught the history of photography at Princeton University and was the curator of photographs at its Art Museum, until his retirement in 2002. Light rubbing to covers. $50
17. BUNNELL, Peter C.
The Human Environment: An Exhibition of 50 Photographs, State College: Pennsylvania State
University, 1970. Softcover, 8 pages, 4 halftone illustrations. Catalog for exhibition,
organized by Bunnell, of work by Diane Arbus (who was still alive), Bruce Davidson,
Joel Meyerowitz, and Garry Winogrand. This copy signed by Bunnell.
Northeastern Regional Photography Exhibition, South Hadley, Massachusetts: Mount Holyoke
College, 1975. Softcover, 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 8 pages, unillustrated. Exhibition
catalog of 81 photographs, selected by Bunnell. Among those known today are Elsa
Dorfman, Jane Tuckerman, Joann Frank, David Goldes, Christopher James, and
Jeffrey Silverthorne. This copy signed by Bunnell.
Society for Photographic Education 1976 National Conference, Minneapolis College of Art and
Design, 1976. Softcover, 8 ½ x 6 ¼ inches, 8 pages, 1 halftone illustration.
Conference program that included Douglas Davis as the keynote speaker and Harry
Callahan as the honored guest photographer. Others who spoke included Anne
Tucker, Nathan Lyons, and Bunnell, then chairman of S.P.E.’s board of directors.
This copy signed by Bunnell.
Group of 3 unusual, early items, all signed: $75
18. CALDICOTT, Richard. Richard Caldicott: January 5 – February 16, 2002, New York: Ariel Meyerowitz Gallery, 2002. Plastic container, 5 x 5 x 2 inches, card, and press release, cardboard box.
This is the announcement for a show of color photographs at the Meyerowitz Gallery, in which Caldicott transformed utilitarian objects, often Tupperware boxes and lids, into elegant, luminous work of art. This was the first solo exhibition in New York of work by Caldicott, a contemporary British artist born in 1962. In original shipping box. Near fine condition. $25
19. CAPITAL CAMERA CLUB.
Tenth Annual Exhibition, Washington, D.C.: Capital Camera Club, 1901. Softcover (string ties), 7 ½ x 5 ½ inches, unpaginated, 12 halftone illustrations. Catalog of nearly 275 photographs presented at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Charles E. Fairman, a director of the club, is the most well-known of the exhibitors. Lists the club’s officers and all its members, among them honorary member Frances Benjamin Johnston. Covers chipped, with a fold and light soiling.
Eleventh Annual Exhibition, Washington, D.C.: Capital Camera Club, 1902. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 5 inches, 40 pages, 12 halftone illustrations. Catalog for 200 photographs shown at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Many of the reproductions are by women photographers and there is one of an old man with a cane by Will H. Towles, who went on to become a nationally prominent portrait photographer. Missing small pieces along bottom of front cover.
Eighteenth Annual Exhibition, Washington, D.C.: Capital Camera Club, 1909. Softcover, 9 x 6 inches, 32 pages, 9 halftone illustrations. Catalog for 166 photographs, once again hung at the Corcoran. While most of the exhibitors were members of the club, a few out-of-town pictorialists contributed, such as Pittsburgh’s O. C. Reiter. The reproductions feature mostly still lifes, portraits, and landscapes. The foreword stated that the Capital Camera Club “stands as one of the two oldest art organizations in the District of Columbia, and as one of the foremost photographic societies in the county. Its members till the field of the beautiful for the sole reward that consciousness of work well done may bestow.” Light edgewear to cover.
Early camera club catalogs like these, which hold a bounty of information, are rare. Set of three: $250
20. CHAPPELL, Walter.
Metaflora, Pyramid Editions, 1985. Accordion-style brochure, 16 panels, 13 continuous-tone illustrations. The prospectus for a series of printed tri-tone impressions, all glowing floral images. This copy inscribed by Chappell.
Human Form, Pyramid Editions, 1985. Same as the above, except that the images are nude figure studies, both male and female, in outdoor settings. This copy signed by Chappell.
Biography, on Chappell’s letterhead.
Pricing schedule, on his letterhead.
Business card, with hand-written note on back.
Group of 5 items, in original mailed envelope (post marked 1992): $35
21. CHICAGO Press Photographers Association. First Annual Photo-Exhibit, Chicago: Morrison Hotel, 1942. Softcover, 8 ½ x 5 ¾ inches, 1 halftone.
Exhibition catalog, with image of a photographer and his Speed-Graphic on the cover. Includes poem “The News Photographer” by William R. Shields and list of officers, among them president Russell V. Hamm. Comprises primarily a listing of nearly 650 pictures with makers, titles, and technical information. Alphabetical listing of the exhibiting eighty photographers, ranging from Max Arthur to Freida Zylstra. Useful reference item. $50
22. CLINTON, Bill. Impeachment.
The following newspapers have front-page coverage of the proceedings in President Clinton’s impeachment hearings and trial in the United States House of Representatives. Wide-ranging and in-depth coverage, with good geographical spread of papers. Primary research material for the political historian.
New York Times. December 13, 20, 1988, January 7, 10, 15, 24, 31, February 7, 14, April
13, 1999.
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. January 7, 8, 9, 1999.
Minneapolis Star Tribune. December 20, 1998, February 13, 1999.
Wausau Daily Herald (Wausau, Wisconsin). September 11, 12, 18, October 9, December
17, 18, 19, 20, 1998, February 13, 1999.
Group of 24 issues: $50
23. COKE, Van Deren.
Photographs from the Coke Collection, Museum of Albuquerque, 1969. Softcover, 9 ½ x 8 ¼
inches, 16 pages, 16 halftone illustrations. Exhibition catalog, with introduction by
Coke, of 111 photographs from his personal collection. Among those with
reproductions are Man Ray, Frederick Sommer, Doris Ulmann, Francis Frith, Paul
Strand, W. Eugene Smith, Edward Weston, and Walker Evans.
Business card, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, c. 1983, signed.
Original photograph, [lamp in tent], c. 1984, Cibachrome print, 8 x 4 inches, signed.
Obituary, “Van Deren Coke, 83, Dies; Curator and Photographer,” New York Times, July
27, 2004.
Van Deren Coke (1921-2004) was most known as the curator of photographs at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and professor of photography at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Group of 4: $75
24. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY in the City of New York: Photographic Studies, New York: Columbia University, 1920. Softcover, 10 ¼ x 8 inches, 24 pages, 18 halftone illustrations.
Though Clarence White’s work does not appear in this little picture book, he very likely was involved with its production. He taught photography at Columbia’s Teacher’s College beginning in 1907 and was acquainted with most or all of the photographers whose pictures are reproduced. Doris W. Jaeger (Ulmann) and Antoinette B. Hervey, who studied with White, provide nearly half of the images and there is work by six others. The photographs are all dark and moody, showing primarily buildings on Columbia’s campus. With an excerpt from the school president’s inaugural address in 1902, this piece was presumably used to show the beauty of the campus and persuade students to enroll. One corner bent throughout, cover with foxing and torn and wrinkled tipped-on reproduction. This is a rare and delicate item. $150
25. CONTEMPORARY GRAPHICS Published by Universal Limited Art Editions, Minneapolis: Dayton’s Gallery 12, 1968. Softcover, 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 32 pages, 15 halftone illustrations.
Catalog for a two-week exhibition of Pop Art, in the midst of this most important American art movement. It includes recent etchings and lithographs by such greats as Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, and James Rosenquest. Published by one of the premiere artist’s printing studio, U.L.A.E., most were for sale, undoubtedly at prices that would be highly enviable today (unfortunately, no price list present here). This also demonstrates how young Minneapolis was as an art town at the time—Gallery 12 was in a department store (Dayton’s), and one could buy art with a credit card over time. Those were the days. Near fine condition. $25
26. COSINDAS, Marie.
Polaroid Color Photographs, 1966. Softcover, 11 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 12 pages, 10 color halftone illustrations. This brochure accompanied an exhibition of 85 photographs, all dating from 1965 and 1966, presented at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art Institute of Chicago. It includes statements by John Szarkowski, Hugh Edwards, and the director of the Boston museum, as well as a checklist and biography of the artist. Bostonian Marie Cosindas (born 1925) was one of the first photographers to extensively use Polaroid color film and is known for her portraits and still lifes. Covers lightly browned.
Saturday Review, September 24, 1966. Includes the article “A Show of Color” by Margaret R. Weiss, a review of the Cosindas exhibition that accompanied the above brochure, with all ten of the same color images, plus her “Masks” on the cover of the magazine. Tear and wrinkles to cover.
Pair: $25
27. COUNTRY JOE & the FISH. San Andreas Fault and Jerry Wainwright, Country Joe & the Fish, San Francisco: Family Dog Productions, 1968. Concert ticket, 3 ½ x 2 ¼ inches, 1 halftone illustration. Plus postcard.
An original ticket for the July 23, 24, 25, 1967, concert at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom, featuring Country Joe and the opening bands Pacific Gas & Electric and Boogie (FD #129). The bulk of the image comprises a young nude woman in the lotus position with a rose in her lap, by San Francisco photographer Jerry Wainwright (1926-1997). Avalon Ballroom tickets are much rarer than those from Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium, because the Avalon printed them for relatively few shows. Accompanied by the matching postcard (6 ½ x 4 ½ inches), with Wainwright’s personal wet stamp on back. Both near fine condition. Pair: $35
28. DANE, Bill.
Sixty (60) photographic postcards, 1975-1990. Most are gelatin silver prints, along with six color coupler prints. They measure about 4 ½ x 7 inches, and all were mailed. They depict Dane’s wry, “social landscape” outlook on everyday life, out on the street, in parks, malls, and bars. Among the locations he indicates are San Francisco, Las Vegas, Halifax (Canada), Rome, Cairo, Ghana, Bogota (Columbia), and Mexico City. With an order form for his 1992 book Bill Dane’s History of the Universe and his Fraenkel Gallery business card. Group of 60: $5,500
29. DONNELLEY, R. R., and SONS, Company. Pictures Plus, Chicago: Lakeside Press, Donnelley, c. 1940s. Softcover, 12 x 10 ½ inches, 16 pages, 15 screen-gravure illustrations.
This is a handsome promotional piece demonstrating the rich images Donnelly printed by rotogravure and sheet-fed gravure. Among the photographers providing images are Torkel Korling, Peter Pollack, Jack Wright, and Ylla. The most dramatic one is by Fritz Henle, showing skyscrapers with a bare tree in the foreground; it appears bleed-printed on the inside covers in both positive and negative. Light edgewear. $35
30. DRTIKOL, František. František Drtikol: 1883-1961, Prague: Museum of Decorative Arts, 2006. Folder, 16 ½ x 11 ¾ inches, 3 loose sheets, 3 illustrations.
This oversize folio was published on the occasion of an exhibition at the museum of photographs by Drtikol, from the years 1901-1914. The high-quality reproductions are tipped-on to the sheets, and present a self-portrait, a nude, and a river scene. Near fine condition. $50
31. EAKINS Press Foundation.
Message from the Interior, New York: Eakins Press Foundation, 1993. Softcover, 7 ½ x 4 ½ inches, 48 pages, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket. This handsome booklet, with an introduction by founder Leslie George Katz, features illustrated entries on the 43 titles that the press had printed to date. Among them are Message from the Interior by Walker Evans, The American Monument by Lee Friedlander, novels, books of poems, and books on musicians and artists.
Message from the Interior: Eakins Press Foundation: An Exhibition of Books, Portfolios & Related Works of Art, New York: Zabriskie Gallery, 1992. Softcover, 7 ½ x 4 ½ inches, 16 pages, 8 screen-gravure illustrations. Produced in the same format as the above, this item accompanied an exhibition of nearly sixty objects. Text by Virginia Zabriskie and Leslie Katz.
Both in near fine condition. Pair: $35
32. EASTMAN HOUSE.
Brochures for traveling exhibitions of photographs, circulated by the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, in the late 1970s. Each one measures 8 ¾ x 4 inches (folded), has 6 panels, and presents one halftone illustration on the cover. They include a description of the show, list of pictures (usually about 50), loan conditions, and order form. Instructive period items, with the loan fees often around $150 per month. There are eight group shows, on such topic as “West of the Rockies” and “Photo/ Graphics,” plus ten one-person exhibitions. The latter include Harry Callahan, Robert Douisneau, Lewis Hine, Russell Lee, Eadweard Muybridge, Arnold Newman, W. Eugene Smith, and Willard Van Dyke. Group of 18: $100
33. EGGLESTON, William.
Business card. Eggleston Works Loudspeaker Company: William Eggleston, with address and fax
and phone numbers.
Sean Callahan, “MOMA Lowers the Color Bar, New York Times, June 28, 1976.” Review of
Eggleston’s show at New York’s Museum of Modern Art,
Roberta Hellman & Marvin Hoshino, “What Television Has Brought,” Village Voice, July
5, 1976. Another review of the MOMA show.
Michael Edelson, “MOMA Shows Her Colors,” Camera 35, October 1976.” Another
Review of the show at the Museum of Modern Art.
Max Kozloff, “How to Mystify Color Photography,” Artforum, November 1976. One more
review.
William Eggleston: Color Photographs, 1966-1977, New York: Castelli Graphics, 1977.
Exhibition announcement.
Owen Edwards, “William Eggleston’s New Clothes,” Village Voice, December 12, 1977.
Review of the above show at Castelli.
William Eggleston, San Francisco: Fraenkel Gallery, 1986. Exhibition announcement.
Tessa DeCarlo, “Rainbow’s Beginning: How William Eggleston Made the Case for Color,”
New York Times, August 15, 2004. Review of a show of work Eggleston made at Los
Alamos.
Nice group of 9 items. $100
34. EVANS, Walker. “Collins Company, Collinsville, Connecticut,” Fortune, January 1946, pages 110-115 and 193-194, 1 halftone and 7 screen-gravure illustrations (some in color).
Covers a company in a small town near Hartford that specializes in making machetes for export to Latin America. Evans photographed the Collins Company’s buildings, workers, and executives. Among the over dozen machetes displayed, in catalog fashion, are those used on coffee, rubber, sugar-cane, and banana plantations, in Mexico, Columbia, and other countries. Spine lightly wracked, with a few small creases to the back cover. Entire issue: $25
35. EVANS, Walker. “One-Newspaper Town,” Fortune, August 1947, pages 102-107 and 133-139, 11 screen-gravure illustrations.
This article features Paducah, Kentucky, and its Sun Democrat. Evans provides portraits of the father/son owners, but succeeds best at showing the town’s downtown streets, with pedestrians and signage (one of his favorite subjects). Wracked spine, with the top and bottom bumped. Entire issue: $25
36. EVANS, Walker. “Summer North of Boston,” Fortune, August 1949, pages 74-79, one color halftone and 5 screen-gravure illustrations.
Evans provides images of New England resort hotels in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, his subjects are massive, sprawling, pretentious, and overwrought. Back cover rubbed, front cover with small tear and a 2-x-2 inch piece missing, previous owner’s blind stamp internally. Entire issue: $25
37. EVANS, Walker. Walker Evans: I, Washington, D.C.: Lunn Gallery/ Graphics International Ltd., 1977. Softcover, 9 x 6 inches, 16 pages, 15 halftone illustrations.
This is the prospectus for a posthumous portfolio of Evans photographs published by the Lunn Gallery. Two printers who had worked with Evans before his death made the prints, which had the Evans estate seal embossed on their mounts. Among the images, all illustrated, are those of the Brooklyn Bridge (1929), Berenice Abbott (1931), Cuba (1932), an Alabama church interior (1936), the New York subway (1938), and Robert Frank’s stove (1971). Light rubbing to covers. $25
38. FALLOWFIELD, Jonathan. Handbill, 8 ¾ x 5 ½ inches, 1890.
This printed handbill announces Fallowfield’s Central Photographic Store moving to a new location in London. The full text on the front reads: “Fallowfield’s/Central/ Photographic Stores/Charing Cross Road/(Six Doors from Oxford Street)/Will Open On/1st July, 1890/34 Years at Lower Marsh, Lambeth.” The back features a wood engraving of the new, four-story building and a map with its location marked. This is a rare piece of ephemera, with nice period typography, in various fonts. Jonathan Fallowfield commenced his photographic chemical and material warehouse in 1856. He sold it in 1888 but the new owner kept the Fallowfield name, and it continued operating for another century, finally being consumed by Sangers Photographic Wholesale in 1987. Ephemera like this rarely survived. Near fine condition, with a faint fold to one corner. $75
39. FASSBENDER, Adolf.
This Certificate is Awarded to ______,” blank certificate for completing Fassbender’s course
in Artistic Portraiture, Theory and Technical Control Methods in Photography, n.d.
Adolf Fassbender’s Comprehensive Course in Black and White Photography, course brochure,
Camera Club of New York, 1949.
6 Courses in Photography for Men and Women, class brochure, Brooklyn Young Men’s
Christian Association, 1951.
Adolf “Papa” Fassbender, lecture brochure, Professional Photographers Association of New
Jersey, October 2, 1960.
A Week with Adolf Fassbender, workshop brochure, Professional Photographers of America,
July 14-20, 1968.
The Fassbender Collection of the Photographic Society of America, brochure, c. 1972.
PSA Journal, November 1966 (vol. 32). Softcover, 11 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 52 pages.
Fassbender is the focus of this issue, with his image The Octogenarians (showing two
men with pipes and canes conversing on a bench) on the cover. In 1966, he received
the progress medal from the Photographic Society of America, and Glenn E.
Matthews contributes an article on him. Following it Fassbender writes a ten-page
article titled “Why Bother?” which begins, “The camera and the photographic process
conspire to produce falsehood. Control techniques can help us recapture the mood
or feeling experienced in picture taking, then to introduce artistic effects which may
be purely emotional or personal.” It features sixteen halftone illustrations by him
including his forceful image from the 1939 New York World’s Fair Dynamic Symbol,
made from four separate negatives.
A rare and rich group of items that feature details about Fassbender’s many pursuits. The group of 7: $100
40. FASSBENDER, Adolf. Eighteen holiday cards on real photographic paper.
These cards picture largely the vernacular structures and rural folk of small European towns. Still, there are four American winter scenes, most of them showing trees under snow, including one titled Christmas in Manhattan (1947), made in Central Park with apartment buildings in the background. Some of them have printed greetings inside, the typography cleverly mimicking the shape of a Christmas tree. The images are toned black, brown, and blue, and were made from copy negatives, as Fassbender’s signature and the picture title are visible below each image. The one exception is an original color print tipped into a stock card dated 1967. It shows an Austrian lakeside village below towering mountains and is hand-signed “The Fassbenders.” An unusual offering, most in near fine condition. The set of eighteen: $350
41. FILM.
Programs for screenings at the Museum of Modern Art and Dryden Theatre of the George Eastman House.
A Short Survey of the Film in America: The German Influence, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1939. Brochure, 9 ¼ x 7 ¼ inches, 4 panels, unillustrated. Covers “Hands” by Stella Simon and Miklos Bandy (1928) and “Sunrise” by R. W. Murnau (1927).
The Film in Germany and in France. MOMA, same format as above. Features “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” by Robert Wiene (1919) and four others.
Post-War American Films: Von Stroheim and Realism. MOMA, same format as above. Features “Greed” (1923-24).
The Russian Film: New Beginnings—Einstein and Vertov. MOMA, same format as above. Includes Kino-Pravda by Dziga Vertov (1922), “Potemkin” by Sergei Einstein (1925), and two others.
America in the Twenties, Rochester: George Eastman House, 1971. Brochure, 11 x
8 ½ inches, 4 panels, 2 halftone illustrations. Describes 22 films.
Europe in the Twenties. GEH, same format as above. Covers 14 films, including “Dr. Mabue” by Fritz Lang (1922) and “The Andalusian Dog” by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel (1928).
Group of 6: $35
42. FRANK, Robert. Robert Frank: A Traveling Exhibition, Rochester: International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, 1965. Brochure, 8 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches, 6 panels, 1 halftone illustration.
This item offers an early traveling show of Frank’s work, only six years after the U. S. publication of The Americans. It comprises 25 pictures from the project, among them “Parade—Hoboken, New Jersey,” which is illustrated on the front of the brochure. Includes excerpts from Jack Kerouac’s text for the book, a list of the pictures, a request form, and terms. The rental fee was $125 per month. A little-known piece of Frank ephemera. Fine condition. $25
43. FRANK, Robert. “Contemporary Photographers: Robert Frank,” PSA Journal, January 1967, page 27, 2 halftone illustrations.
Given the conservative nature of the Photographic Society of America (PSA), it’s surprising that its magazine would cover Frank’s subversive pictures of the United States. This single-page article mentions the above exhibition of his work being traveled by the Eastman House, and reproduces “Parade—Hoboken, New Jersey” and “Political Rally—Chicago.” Light rubbing to the covers and rust at the staples. Entire issue: $25
44. FRANK, Robert. Andrew Maniotes, Robert Frank: The Americans, Minneapolis: Andrew Maniotes, c. 2000. Broadside, 27 x 23 ¾ inches (folded to 9 x 4), 20 halftone illustrations. Signed.
Maniotes produced this unusual and little-known item while attending the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. One side features primarily a portion of Frank’s American flag image “Fourth of July—Jay, New York.” The other comprises nearly 20 images from The Americans, reproduced in varying sizes, portions of a map, and Jack Kerouac’s entire text from the book. This piece was undoubtedly produced without the consent of Frank, adding to its appeal. This copy signed by Maniotes. Fine condition. $25
45. FRANKLIN, Aretha. James D. Wilson, Aretha Franklin, 1968. Vintage contact sheet, 9 ½ x 7 ¼ inches.
Shows the Queen of Soul in what was probably her own living room, with awards and other black figures. Seven of the images are of Franklin alone, the best of which are her sitting on the floor surrounded with plaques and trophies. Includes two additional contact prints, also in 2 ¼-inch-square format pasted to the back, and one enlargement
(9 ¼ x 12 inches) that is not vintage. “James D. Wilson/Custom Photography” wet stamp, with his Detroit address, also on the back. Pair: $25
46. FRIEDLANDER, Lee and Jim Dine. Photographs and Etchings, London: Petersburg Press, 1969. Prospectus, 60 x 9 inches (folded to 6 x 9), 20 panels, 19 halftone illustrations. Signed by Dine.
This is the prospectus for the portfolio of the same name, comprising sixteen sheets with original photographs by Friedlander and etchings by Dine. Each plate is illustrated here, along with the title page and two sheets of documentation, one with a photograph of the artists sitting on a bed. The pairing of photographs and etchings often seem random. This is a very rare item, promoting one of the more unusual portfolios of the time, with its mixture of media. Additionally, this copy is signed by Jim Dine. Light rubbing and one fold to front panel. $350
47. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. Fourteen American Monuments, New York: Eakins Press Foundation, 1977. Softcover, 6 x 9 inches, 12 pages, 14 halftone illustrations.
The selected photographs here all come from the much larger project and book The American Monument. The brief text describes Friedlander’s interest in the subject, spanning over a decade. This little album was published on the occasion of a traveling exhibition organized by Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Near fine condition. $25
48. FRIEDLANDER, Lee. “Madonna: The Lee Friedlander Sessions,” Playboy, September 1985, pages 118-125, 6 screen-gravure illustrations.
Nude photographs of Madonna Louise Ciccone from 1979 and 1980, before she became a music superstar. Friedlander remembered his subject as confident, street-wise, and mentioning she was forming a band. He shows her casually lounging near a television, sitting on a window sill, and sometimes up close and formally posed, with plenty of underarm and pubic hair. None of these pictures appeared in Friedlander’s subsequent book Nudes. Followed in the magazine by four additional nude photographs of Madonna by Martin H. Schreiber, from the same time period. A few light folds to cover. Entire issue: $35
49. FRIENDS of PHOTOGRAPHY, Carmel, California, 1972. Folder, 10 ½ x
8 ¾ inches, 3 halftone illustrations, loose sheets.
This is an early promotional piece for the Friends of Photography, an organization founded by Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Brett Weston, and others to promote creative photography. The folder is an offprint of the first issue of Untitled, the group’s quarterly, with two images by Edward Weston and one by Adams. Laid in is a list of nearly 300 photography books for sale, an order form, and a sheet on four original photographs available to members. The latter comprised prints by Ansel Adams ($150), Lewis Baltz ($100), Wynn Bullock ($125), and Edward Weston ($90, print by Cole). Light edgewear to folder. $25
50. GEER, Richard. Autograph.
The actor’s signature on the business card of Michael Carey, an Arts-and-Crafts Movement dealer in Soho. Geer was among the many movie stars, like Barbara Streisand, who collected objects from the movement, helping to drive up prices in the 1980s. I obtained this autograph from him in Carey’s shop on April 30, 1988. $25
51. GOSSAGE, John. Here, Rochester, Minnesota: Rochester Art Center, 2010. Unbound (as issued), 22 ¼ x 12 ½ inches, 80 newsprint pages. Signed.
This “catalog” accompanied an exhibition at the art center of photographs it commissioned Gossage to take in Rochester. After an introduction by curator Kris Douglas, come 72 large-scale, full-page halftones of typical street images by Gossage, showing yards, telephone poles, houses, and people, in both detail and from afar. Indicative of the inclusive nature of the project, the entire guts of this catalog was inserted into an issue of the city’s daily paper, the Post-Bulletin (January 27, 2010), which is present here. Undoubtedly, the vast majority of these were recycled by baffled subscribers. The catalog was also issued separately in a regular and deluxe edition. This copy signed by Gossage. Near fine condition. $100
52. GRATEFUL DEAD. Stanely Mouse, Grateful Dead/Quicksilver Messenger Service, San Francisco: Family Dog Productions, 1967. Post card, 7 x 5 ¼ inches, 1 color halftone illustration.
This is an original postcard for the January 27-28, 1967, concert at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco (FD #45). It featured one of the most favored bills of the time—the Grateful Dead (led by Jerry Garcia) and Quicksilver Messenger Service (with guitar impresario John Cipollina), commonly referred to as the “Quick and the Dead.” It sports one of Stanley Mouse’s most recognizable designs, showing a woman with flowing hair, heavily inspired by the French artist Alphonse Mucha, printed in red, green, and metallic gold ink. This mailed card has on the back a typed address and some hand-written numerals in ink, with mild edgewear and a faint crease. $35
53. GREEN, Jonathan. Illusions: Recent Prints on RC Paper, Boston: Carl Siembab Gallery, 1976. Sheet of photographic paper, 14 x 11 inches, four images.
This intriguing piece is printed on actual resin-coated photographic paper. Announcing a show of Green’s work at the Seimbab Gallery, the type and image (of cacti under overhead lattice work) are repeated four times, suggesting that such sheets were cut down and mailed out. Green (born 1939) is an American street photographer and author of books on twentieth-century photography. Near fine condition. $25
54. GRIFFITHS, Philip Jones.
Biography, New York: Magnum Photos, Inc., c. 1988. Sheet, 11 x 8 ½ inches, unillustrated. Seven-paragraph biography of the photographer, on Magnum letterhead. Signed by Griffiths. Philip Jones Griffiths (1936-2008) is most known for his 1971 book Vietnam, Inc. $25
55. HEATH, Dave.
Business card, undated, signed by Heath.
Ars Moriendi: A Masque, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1994. Brochure for presentation by
Heath, 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 4 panels, 1 halftone illustration. Signed by Heath.
Dave Heath: Vintage Photographs, Petaluma, California: Barry Singer Gallery, 1999.
Brochure, 10 ½ x 4 inches, 10 panels, 17 duotone illustrations. In envelope, hand-
addressed by Heath.
A Quartet of Photographs from “A Dialogue With Solitude,” Toronto: Lumiere Press, 2000.
Four note cards, each 6 x 4 inches with a duotone illustration. With cover card and
Lumiere Press business card.
Dave Heath: Korea, Toronto: Lumiere Press, 2004. Prospectus for limited-edition book,
with order form, in mailed envelope.
Group of 5: $50
56. HINE, Lewis.
Lewis Hine [1874-1940], New York: Witkin Gallery, 1970. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches,
6 panels, 8 halftone illustrations. An early dealer’s sales piece, for a show that also
traveled to the 831 (Halsted) Gallery in Detroit and Focus Gallery in San Francisco.
Essay by Yale scholar Alan Trachtenberg.
Lewis Hine: The W.P.S Project, The Worker and Machine, 1936-37, New York: Photofind
(Howard Greenberg) Gallery, 1989. Softcover, 9 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 8 pages, 7 halftone
illustrations. Essay by photo historian Judith Mara Gutman.
Pair: $15
57. HIRST, Damien. Theories, Models, Methods, Approaches, Assumptions, Results and Findings, New York, Gagosian Gallery, 2000. Ping-Pong ball (with printing), loose sheet, and box (1 ½ x 1 ½ x 1 ½ inches).
This is the announcement for an exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery. Nestled into the box with the ball is a printed sheet (4 ½ x 4 ½ inches) with a diagram of the pathophysiology of death and a listing of centers certified by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Near fine condition. $75
58. HOSOE, Eikoh.
Dear Oracle Member, Japan: Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, 1988. Form letter,
signed by Hosoe. In mailed envelope, with brochure.
Dear Oracle Member, Japan: Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, 1988. Form letter,
signed by Hosoe. Different from the above.
Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year, Japan: Kiyosato Museum of Photographic
Arts, 1988. Holiday card, signed by the staff of the museum, including Hosoe, the
director. In mailed envelope.
Letter, February 17, 1999. Typed and signed letter from Hosoe, about postcards of his
images, on his letterhead.
Eikoh Hosoe: The Awakenings Portfolio, New York: Aperture, 2001. Prospectus for the
portfolio of five photogravures.
Eikoh Hosoe: Telling Stories, New York: Howard Greenberg Gallery, 2001. Exhibition
Announcement, in mailed envelope. Card and envelope signed by Hosoe.
Postcards. Six (6) cards with Hosoe images, all signed by him.
Business cards. Three (3) different cards for Hosoe, one signed.
Group of 15 items, most signed. $150
59. INDIANA, Robert. Decade, New York: Multiples, 1971. Brochure, 5 ½ x
4 ½ inches, 13 panels, 10 color halftone illustrations. Signed.
This is the prospectus for a portfolio of ten serigraphs (screen-prints) published by Multiples. Indiana created the original images between 1960 and 1969, which include “The Figure 5,” “Mississippi,” and “Black and White Love.” Pop artist Robert Indiana (born 1928) is widely known for his “LOVE” design. This copy signed by Indiana. One corner wrinkled and tiny whole throughout. $35
60. JACHNA, Joseph D. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Exhibition Schedule, c.1970. Card, 8 ½ x 5 inches, with mounted gelatin silver print, 2 x
3 ¼ inches.
Unusual, little item with an original photograph attached. It is Jachna’s 1970 “Chicago,” which show his shadow and that of an unidentifiable object, shot with a fish-eye lens to create distortion. The schedule of seven photography shows includes a faculty show and one by Jachna himself. Near fine condition. $100
61. JACKSON, William Henry.
Fritiof Fryxell, William H. Jackson, Photographer, Artist, Explorer, Washington, D.C.: Museum
of U.S. Department of the Interior, 1940. Softcover, 8 x 6 inches, 22 pages, 2
halftone illustrations. Exhibition catalog with text that originally appeared in the
American Annual of Photography 1939.
R. L. Duffus, “He Photographed the West When It Was New,” New Times Book Review,
August 4, 1940 (on original newsprint). Book review of Jackson’s new
autobiography, Time Exposure.
“W. H. Jackson Dies; Photographer, 99,” New York Times, July 1, 1942 (on original
newsprint). With a portrait of him, and the subtitle, “Noted for Pictures He Took of
Yellowstone Park Region and American Frontier/Fought in the Civil War/Artist,
Writer and Explorer Was Active Until Injured in Fall at Home on Friday.”
Group of three nice vintage items, from the last years of Jackson’s life. $25
62. KARSH, Yousuf. Portraits of Greatness, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1960. Folder, 13 x 10 ¾ inches, with loose sheet, 1 sheet-fed gravure illustration.
This piece announced “the year’s most memorable book,” Karsh’s Portraits of Greatness. It discusses the pictures, the text, and the book as a whole. The list of approximately one hundred subjects includes such figures as Jean Cocteau, Walt Disney, Dwight Eisenhower, Queen Elizabeth II, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Frank Lloyd Wright. The loose sheet here bears Karsh’s bold portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, in rich photogravure. Light browning to folder, in original envelope. $25
63. 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 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 sheet, so he signed, dated, and numbered it 72/200. $100
64. 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
65. 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
66. LAKESIDE Press Galleries. An Exhibition of Modern American Photography, Chicago: R. R. Donnelley and Sons, 1942. Folder, 11 x 8 ½ inches, four panels, 3 screen-gravure illustrations.
Interesting, richly printed notice for exhibition of over 200 photographs, both black and white and color by the “leading amateur and professional photographers of the country.” While there is no checklist, the rich reproductions include a crowded beach scene by Torkel Korling and Edward Weston’s dramatic picture of Ansel Adams’ Yosemite darkroom building after a heavy snowfall (on the cover). Near fine condition. $25
67. LEVINTHAL, David. Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1996. Box, 6 x 8 ½ x 2 ¾ inches, inserts and plastic toy figure.
This is not the common exhibition catalog, but rather the proposal sent to museums by the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition service. The yellow box, with a black elastic band includes four sheets describing the project, a reply card, and, most appropriately, a small plastic toy of a Native American. The show comprised large-scale color vignettes in which soldiers, Indians, charioteers, and circus performers came to life. An unusual, three-dimensional item. Near fine condition. $125
68. LUMIERE PRESS.
Michael Torosian’s Lumiere Press, in Toronto, Canada, has been publishing fine books on individual master photographers for many years. They usually feature letterpress-printed text pages, tipped-in copy prints, and are produced in limited, numbered editions.
Aurora, 1987. Prospectus for book of photographic portraiture by Torosian.
Toronto Suite, 1989. Prospectus for book of portraits by Torosian and historical commentary by Dennis Reid. With tipped-in reproduction and order form.
Standing Order, 1990. Two different forms for standing orders and signed letter from Torosian, in mailed envelope.
Lumiere Press, 1992. Softcover, 8 ½ x 5 ¾ inches, 16 pages, halftone illustration. Catalog of 13 books and portfolios. Along with price list, order form, and postcard on the Homage series, in mailed envelope.
Group of 4: $25
69. LYON, Danny. Born to Lose: Fifteen Pictures of the Texas Department of Corrections, Huntsville, Texas: Danny Lyon, 1968. Folded sheet and 7 loose plates, 9 x 10 inches, 9 halftone illustrations. With portion of Department of Corrections envelope with Lyon’s name and return address, written in his hand (thus, 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 phone conversation with me (May 23, 2012), Lyon indicated that about twenty copies were printed, that he had to smuggle them out of the prison, that the folder with seven sheets is complete (as offered here), and that he has only one copy (in poor condition). This one is in near fine condition, except for light bending to two corners and the spine of the folded sheet. $950
70. LYON, Danny. Original photograph.
Gabe, Rebecca, Noah & Raphe, c. 2000. Gelatin silver print, 4 x 9 ½ inches. This picture seems to be of a collage of three prints, showing Lyon’s children in the back seat of a car. It was mailed out as a holiday greeting, as the back has the inscription “Best for the New Year/the Lyons.” In original envelop that is postmarked 2000 and has “Danny & Nancy” handwritten over the return address. $250
71. MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Postcard. New York: Artists’ Postcards, 1978. Card, 6 x 4 inches, 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. A rare piece of Mapplethorpe ephemera. $125
72. 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
73. MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE Catalogue. Crider & Brother, Illustrated Catalogue of Photograph Marriage Certificates, York, Pennsylvania, c. 1879. Softcover, 5 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches, 20 pages, line illustrations.
This pocket-size catalog offers, among other things, marriage certificates with openings for original photographs of the bride and groom to be slipped in. The firm of Crider & Brother hit upon the idea of these products in 1865 and obtained a copyright for them. Tiny edgewear. $150
74. MARSHALL, Albert E. The First Complete Auction of Photographica in America, New York: Swann Galleries, 1978. Softcover, 8 ¾ x 6 inches, 40 pages.
This is a reprint of the catalog for the so-called “Marshall Sale,” auctioned at Swann on February 14, 1952. It was titled “Photography: A Panoramic History of the Art of Photography as Applied to Book Illustration, From its Inception Up to the Date. The Important Collection of the Late Albert E. Marshall of Providence, R.I.” It comprised 372 lots, here with prices realized and an introduction by David Margolis. Naturally, the winning bids are a fraction of what they would be today. Examples are: Daguerre’s History and Practice of Photogenic Drawing for $25, Talbot’s Pencil of Nature (18 of 24 plates) for $200, Frith’s Egypt and Palestine (with 76 albumen prints) for $11, and four portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron for $42.50. The most expensive item was a near complete set of plates from Muybridge’s Animal Locomotion (716 of 781), which fetched $250. Catalog reprinted in an edition of 750 copies. Spine lightly darkened. $25
75. METZNER, Sheila. Sheila Metzner, New York: International Center of Photography, 1991. Sheet, 38 x 48 inches (folded to 9 ½ x 12 in.), 6 color halftone illustrations.
This item, printed on heavy stock, served as both the poster and catalog for a retrospective of Metzner’s work at I.C.P. One side sports her name and a large reproduction of a metal ball, while the other contains numerous elements. There is a quotation by Leonardo da Vinci, an artist’s statement, the artist’s chronology, an essay by guest curator Anne Hoy, and the remaining reproductions. Near fine condition. $25
76. MOSCOW’S MASTER PLAN for Sovietizing America, Detroit: Lutheran Research Society, 1948. Hardcover (black-stamped red cloth), 11 x 8 ¼ inches, 100 pages, 28 halftone illustrations. With ephemera.
A fascinating, shrill, racist, and anti-Semitic tract published during the Red Scare. Comprises chapters on such topics as “Civil Rights in the Justice Department” and the United Nation’s Human Relations Commission.” With an extensive appendix with reproductions of newspaper ads, flyers, and other documents. Laid into this copy is the small pamphlet “You Can Trust the Communists.” Minor edgewear to cloth, with the internal softcover book separated at the spine. $25
77. NATIVE AMERICAN.
Crafts, Tahlequah, Oklahoma: Sequoyah Orphan Training School, 1934. Hardcover (cross-stitched fabric over boards, with yarn ties), 11 ¾ x 9 inches, 36 pages, 11 gelatin silver prints. This is undoubtedly a unique album, showing Cherokee women and their wares. The title page is hand-lettered and dated June 1, 1934. The five sections cover beading, cross-stitching, pottery, weaving, and sewing. Each begins with a type-written description, followed by snapshots (3 ½ x 5 ½ inches) that are held in place by black photo corners. The young women stand outside the school, proudly holding up examples of their crafts. Commences with an introduction that states, “The craft classes have done good work for the first year. We are eagerly looking forward to the time when we can take up leather and silver (piercing and etching) work with the vocational boys.” Faint stains to cover and minor wear to edges of pages.
Report of Home Economics Department, Salem, Oregon: Chemawa Indian School, 1936. Hardcover (cross-stitched fabric over boards, with ties), 11 ½ x 9 inches, 76 pages, 33 gelatin silver prints. Another unique album presenting female Native American students learning various house-making skills. They include sewing, knitting, crocheting, braiding, laundering, gardening, cooking, canning, hygiene, and nursery school and child care. The text is type-written and the snapshots (measuring 3 ½ x 5 ½ and 5 x 7 inches) are inserted into corner slots. The most intriguing images depict a woman in a chicken coop with chicks, the nursery with children and wooden toys, and tables of homemade food for events. The album concludes with a group of photographs of the girls’ dormitory, showing students lining up for mail and meals, playing tennis, and reading in the living room. Some pages disbound and mildly edgeworn.
These albums, probably made by a student or teacher common to both schools, are extremely unusual and very instructive on Native American school life during the 1930s. Images sent on request. Pair: $750
78. NERUDA, Pablo. Pablo Neruda, 1904-1973, Austin, Texas: Cold Mountain Press, 1973. Folder, 5 ¼ x 7 inches, halftone illustration, 11 loose cards. Signed.
Neruda was a Chilean poet and politician. This grouping apparently pays homage to him, with poems by Ryan Petty, William Stafford, Stephen Leggett, Ted Kooser, Michael Hogan, Joseph Bruchac, James Tipton, and John Haines. Seven of them are signed, with two duplicates. Folder lightly rubbed. $50
79. NEWMAN, Arnold. 10 Great Photographers, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972. Folder, 7 ¼ x 7 inches, 13 loose sheets, 30 halftone illustrations. Signed.
This unusual packet represents an early effort at promoting the collecting of fine photographic prints. It offers three original, signed and editioned prints by the following ten photographers: Wynn Bullock, Eliot Elisofon, Ernst Haas, Philippe Halsman, Ken Heyman, Arnold Newman, Gordon Parks, Marc Riboud, Arnold Siskind, and Howard Sochuerk. They were uniformly priced at $150 each, or $175 framed. Among the most recognizable images are Halsman’s portrait of Albert Einstein and Newman’s of Picasso. This copy signed by Newman. Light rubbing and bends to covers. $50
80. NEWMAN, Arnold.
Memorial card. National Arts Club, March 3, 2007.
Envelope. Unused, with the Arnold Newman Studios, Inc. address printed on it.
Business card. English on one side and Japanese on the other. Newman’s fax number
written on, in his hand.
Obituary. “Arnold Newman, Photographer Who Captured Essence of Subjects, Dies at
88,” by Andy Grundberg. New York Times, June 7, 2006, on original newsprint.
Holiday card. Folded card with reproduction of image of Igor Stravinsky sitting at piano.
Handwritten and signed by Newman: “Dear Christian: Our very best wishes for the
New Year. Health, Happiness and Peace. And many thanks for all the time you
spent with us both at the Institute and showing us around.” In envelope postmarked
December 24, 1990.
The group of five: $100
81. NEWSPAPER NATIONAL SNAPSHOT AWARDS. 1936 Newspaper National Snapshot Awards, Minneapolis Tribune, 1936. Softcover, 9 x 6 inches, 24 pages, 12 screen-gravure illustrations.
Catalog for a national competition sponsored by 93 newspapers for the best snapshots of the year by amateurs, its first year. It lists 372 local prizewinners that were hung in the National Salon in the Hall of Explorers at the National Geographic Society (Washington, D.C.). Among the jurors was Mrs. Calvin Coolidge and aviator Amelia Earhart. The grand prize, of $1,500, was awarded to Nowell Ward, of Chicago, for his photograph “The Dreamer,” which pictures a boy reading a book with an image of pirates dueling in the background (reproduced on the cover). Laid in is a copy of a 1937 article by Ward titled, “How the Fifteen-Hundred Dollar Picture was Made.” Covers browned and wrinkled at two corners. $35
82. NEWSPAPER NATIONAL SNAPSHOT AWARDS. 21st Annual Newspaper National Snapshot Awards, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1959. Softcover, 9 x 6 inches, 20 pages, 24 halftone illustrations (some in color).
Catalog of 419 local winners, judged by individuals from National Geographic, The Saturday Evening Post, Associated Press, United Press International, and Eastman Kodak. The grand prize winners were dominated by women: Lillie E. Kriss, Betty Pollock, Ruth Oliver, Giorgina Reid, and Jacob L. Warner. Human interest drove these competitions—the categories were Babies and Children, Activities—Teenagers and/or Adults, Scenics and Table Tops, Animals and Pets, and Color. Rubbing to covers. $25
83. PARKER, Fred R. Attitudes: Photography in the 1970s, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1979.
This is a group of eighteen (18) photographs used for reproduction an exhibition catalog (see #205 for full description). Most of them appear to be copy prints, but a few are sharp enough to have been made from the original negative by the photographer. Almost all are mounted on regular white typing paper, 8 ½ x 11 inches or smaller. These were acquired directly from curator Fred R. Parker.
The photographers represented are: John Brumfeld (pair of prints), Robert D’Allessandro, Anne Dorfman, Chris Enos (pair of prints), Jack Fulton (7 prints), Phillip Galgiani, John Gossage, Anthony Hernandez, E. Kronengold (apparently signed by him), Wayne Lazorik (pair of prints), Duane Michels (14 prints), Charles Stainbeck (4 prints), Lew Thomas, William Wegman, Lew Wells (4 prints and copy negative), Terry Wild, Larry Williams (pair of prints), and Gary Winogrand.
Group of 18: $500
84. PARR, Martin. “Frozen Face of Minnesota,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 26, 2012. Sheet, 22 x 12 inches, 4 pages, 12 color halftone illustrations.
In 2012 the renowned English photographer Martin Parr visited Minnesota, in preparation for an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. He “spent a January weekend documenting our relationship with something that we slip, skate, ski and fish on, but seldom think about seriously: Minnesota ice. Famed for his witty trenchant views of modern life, Parr snapped more than 1,200 images” and presents a dozen of them in this special supplement to the daily Minneapolis newspaper. The images picture hockey, skiing, curling, and ice fishing. Includes text by fellow Magnum photographer Alec Soth, along with a portrait by him of Parr. A little-known piece of Parr ephemera. $10
85. PERESS, Gilles.
Nan Richardson, It is What it is: A Double Diary of the Twin Cities 1985, St. Paul, Minnesota: First Banks, 1986. Softcover, 6 panels, 9 x 11 ¼ inches, 14 halftone illustrations. This large brochure accompanied an exhibition that featured photographs Peress made in Minneapolis and St. Paul, on commission from the First Banks. They are primarily street scenes of human activity. A little-known item by a major Magnum photographer.
Jo Thomas, “The Last Days of Castro’s Cuba,” New York Times Magazine, March 14, 1993. Entire issue with six color reproductions (including the cover) by Peress illustrating the article.
George Packer, “Letter from Baghdad: War After the War,” New Yorker, November 24, 2003. Entire issue with five reproductions by Peress illustrating the article.
Group of 3: $50
86. PETERSON, Christian A. Fabulous Photographic Ephemera, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2005. Softcover, 17 x 11 ½ inches, 16 pages, unillustrated.
This exhibition catalog includes an introduction and an annotated checklist of about one hundred pieces of photographic ephemera. They are listed chronologically, beginning with the business card of daguerreotypist Jeremiah Gurney (c. 1840) and ending with a Tusker beer bottle sporting Peter Beard’s signature and drop of blood (2004, brewed in Kenya, where Beard has a farm). Printed in tabloid size on newsprint, copies of this item are taking on a nice brown patina. Near fine condition. Free with every order (priceless).
87. PHOTO AMERICAS 2000, Portland, Oregon, 2000. Playing cards, box (with adhesive label), 3 ½ x 2 ½ x ¾ inches, 54 cards, 54 halftone illustrations (some in color).
This is a full set of playing cards with two jokers. Each one features an image by a photographer and the name of the gallery where his or her work was shown during the annual festival “Photo Americas.” Among those represented are Phil Borges, Terry Toedtemeier, Simon Norfolk, Larry Schwarm, Donna Ferrato, and Christopher Rauschenberg. Near fine condition. $25
88. PHOTO BOOKS.
Books of Photographs, New York: Caldecot Chubb, c. 1980. Brochure, 9 x 4 inches, 6
panels, unillustrated. Describes books and portfolios, both with original
photographs, published by Chubb. Includes work by William Eggleston, William
Christenberry, and others. Nicely designed item, letterpress printed.
Photographs from the Collection of the Gilman Paper Company, New York: White Oak Press,
1985. Brochure, 11 ½ x 8 ¾ inches, 6 panels, 1 halftone illustration. Prospectus for
the limited-edition book by Pierre Apraxine. With order form and envelope.
A Special Offering from the Limited Editions Club, New York: Howard Greenberg Gallery,
2001. Folder, 10 x 7 inches, with three loose sheets. Includes a signed letter from
Greenberg, order form, and descriptions of 16 books and portfolios by Berenice
Abbott, Cartier-Bresson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Aaron Siskind.
Poetic Images: Literary Illustrations from the Richard and Ronay Menschel Library, Rochester:
George Eastman House, 2003. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 5 ½ inches, 22 pages, 11 halftone
illustrations. Catalog for an exhibition of photographically illustrated books, by Talbot, Cameron, Coburn, Frith, and others.
Prague/New York: Rare Books, Prague: Antikvariát, c. 2004. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 16
pages, color halftone illustrations. Dealer’s catalog for significant photobooks by
Czech photographers, such as Josef Sudek, František Drtikol, and Jan Saudek.
Art of the Photobook, New York: Swann Galleries, 2006. Softcover, 5 x 7 inches, 40 pages,
halftone illustrations (some in color). Presents the covers and an internal page spread
of fourteen photobooks, selected from the hundreds that the auction house has
offered. Among them are works by Doris Ulmann, František Drtikol, Hans Bellmer,
Daido Moriyama, and Man Ray.
Photo Libris, New York: Howard Greenberg Gallery, 2006. Brochure, 8 x 5 ¼ inches, 8
panels, 8 color halftone illustrations. Documents an exhibition of important
photography books by eight individuals, including Bruce Davidson, Dave Heath,
Eikoh Hosoe, William Klein, Gilles Peress, and Edward Steichen.
Group of 7: $50
89. PHOTOGRAPHIC SALON Stickers.
Camera clubs usually printed little gummed labels (measuring about 3 x 4 inches) for their exhibitions and annual salons, which were either attached to the backs of the accepted photographs or sent loose to the exhibitor. They feature typography and photographic or hand-rendered images, and are colorful examples of period design.
CENTRAL U.S.A. Undated. One (1) sticker.
CHICAGO. Undated, 1946, 1947, 1947, 1948, 1948, 1949. Seven (7) stickers.
CINCINNATI. 1945. One (1) sticker.
CLEVELAND. 1951. One (1) sticker.
DENVER. 1960. One (1) sticker.
DES MOINES, Iowa. 1950 (printed on real photographic paper). One (1) sticker.
DETROIT. 1957, 1959, 1960. Three (3) stickers.
FRESNO, California. 1957. One (1) sticker.
GREAT FALLS, Montana. 1948, 1950. Two (2) stickers.
ILLINOIS STATE FAIR. 1948. One (1) sticker.
JAMAICA, New York. 1961. One (1) sticker.
LIGHT and SHADOW. 1961. One (1) sticker.
LOUISVILLE. 1951. One (1) sticker.
MEMPHIS. 1947, 1948. Two (2) stickers.
NEWARK. 1961. One (1) sticker.
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY of AMERICA. 1957. One (1) sticker.
ROCHESTER. 1959. One (1) sticker.
SACRAMENTO. 1946, 1948. Two (2) stickers.
SAINT LOUIS. Undated, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1947, 1948. Six (6) stickers.
SALT LAKE CITY. 1959. One (1) sticker.
TRAIL, British Columbia, Canada. 1947. One (1) sticker.
WILMINGTON, Delaware. 1960. One (1) sticker.
ZAGREB, Yugoslavia. 1955. One (1) sticker.
Nice, varied group of 39 stickers: $100
90. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
The following newspapers have front-page articles on the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election in 2000, between Al Gore and George Bush. Covers the recount in Florida and U.S. Supreme Court case. Wide-ranging and in-depth coverage, with good geographical spread of papers. Primary research material for the political historian.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 24, December 3.
Minneapolis Star Tribune. November 8, 30, December 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14.
New York Times. November 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30, December 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.
Wausau Daily Herald (Wausau, Wis.). November 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 19, 20, 21,
22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, Dec. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17.
Group of 83 issues: $150
91. QUALE, Dan. The Quale Quarterly, Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1990–1993. Softcovers, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 16-20 pages each, halftone illustrations.
A complete run of the periodical dubbed “A Watchful Eye on the Vice Presidency,” during his tenure under George H. W. Bush. Not surprisingly, it was not supportive of the mistake-prone vice president, and included articles, quotations, photographs, political cartoons, and advertisements for related paraphernalia. An unusual and illuminating publication. Full set of 12 issues: $50
92. QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE. Business card, c. 1966, 2 ½ x
3 ½ inches, 2 halftone illustrations.
The business card for one of the Bay Area’s most beloved psychedelic bands during the late 1960s. While Quicksilver never gained the national reputation of its colleagues the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, its first two albums were highly accomplished. The band featured lead guitarist John Cipollina, whose fluid and intense playing helped define its distinct sound. This card has an image of the original five members (before Dino Valenti quit) and their manager’s contact information. Both sides are the same and “Quicksilver” appears in silver metallic ink, appropriately. An extremely rare and desirable item. Light browning to edges. $100
93. The REAL BIG PICTURE, Queens Museum, 1986. Folder, with loose sheet, 40 x 30 inches (folded to 10 x 10 in.), 28 halftone illustrations.
The catalog for an exhibition of large photographically-based pictures by fifty artists. Among those with reproductions are Jan Dibbets, Nan Goldin, Tina Barney, Lewis Baltz, Bruce Nauman, and Richard Prince. One side of the sheet is a poster, with a Chuck Close self-portrait, and the other features more reproductions, the checklist, and an essay by guest curator Marvin Heiferman. Light wear to folder. $25
94. RODCHENKO, Alexander. Chess Table, Amsterdam: Thoth Publishing House, 1989. Box with paper model, 8 ½ x 8 ½ inches.
This amusing item is a 1:7 scale model of the chess table and board that Rodchenko designed for the 1925 Great International Exhibition for Applied and Industrial Arts, in Paris. It was part of a Workers’ Clubroom, and represented the first time that the work of the Russian avant-garde was shown in Western Europe. The unopened box also includes a booklet about Rodchenko’s furniture designs. Mint, in shrink wrap. $75
95. RODCHENKO, Alexander. The Family: “The Rodchenko Family Darkroom,” New York: Sander Gallery, 1993. Softcover, 11 ½ x 5 ¾ inches, 32 pages, 35 halftone illustrations.
This catalog accompanied an exhibition of work by four generations of the Rodchenko family, dating from the 1920s to 1992 and including the following genres: experimental photography, photomontage, photographic portraits, photograms, and photo-poetry. In addition to the patriarch, the contributors were Varvara Stepanova, Nikolai Lavrentiev, Alexander Lavrentiev, Irina Presnetsova, and Ekaterina Larentieva. The catalog has a scrapbook-like appearance, as it uses typewriter type and fourteen of the illustrations are color electrostatic copies that are tipped in. Issued in a numbered edition of only 125 copies (this one 44/125). Fine condition. $75
96. ROTHSTEIN, Arthur. Trench, Magnet/Turn it on its Head/Mutiny/187, San Francisco: Allied Recordings, c. 1990s. 45 r.p.m. vinyl record, in sleeve, 7 x 7 inches, 2 halftone and 1 line illustrations.
The front of the picture sleeve reproduces Rothstein’s most famous image, from a 1936 Oklahoma dust storm. Like other punk bands, Trench undoubtedly used this image without permission, embracing the movement’s interest in appropriating anything it could. Light folds to sleeve. $10
97. SALGADO, Sebastião. New York Times Magazine.
Each issue features a cover image and photographic essay by Salgado. Graphically strong pictures, well printed by rotogravure.
“The Kuwaiti Inferno” (burning oil fields), June 9, 1991, 8 pages, 8 screen-gravure
illustrations.
“The Killer in the Next Tent: The Surreal Horror of the Rwanda Refugees,” June 5, 1994,
10 pages, 8 screen-gravure illustrations.
“War Without End: Twenty Years After the Fall of Saigon, Thousands of Vietnamese are
Still Trying to Find a Home,” July 30, 1995, 10 pages, 9 screen-gravure illustrations.
“On Earth as it is in Heaven: What Sebastião Salgado Sees in Places Untouched by
Humanity,” June 12, 2011, 8 pages, 5 screen-gravure illustrations.
Group of 4: $35
98. SAN FRANCISCO Psychedelic Posters. “High Societies: Psychedelic Rock Posters of Haight-Ashbury, San Diego Museum of Art, 2002. Box, 12 ¼ x 9 ½ x
1 ½ inches, with affixed label and various contents.
This is a rather elaborate exhibition proposal that the San Diego Museum of Art sent to prospective venues. It includes a signed cover letter from the director, fact sheet, proposal, addendum sheet, press release, and copies of press coverage of the show in San Diego, along with two tickets, a brochure, invitation, and card, also for the original showing. Also included is a copy of the exhibition catalog (11 ½ x 8 inches, 90 pages), with essays by D. Scott Atkinson, Sally Tomlinson, and Walter Medeiros. Rounding out the package is a VCR tape showing the installation and a CD audio tour of the show, narrated by Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick. Undoubtedly produced in a small number and not available to the public. Light rubbing and a few bumped corners. $250
99. SAWADA, Tomoko.
Holiday card, 2008, 4 x 8 inches, 1 color halftone illustration, signed, in mailed envelope.
The image shows 15 standing figures, looking like contestants in a beauty contest, but
close examination reveals that all the faces are Sawada’s own.
Exhibition announcement, “Funny Fotos,” New York; Zabriskie Gallery, 2009, 9 x 4
inches, halftone illustration, signed.
Exhibition announcement, “Mirrors,” New York: Zabriskie Gallery, 2010, 4 x 9 inches,
1 color halftone illustration, signed, in mailed envelope.
Holiday card, 2011, 6 x 4 inches, 1 color halftone illustration, signed, in mailed envelope
from Japan.
Tomoko Sawada (born 1977) is a Japanese contemporary feminist photographer, who has presented solo shows in New York, Vienna, and Osaka, Japan. Group of 4, all singed in silver ink: $25
100. SCAGGS, Boz. Earl Leaf, Boz Scaggs, c. 1968. Original, vintage gelatin silver print, 7 ½ x 6 ¾ inches.
This picture was probably taken around the time that musician Scaggs was in the Steve Miller Band in San Francisco. He is pictured playing a Gibson guitar and singing into a microphone, at an unidentified venue, with two horn players standing behind him. Earl Leaf (1905-1980), nicknamed “Loose Leaf,” was a photojournalist and celebrity photographer, who worked freelance and for magazines, shooting mostly movie stars and musicians. He is best known for his candid pictures of Marilyn Monroe during the 1950s. Tiny tear to edge (outside of image area), with inscriptions and Leaf’s wet stamp, verso. Image sent upon request. $150
101. SCHAD, Christian. Schadographien, Munich: Galleria del Levante, 1973. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, 12 pages, 6 halftone illustrations.
Exhibition catalog, with a statement by the artist on his working methods, essay by Daniela Palazzoli, and bibliography. Schad (1894-1982) was a German painter associated with the Dada and New Objectivity movements. In 1918, he began making camera-less photographs, which he called “Schadograms.” Text in Italian and German. One corner lightly bent. $25
102. SCHORE, Stephen.
Portfolio prospectus for Twelve Photographs, 1977. Two-page letter from the publications
office of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, reply card and envelope, in original
mailed envelope, postmarked November 2, 1977.
Offprint from the July 1977 issue of the Swiss magazine Camera. Softcover (stapled), 10 ¾
x 8 ½ inches, 8 color halftones, all of which appeared in Uncommon Places.
Accompanied by unique 2011 e-mail text from Shore indicating that the images also
appeared in a catalog for a solo show at the Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Stephen Shore Photographs, Sarasota, Florida: Ringling Museum of Art, 1981. Softcover, 8 ½
x 11 inches, 20 pages, 7 color halftone illustrations. Exhibition catalog featuring an
image on the cover of a baseball player in a batting cage and an interview with Shore.
A nice group of three unusual Shore items. $100
103. SLICK, Grace. Earl Leaf, Grace Slick, c. 1968. Original, vintage gelatin silver print, 9 ¼ x 7 ½ inches.
This is a casual picture of the lead singer of San Francisco’s Jefferson Airplane. She is seen holding up two fingers, including the middle one, implying a variation on the “fuck you” gesture, in an outdoor setting. In the background are Fender amplifiers, suggesting a concert setting. Earl Leaf (1905-1980), nicknamed “Loose Leaf,” was a photojournalist and celebrity photographer, who worked freelance and for magazines, shooting mostly movie stars and musicians. He is best known for his candid pictures of Marilyn Monroe during the 1950s. Light dings and retouching, with inscriptions on the back, including Leaf’s wet stamp. $150
104. SMITH, W. Eugene. Minamata, “Death-Flow from a Pipe,” Life, June 2, 1972.
Entire issue, with the eight-page article “Death Flow from a Pipe,” written and photographed by Smith and his wife, Aileen. Tells the story of mercury pollution ravaging the Japanese village of Minamata and ends with the double-page spread of the now famous image of Tomoko in her bath. This article appeared three years before the full book treatment of the subject. $25
105. SOCIETY for PHOTOGRAPHIC EDUCATION. Seven laminated buttons, 1974-1979.
The Society for Photographic Education (S.P.E.) is a national organization of college-level photography professors and other interested individuals, which holds an annual convention. Participants apparently received these buttons upon registration and proudly wore them during and after the events. Among those included here is the 1976 one, with a picture of Harry Callahan’s wife, Eleanor, and the 1978 one, with a portrait of photographic historian Beaumont Newhall, who was probably the featured speaker that year. Near fine condition. Group of seven: $35
106. SOMMER, Frederick. Frederick Sommer, New York: Kevin Begos, Jr., 1992. Folder, 11 ½ x 13 ¼ inches, 1 screen-gravure illustration.
This is the prospectus for an artist’s book with eight photogravures of new work, made from the negative and printed on handmade papers. It would comprise a numbered edition of 150 copies. This prospectus has one of the gravures tipped-in, with a loose sheet describing the book. An unusual piece of Sommer ephemera. Near fine condition. $75
107. SWEDLUND, Charles. Guess the Date and Time Number Two Will Arrive, 1974. Gelatin silver print, 8 x 3 ¼ inches.
Before the birth of his second child, Swedlund asked friends and colleagues to guess the date and time of the kid’s arrival. This item, printed on photographic paper, shows the silhouette of Swedlund’s wife standing. During the 1970s and 1980s, Swedlund taught at Southern Illinois University and became known for his photographs of nudes in the landscape. $175.
108. SZARKOWSKI, John. Knife/Fork/Spoon, Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1951. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 66 pages, halftone illustrations.
This exhibition catalog tells the “story of our primary eating implements and the development of their form.” Szarkowski was the Walker’s staff photographer at this time and provided photographs of the objects, in a straightforward cataloging style. An early and little-known Szarkowksi item. Chipping along spine. $25
109. TALBOT, William Henry Fox. The Pencil of Nature. Prospectuses for two facsimile editions, signed by the publishers.
Hans P. Kraus, Jr., New York, 1989. Folder, six panels, 11 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches, 1 halftone illustration. This one celebrated the 150th anniversary of photography. Features a reproduction of “The Open Door,” tipped in, and with order form and letter laid in, the latter signed by Kraus. Published in an edition of 250 numbered copies, at $800. Fine condition.
Monmouth Calotype, Bath, England, 2003. Folder, five loose pages, 11 ¾ x 5 ½ inches, 8 halftone illustrations. This reprint features 24 gold-toned, tipped-in salt paper prints with letterpress text. Published in an edition of 50 copies at $7,250. Laid in is a letter from Michael Gray, the publisher and director of the Talbot Museum, signed by him. Fine condition.
The pair: $25
110. TALBOT, William Henry Fox. 1989 Anniversary Facsimile of H. Fox Talbot’s “Pencil of Nature,” New York: Hans P. Krause, Jr., 1993. Calendar (spiral bound), 14 ¼ x 11 inches, 14 pages, 12 tri-tone illustrations.
This calendar commemorated the 150th year of photographic book publication and the tenth anniversary of Kraus as a private dealer in fine photographs. Each month reproduces a plate from Talbot’s book The Pencil of Nature, such as the famous “Open Door.” The images were printed in high-quality 300-line lithography and pasted on to each page of the calendar. Elegantly designed and limited to 750 copies. Near fine condition. $35
111. UBU Gallery.
Over the last twenty years New York’s Ubu Gallery has issued innovative announcements for their exhibitions, usually on Modern artists. They sometimes took the form of three-dimensional objects, some were designated “Edition Ubu #__,” and a few required partial destruction in order to read (all here intact). Most here are in their original mailers. This is a wide-ranging archive of art and photography ephemera. Photographs sent upon request.
The Box: From Duchamp to Horn, 1994. Empty box, 3 ½ x 3 ½ x 1 ¼ inches.
Yoko Ono: Drawings from Franklin Summer and Blood Objects from Family Album, 1995. Card
and plastic bag with manila tag and key dipped in red ink.
Hans Bellmer: Photographs & Drawings, 1995. Card with doll arm affixed.
Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, Galerie Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1938; An Homage, 1995.
Card with cut-out and sheet.
George Maciunas: More Than Fluxus, 1996. Sheet of transfer lettering, “Fluxtype.”
Pierre Molinier: Fetish Performance Photographs, Collages, Photomontages, 1996. Card wrapped
with black nylon stocking.
The Subverted Object, 1996. Card.
Gary Brotmeyer: “Thanks for the Fish!” 1997. Card with attached fabric flower, plastic fish,
and folded-up piece of paper inserted.
Sol Lewitt: Works of the 60s and 70s, 1997. Crumpled sheet of paper stamped “Art Object,”
in box, 3 x 3 x 3 inches.
Gustav Klutsis: Soviet Propaganda Photomontage, 1997. Brochure.
Ann Mandelbaum, 1997. Card with cutout.
One Line Drawing, 1997. Long, folded card.
The ‘60s in the Seventies, 1998. Paper bag with handle.
Aleksandr Rodchenko, Konstruktor, 1998. Card with round pin.
Rumanian Avant-Garde: 1916-1947, 1998. Brochure.
Jindrich Heisler: A Crystal in the Night: Surrealist Photographs Mad in Nazi-Occupied Prague,
1943/1944, 1998. Brochure.
Richard Tipping: Perversions, Subversions and Verse, 1998. Small-scale metal car license plate.
Charles Henri: Printed Matter, 1929-1969, 1999. Poster.
Hans Bellmer: Photographs & Drawings from the 1930s, 1999. Folder with 7 cards, with tie.
Erwin Blumenfeld: Collages, 1916-1934, 1999. Brochure.
Jacque Villeglé: 50 Years of Décollage, 1999. Intact card, which needs to be ripped to read.
František Vobecky: Photomontages, 1935-1938, 2000. Brochure.
Vik Muniz: Photographs & Personal Articles, 2000. Newspaper clipping with post-it note that
says “I saved this for you.”
László Moholy-Nagy: Photograms, Photographs, Prints, Drawings, Collages, Ephemera, 2000.
Die-cut plastic sheet.
Yoko Ono: “The Four Seasons” & Film Stills, 2000. Red, translucent sheet.
Snapshots: The Extraordinary Ordinary, 2000. Storefront image, on real photographic paper.
Destruction/Creation, 2000. Card with intact scratch-off panel and penny.
Wendingen: Dutch Design, 1918-1932, 2001. Card.
Théodore Brauner: Solarfixes and The Masks, 2001. Card.
Eugene Atget: Documenting “The Zone,” 2001. Poster.
Vito Acconci: Performance Documentation & Photoworks, 1969-1973, 2001. Card.
Wols: Vintage Photographs from the 1930s, 2001. Brochure for Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze.
Julian Beck: Paintings & Drawings, 1944-1958, 2001. Folder with cutout and card.
Behind the Surrealist Curtain: Sex, Sensuality and Silence, 2002. Card with patterned paper.
Left vs. Right: Expressionist Propaganda Posters of the Early Weimar Era, 2002. Thick card.
Bauhaus/New Bauhaus: Photography & Collage, 2003. Card.
Victor Brauner, 2003. Brochure.
Kurt Schwitters: Collages, Paintings, Objects, Ephemera, 2003. Sealed envelope.
Avant-Gardes: Selections from the Merrill C. Berman Collection, 2004. Envelope with card and
22 small cutouts of works in the show.
Weegee’s Story: A Collection of 222 of Weegee’s Finest Vintage Photographs, 2004. Poster on
newsprint, in original plastic bag, unopened.
Unica Zürn: Drawings from the 1960s, 2005. Brochure.
Aspects of Russian Art, 1915-1935: From the Merrill C. Berman Collection, 2005. Brochure.
Franz Roh: Photography & Collages from the 1930s, 2006. Negative film strip.
Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz: Drawings from the 1930s, 2006. Brochure.
Hans Bellmer: Petites Anatomies, Petites Images, 2006. Brochure.
Metamorphosis Victorianus: Modern Collage, Victorian Engravings & Nostalgia, 2009. Cut card.
Impressive collection of 46 items: $250
112. UELSMANN, Jerry.
Jerry N. Uelsmann, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1967. Brochure, 9 ¼ x 4 inches, 6
panels, 6 halftone illustrations. Promotes a show of 38 photographs that M.O.M.A.
traveled, organized by John Szarkowski. This copy signed by Uelsmann.
Jerry Uelsmann: A Traveling Exhibition, Rochester: George Eastman House, 1970. Brochure, 8 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches, 6 panels, 1 halftone illustration. Show of 29 framed
photographs, available for $150/month. With a statement by William E. Parker.
Letter, December 18, 1981. Typed and signed by Uelsmann. Grants permission for the
reproduction of one of his photographs. Uelsmann’s letterhead has an elaborate
illustration of angles with a camera and a mirror, alligators (he lived in Florida), and
his name, which takes up the full bottom half of the sheet.
Letter, May 30, 1985. Typed and signed by Uelsmann. Compliments the curator on the
photography shows at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and discusses work that
might fit into an upcoming exhibition there. Accompanied by the mailed envelope,
also featuring his letterhead design and with ten 2-cent stamps. Nice mail art.
Group of 5: $50
113. U.S.S.R. Exhibition, New York, 1959. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 6 ½ inches, 16 pages, screen-gravure illustrations (some in color).
A very interesting booklet for an exposition in New York during the Cold War. Its text begins by claiming that the show “gives the visitor an introduction to the tempestuous advance of the Soviet Union, in many fields of the manifold life of the Soviet people.” It features a floor plan of the two-story exhibition and a few pages on the following sections: Industry & Agriculture, Science & Technology, Radio & Electronics, Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Optics, Transportation, Public Education, Public Health, Sports, Construction, Culture, and Well-Being of the People. A great period piece, with a cover showing the third Soviet artificial Earth satellite and bold graphics. $25
114. VISUAL STUDIES WORKSHOP. Print Sale Catalog, Rochester: Visual Studies Workshop, c. 1978. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 5 ¼ inches, 24 pages, 70 halftone illustrations.
Comprises a selection from the Workshop’s inventory of photographs and prints available for sale, with a note from director Nathan Lyons. It is fully illustrated with work by such contemporary workers as the following, at now remarkably low prices: Cornell Capa ($75), Linda Connor ($40), Judy Dater ($60), Lee Friedlander ($60), Mario Giacomell ($75), Robert Heinecken ($75), Russell Lee ($75), Ray Metzker ($60), Art Sinsabaugh ($100), and Aaron Siskind ($100). Near fine condition. $25
115. WARHOL, Andy. Sheet of 20 Andy Warhol 37-cent postage stamps, United States Postal Service, 2001. Sheet, 7 ¼ x 10 inches, 21 color halftone illustrations.
The full, unused sheet of stamps, with a quotation from him: “If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There’s nothing behind it.” The face value is $7.40, but presumably you won’t actually use these stamps. Fine condition. $25
116. WESTON, Edward. Enjoy Your Museum: Photography, Pasadena: Esto Publishing Co., 1934. Softcover, 6 ¼ x 4 ¼ inches, 16 pages, 1 halftone illustration.
A short piece written by Weston on the early years of photography, the straight approach, how he works, and “photography as expression.” Part of a series on various artistic media published by Esto. This copy has the thick gray outside covers, within which are the white paper covers with an illustration. First and last page creased, original price cancelled, and with faint stain to cover. $100
117. WESTON, Edward.
Edward Weston: A Portfolio, New York: Witkin Gallery, 1971. Brochure, 8 ¾ x 5 ¾ inches,
6 panels, 10 halftone illustrations. Prospectus for a posthumous portfolio (printed by
son, Cole) of ten key images, among them a shell, a nude, a sand dune (in color), and
the famous “Pepper No. 30.” It was initially offered for $600. This copy with an
order form and envelope addressed to the gallery. Covers lightly rubbed and creased.
Edward Weston: Desnudos, Carmel, California: Edward Weston Studio, 1972. Brochure, 11
x 8 ½ inches, 4 panels, 12 halftone illustrations. Prospectus for another posthumous
portfolio (printed again by son, Cole) of eleven of Weston’s greatest nude
photographs. They include both studio and outdoor images and such familiar
subjects as Tina Modotti and Charis Wilson. Printed in a limited, numbered edition
of 100 copies, and priced at $800. This copy with an order form and envelope
addressed to the Weston studio. Light creases to covers.
A rare pair: $75
118. WHITE, CLARENCE H., School.
This is a rare and informative archive of over two dozen items for those interested in photographic education and the accomplishments of pictorialist Clarence H. White (1871-1925). The school operated in Maine during the summer and in New York from 1914 to 1942, at four successive locations.
Seguinland School of Photography, c. 1913. Folded sheet, 10 ½ x 15 inches (open), 3 halftone illustrations. This is a very early notice for the White summer school before he officially attached his name to it. It touts him as a lecturer on art in photography at Columbia’s Teachers College and at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Seguinland was a rustic spot on a Maine island, close to where Boston pictorialist
F. Holland Day summered, and, indeed, he was offered up as the session’s special critic. The reproductions are soft-focus landscapes, likely by White. Stained.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, Eighth Summer Session, 1917. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 5 ¾ inches, 12 pages, 5 halftone illustrations. Includes text on the session, instruction, term, excursions, exhibitions, fees, and board. Features a diagram of the modest two-story clapboard school building in Canaan, Connecticut, reproductions of student work and one of White giving a class critique. Stained.
Bulletin of the Alumni of the Clarence H. White School, 1920. Softcover, 9 x 6 inches, 8 pages, 1 halftone illustration. This December 1920 issue was the “House Warming Number,” celebrating the opening of the school’s new quarters on West 144th Street. The cover shows the ivy-covered brownstone façade and the inside includes a detailed floor plan, with studios, darkroom, printings rooms, class room, and exhibition and lecture hall. This issue apparently signaled the beginning of both the alumni organization and its bulletin. More than a page is devoted to alumni activities, such as those of Laura Gilpin, Sophie Lauffer, Clara Sipprell, and others.
Camera Pictures, New York: Alumni Association of the Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1924. Softcover, 11 x 8 ¼ inches, 36 pages, 20 halftone illustrations. This is the first of two annuals published by White School alumni. Henry Hoyt Moore declares in his foreword that the school “has had no small influence in raising the standards of photography and in spreading the belief, by demonstration, that it is one of the arts. The school’s alumni have been active in preaching the gospel.” The reproductions include work by Anton Bruehl, Laura Gilpin, Ira W. Martin, Doris Ulmann, and Margaret Watkins, but, undoubtedly, the most important picture is Paul Outerbridge’s “Ide Collar.”
Camera Pictures, 1925. Softcover, 11 x 8 ¼ inches, 36 pages, 20 halftone illustrations. This is the second and last of only two such annuals published by the Alumni Association of the Clarence H. White School of Photography. It includes a foreword by association president Stella F. Simon and reproductions by Bernhard S. Horne, Joseph Petrocelli, Antoinette B. Hervey, and others.
Summer School of Photography: Summer Session, c. 1926. Sheet, 9 ¼ x 12 inches, 1 halftone illustration. The flyer promotes the school’s sixteenth summer session, held at Woodstock, New York. Robert Waida and Alfred Cohn were the two instructors and the session was “intended to give the student advantage of practical instruction and a pleasant summer outing.”
Clarence H. White School of Photography, c. 1930. Card, 3 ½ x 2 ¼ inches. This is a blank student registration card. Dominating the design is the school’s camera-on-tripod logo, under which there are blanks for the student’s name and dates of matriculation.
Application for Admission to the Clarence H. White School of Photography, c. 1930. Sheet, 8 ½ x 11 inches, unillustrated. Blank for prospective students to fill out, asking for their high school, general work and photographic experience, references, address, age, etc.
Exhibition of Photographs by Students of the Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1932. Card, 4 x 5 inches, unillustrated. Simple announcement for the opening on Friday evening, May 20th.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1933. Softcover, 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches, 12 pages, 5 halftone illustrations. This school catalog covers classes offered at the day, night and summer schools. Among them are those on fundamentals, art appreciation, and professional work. The reproductions are tipped in and feature a modernist still life by Anton Bruehl on the cover.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, c. 1935. Softcover, 9 ¼ x 6 inches, 20 pages, 8 halftone illustrations. Comprises statements by White and Edward Steichen, descriptions of the building, curriculum, and fees. Among those now on the board of advisers are M. F. Agha (Condé Nast art director), Steichen, Ralph Steiner, and painter Max Weber. The cover image by William Houck, an ascending view of a staircase, also appeared in the April 1935 issue of the Commercial Photographer.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, c. 1935. Folded sheet, 9 x 6 inches, unillustrated. Flyer for one of school’s winter and summer sessions. The eight classes include vocational training, photographic design and appreciation, color photography, and others topics.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, c. 1936. Softcover, 9 ½ x 7 ½ inches, 28 pages, 20 halftone illustrations. The school’s increasingly modernist catalog of courses, with the following statement opposite the title page: “A professional institution training men and women for the vocation of photography as a practical art indispensable to modern commerce and industry and as a fine art with an established technique.” Many of the images now bleed off the page, including the cover picture by Robert Funke (no known relation to the Czech modernist Jaromir Funke).
Exhibition of Photographs, 1936. Card, 4 x 9 ¼ inches, unillustrated. Simple announcement for the opening of a show of work by White school students, on May 15.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1939. Folded sheet with inserts, 12 x 8 ¾ inches, 2 halftone illustrations. This folder, which pictures on the cover the façade of the school’s new facility on West 74th Street, was a fundraising tool. It shows the architect- designed plans for its basement and five floors and solicits contributors, who will have their money paid back with interest. Laid in is a sheet that lists about twenty five sponsors (mostly individuals, but including U. S. Camera and Willoughby Camera Stores) and asks “Is Your Name Among the Sponsors?” Also includes two copies of a subscriber’s blank sheet written in legalese.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1940. Folded sheet, 9 ½ x 7 ½ inches,
1 halftone illustration. Flyer of classes at the school’s new, and last location, on West 74th Street. Covers ten classes in the day and night schools of the 1940-41 winter session.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1940. Card, 4 ¼ x 7 inches, unillustrated. Invitation to opening reception for a show of work by the class of 1940, on the evening of Saturday, May 18.
Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1940. Card, 3 ¾ x 7 ¼ inches, unillustrated. Invitation to an informal house warming and alumni reunion at the school’s new home on West 74th Street. Among the five guests of honor were Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, and Max Weber (a co-founder of the school).
Day and Evening Courses, c. 1940. Card, 5 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches, 1 illustration. This is an actual photographic print (the photographer uncredited), largely comprising an image of a workman on a spherical building, undoubtedly the Hemisphere at the current New York World’s Fair. The reversed-out typography, simply indicates that the courses were in color, commercial, motion picture, and photo-journalism.
Application for Admission to the Clarence H. White School of Photography, c. 1940. Sheet, 8 ½ x 11 inches, unillustrated. Blank for prospective students to fill out, asking for their high school, general work and photographic experience, references, address, age, etc.
Clarence H. White School of Photography: Catalogue of Courses, 1940-1941. Softcover,
9 ¼ x 7 ¼ inches, 44 pages, 19 halftone illustrations. The first catalog for the school in its new five-story building on West 74th Street, detailed floor plans of which are included. Features descriptions of over twenty different classes, in all manner of creative and applied photography, including color and reportage. The cover sports the school’s symbol—an abstract camera on tripod—multiple times. Inside, images are contributed by Anton Bruehl, Wynn Richards, and Karl F. Struss (in the form of a 1912 soft-focus portrait of White).
Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1941. Softcover, 9 ¼ x 7 ¼ inches, 32 pages, 20 halftone illustrations. Despite the previous year’s move to new facilities, this is the course catalog for the last season the White school operated, 1941-1942. It lists the board of advisors (Ansel Adams, Edward Steichen, and others), faculty members (Eliot Elisofon and others), and the administrators (including Clarence H. White, 2nd). The catalog touts the school’s physical facilities, philosophy, and describes over twenty specific classes being offered. Most of the illustrations are by former students.
The Work of the Class of 1941. Card, 7 ¼ x 5 ½ inches, unillustrated. Notice for opening of an exhibition at the school that ran from late May to mid-July, with hours and the school’s camera-on-tripod logo.
Summary of Courses, 1941-1941. Folded sheet, 9 ¼ x 4 inches, unillustrated. Pamphlet describing over twenty courses offered during the Winter day and evening school and summer session. Also lists the school’s advisors (including Ansel Adams and Edward Steichen), faculty (among them Clarence H. White, 2nd), and administrators (including White’s widow, who was director emeritus).
Clarence H. White School of Photography, 1941. Sheet, 10 ½ x 7 ½ inches, unillustrated. Lists the seven courses offered during the 1941 summer session. Among them were those on basic, advanced, color photography, appreciation of photographs, and elements of reportage.
Bulletin of the Clarence H. White School Alumni Association, July 1941 (vol. 1, no. 2). Sheet folded to 9 ¼ x 8 inches, unillustrated. Reports on talks given to the association by Beaumont Newhall, Roy Stryker, and others. Also includes school news, info on alum, new courses, and other information.
Bulletin of the Clarence H. White School Alumni Association, November 1941 (vol. 2,
no. 1). Sheet, 9 ¼ x 8 inches, unillustrated. Covers a talk by Barbara Morgan, and alum news, such as who has enlisted in the U.S. Army.
Group of 27 items: $1,500
119. WHITE, Minor. Minor White: 9 July 1908 – 24 June 1976, Millerton, New York: Aperture, 1976. Folder, 11 x 9 inches, 4 panels, 1 screen-gravure illustration.
Memorial item for White, who was the founding editor of Aperture magazine, overseeing it until a year before his death. Includes a four-sentence poem by Saint Catherine of Siena and a portrait of White by Robert Haiko. Near fine condition. $25
ARTIST’S BOOKS
120-239
120. ATTRIBUTS de COMMERCE, Rochester: Visual Studies Workshop, 1980. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 7 inches, 48 pages, halftone illustrations.
This was a group project by eight Visual Studies Workshop students, whose signatures appear on the title page. They are: Andrew Allen, Pat Byrne, Philip Lange, Scott McCarney, Natalie, Toni Noah, Linn Underhill, and Alan Winer. The imagery comprises collaged, largely abstract pictures, in low contrast and bleeding off the pages. Covers lightly rubbed. $35
121. AVEDON, Richard. The Little Wisdoms of Richard Avedon, Minneapolis, 1970. Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, 48 pages, 1 halftone illustration.
This extremely rare item was produced at the time of the major 1970 one-person Avedon exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It was a joke piece, compiled by Marvin Israel, Avedon’s designer, and Doon Arbus, who attended the opening along with her mother. It contains one short quip per page by Avedon, as remembered by friends, such as Arbus, Israel, and Hiro Wakabayayshi. Among the sayings recorded are, “My success depends more on the pictures I didn’t take than the ones I did,” and “Scratch the surface and, if you’re really lucky, you will find more surface.” The copyright page includes the following information: “First Printing, July 1, 1970 [the day the Minneapolis show opened], “Very limited edition,” and Catalog Number: 4-U.” This is the only copy I have ever seen (after living in Minneapolis for over thirty years)—essential for the serious Avedon collector. Unfortunately, it’s not in great shape: bends throughout and covers browned, marked, and chipped. $350
122. BALDESSARI, John. Close-Cropped Tales, Buffalo: CEPA Gallery, 1981. Softcover, 9 x 7 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
An artist’s book that accompanied simultaneous exhibitions at CEPA and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, both in Buffalo, New York. Comprises six sequences of photographic images, from “A Three-Sided Tale” to “An Eight-Sided Tale.” Each one features images that Baldessari apparently found in the popular press and then cut into shapes. Among the subjects are crime, animals, and transportation. Light scuffs to title page, small wear to top of spine, and folds to first four pages. $125
123. BART, Harriet. Harriet Bart, Minneapolis: Harriet Bart, c. 2005. Softcover (spiral bound), 6 x 6 ½ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed, with ephemera.
Documents Bart’s art as commissions, installations, objects, and books. Includes a selected list of about two dozen private and public collections that include her work. Bart (born 1941) is based in Minnesota and is internationally known. This copy signed by her, with her business card laid in. Light bends to front cover corners. $15
124. BEASLEY, Doug. Japan: A Nisei’s First Encounter, St. Paul, Minnesota: Vision Quest, 2000. Softcover, 6 ½ x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, 32 duotone illustrations. Signed.
Comprises a selection of photographs that Minnesota-based Beasley made on his first trip to the homeland of his mother. They are straight-forward images of Japanese shrines, architecture, landscape, and people. Beasley wrote in the introduction that “upon arriving in Tokyo, I felt I had returned to a place I had never been; the sights, sounds and smells were unique, exotic and new, yet comfortable and oddly familiar.” The book features glassine endpapers and a seemingly hand-bound binding of string piercing the pages and wrapping around the spine. This copy signed by Beasley. Near fine condition. $25
125. 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: reproductions pasted in, red and black-inked handprint and inscription, plus partial footprint on inside back flap. Near fine condition. $1,000
126. BEARD, Peter. Diary, Japan: Libro Port Publishing, 1993.
Another copy, without the customization. Near fine condition. $500
127. BELL, Larry, and Guy De Cointet. Animated Discourse, Venice, California: Sure Co., 1975. Hardcover, 5 x 15 inches, 145 pages, halftone illustrations. Signed.
This is a spectacular conceptual artist’s book, representing a collaboration between two California artists who were known for their paintings, sculpture, and other non-photographic work. Each page features a grid of photographic reproductions of people running through Bell’s Venice studio. Inserted in the rear is a folded sheet measuring 1 x 59 inches that reproduces 29 images and serves as the key to “reading” the pages. Each image stands for a letter of the alphabet, a space, and punctuation. The cover sports metallic silver cloth and the book is signed by both Bell and De Cointet. Gus Foster, the publisher, informed me that only about 100 copies of this book were finished; though he had sheets for one thousand copies printed, the binder lost most of them. Near fine condition, with a crease on the last page. $1,000
128. BENGE, Harvey. You Are Here, Cologne, Germany: Schaden: 2006. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 8 ¾ x 6 ¼ inches, unpaginated, color halftone illustrations.
Street scenes in Tokyo, mostly of people and shop windows, all presented as bleed images in an apparent random order. The title is derived from an image of a subway map with red light indicating where the viewer is located. No text, except for copyright page information, with indicates that the book was limited to 250 signed and numbered copies, although I don’t find a signature or number in this one. Benge (born in New Zealand in 1944) has worked since 1975 as an advertising photographer and for the last twenty years also as a “camera artist.” Near fine condition. $35
129. BLOCH, Ricardo. Terremoto, St. Paul, Minnesota: Ricardo Bloch, 1993. Hardcover (paper covered boards), 8 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, 56 pages, halftone illustrations. Signed.
This, Bloch’s second artist’s book, comprises straightforward photographs of the aftermath of a major earthquake that struck Mexico City on September 19, 1985. Most of the pictures are people-less, but the text is heart-wrenchingly personal, written in the voice of a child or adult not fluent in English. One page begins with the text, “The groun trembelt an shook an bildings sweyd like Alamo trees and walls fell over an floors caved in.” Bloch was born in Mexico City in 1946, took a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard University, and has worked as an artist in Minnesota and Paris. Terremoto, issued without a dustjacket, was printed in an edition of 400 copies; this one is numbered and signed by Bloch. Fine condition. $50
130. BREUER, Marco. Tremors, Ephemera, New York: Roth Horowitz, 2000. Hardcover (cream cloth and paper over boards), 10 x 8 inches, 32 pages, 10 color halftone illustrations, dustjacket. With signed ephemera.
Presents new work from the series “Tremors” and “Ephemera,” in which Breuer makes camera-less photographs by exposing light-sensitive paper to scraping, burning, sanding, and other physical acts. Printed in an edition of 1,000 copies, with an essay by James Elkins. Laid into this copy is an exhibition announcement for related work at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, signed and dated by Breuer. Near fine condition, except for two tiny tears at the spine of the dustjacket. $75
131. BRODOVITCH, Alexey. Ballet, New York: J. J. Augustin, 1945. Hardcover, 9 x 11 ¼ inches, 144 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
This is Brodovitch’s groundbreaking and influential book of photographs of various dance companies performing. The impressionistic images, some gritty, some soft, bleed off the pages and into one another on two-page spreads. A delicate book, due to the absence of a spine board and its thin dustjacket, which is often missing from the spine (not the case here). Brodovitch (American, born Russia, 1894-1971), was a photographer and graphic designer, revered for his work at Harper’s Bazaar from 1938 to 1958. Dustjacket lightly soiled and edgeworn, missing the inside flaps and small pieces at spine. $5,000
132. BUCKLAND, David. The Agri-Economy, Minneapolis: First Banks, 1989. Folder with accordion-style brochure and 36-page softcover booklet, 8 ½ x 11 ½ inches, halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed.
This package accompanied a traveling show of ten large-scale color portraits made by Buckland on commission from the First Bank System’s division of visual arts. The images address the changing face of agribusiness in the Midwest, and include portraits of corporate officers, government figures, and farmers who are Caucasian, Hmong, and Native American. The booklet contains text by the bank’s visual arts staff, museum curator Carroll T. Hartwell, and Buckland. There is also technical information and statements by all ten of the subjects. This copy signed and dated in year of publication by Buckland. Near fine condition. $35
133. BURKE, Bill. I Want to Take Picture, Atlanta: Nexus Press, 1987. Hardcover (laminated paper over boards), 15 ¼ x 11 ½ inches, unpaginated, duotone and color halftone illustrations. With signed ephemera.
Burke’s influential artist’s book, based on his travels in Southeast Asia. He presents documentary pictures of such subjects as Bangkok sex clubs and Khmer Rouge soldiers, sometimes collaged with colorful ephemera like beer bottle labels. He provides captions and running texts on events such as suffering a broken neck in a serious car accident, all handwritten to give the book the feeling of a diary (in the vein of Peter Beard). Included in both Roth and Parr/Badger. Laid into this copy is a brochure for a 1987 show of the same title and an exhibition announcement for an unrelated exhibition, signed by Burke. Near fine condition. $650
134. BURKE, Bill. Mine Fields, Atlanta: Nexus Press, 1992. Hardcover (laminated paper over boards), 11 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches, 120 pages, duotone and color halftone illustrations. With signed ephemera.
This fitting follow-up to I Want to Take Picture is, once again, an autobiographical account of time spent in Southeast Asia. There are straight-forward portraits of citizens and soldiers, interspersed with colorful collaged pages of maps, currency, and other printed items. Includes the loose booklet that is primarily journal pages. Laid into this copy is Burke’s business card, signed by him. Near fine condition. $100
135. BYRNE , David. Strange Ritual: Words and Pictures, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995. Hardcover (gold-stamped black leatherette), 10 ¼ x 7 ¾ inches, unpaginated, color halftone illustrations, belly band. Signed.
This is a conceptual bookwork, made up primarily of Byrne’s mundane color photographs of American and Mexican pop culture items. Among the pictures of plastic Jesus babies and graffiti, he intersperses text on topics such as “Power Tools and Piss” and “Bizarro World.” Since most of the photographs are two-page spreads and bleed off the page, captions are relegated to the rear of the book. This copy inscribed by Byrne. Fine condition. $100
136. CELENDER, Don. Museum Piece, New York: O.K. Harris Gallery, 1975. Softcover, 11 x 8 ½ inches, 138 pages, halftone illustrations.
This is perhaps Celender’s most revered artist’s book. In 1975, he wrote to about seventy-five museums worldwide, asking them for photographs of their loading docks. This book reproduces the written responses and images. Most twentieth-century museums provided pictures of well-designed docks, while older ones showed the front door or other unusual portal, as the structure was not constructed as a museum. Occasionally no photographs were provided, as the institution considered it a security risk to do so. Celender (1931-2005) was a book and installation artist who taught art history at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, for forty years. Covers lightly rubbed and spine lightly browned. $100
137. CHAPPELL, Walter. Logue and Glyphs: 1943-1949, New Orleans: Glyph Press, 1951. Hardcover (batik cloth), 12 ½ x 9 ½ inches, 48 pages, unillustrated. With signed ephemera.
This early Chappell item, made when he was only twenty-six years old, comprises poems by him. According to a 1992 handwritten letter from Chappell, the book “was printed at night in a print shop on Royal Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, where I worked for a period during the two years I lived there after the war, while mostly painting, before my serious turn to photography in 1954.” Printed in an edition of only 50 copies; WorldCat locates a single copy, at the University of Notre Dame Library. An extremely rare Chappell piece (including the letter), for the completist. Stains and light wear to covers, which are separating from the text body. $1,000
138. CHARLESWORTH, Sarah. April 21, 1978, Riverside: California Museum of Photography, 1984. Softcover, 9 ¾ x 8 ½ inches, 32 pages, 30 halftone illustrations.
This issue of the CMP Bulletin is an artist’s book addressing public photographic imagery. It features a picture of Aldo Moro, the kidnapped prime minister of Italy, supposedly taken on April 21, 1978, to prove that he was still alive. Its authenticity was widely questioned and Charlesworth brings together its reproduction in over two dozen newspapers worldwide, including the New York Times. Near fine condition, missing part of the extra wrap-around mailer. $25
139. 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.
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 is the second edition of the 1971 one 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
140. 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 stages of undress. Though designated in an edition of one thousand copies, about half of them were inadvertently destroyed. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $750
141. 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
142. De LORY, Peter. The Wild and the Innocent, Riverside: California Museum of Photography, 1987. Softcover, 9 ¾ x 8 ½ inches, 48 pages, color halftone illustrations. Signed.
This artist’s book by de Lory features the story of two men and two women, set simultaneously in rural Idaho and New York City. According to the author, “All in all, Franky and Joey switch places, and lady friends too. In the end, they become more like each other’s’ extremes, one more wild, one more innocent.” Also published as an issue of the CMP Bulletin, it includes a song by Terry Allen. De Lory’s color photographic illustrations are fabricated set ups with objects such as silverware and shower curtains, but they are dominated by black cut-out images of people and everyday objects. Peter de Lory (born 1948) taught for many years at San Jose State University and for the last decade has been the commissioned documentarian for the Seattle regional transit system. This copy signed by de Lory in the year of publication. Fine condition. $35
143. DINE, Jim, and Guillaume Apollinaire. The Poet Assassinated, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968. Hardcover (printed white cloth), 10 ¼ x
8 ¼ inches, 128 pages, halftone illustrations.
Apollinaire (1880-1918) was a prominent French writer who coined the term “surrealism.” His 1947 story is illustrated with drawings and photographic collages by Dine. Light rubbing and marks to cloth, in protective glassine, lacking dustjacket. $50
144. DINE, Jim, and Ron Padgett. The Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Jim and Ron, London: Cape Goliard Press, 1970. Hardcover (white-stamped black cloth),
11 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
Features a collaborative text between Dine and Padgett (born 1942), an American writer who was part of the New York School. The opening text states, “The germ of an idea wiggled in my mind. I transferred it to an incubation cell, applying heat and light, and sat back and waited for it to hatch.” Dine’s enigmatic illustrations include drawings of everyday objects like a cup, boot, and hat, plus reproductions of vernacular photographs by him, housed between distinctive pink endpapers. Near fine condition. $125
145. 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
146. ELDON, Dan. The Journey is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon, San Francisco: Chronicle, 1997. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 10 ¾ x 8 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color).
“This is no ordinary diary; it is an astonishing collage of photographs, drawings, words, maps, clippings, paints, scraps, shards, and trash that reveals Eldon’s strange and vivid life. They hold up a pure mirror to both the sickness of the modern world and the fragile happiness of the human condition and ultimately, reveal the accidental beauty that only a young artist can truly capture.” Definitely shows the influence of Peter Beard. Eldon (1970-1993) was raised in Nairobi, Kenya (Beard territory), traveled through four continents, and worked as a photojournalist for Reuters. He met his untimely death at only twenty-two years, stoned by a mob in Somali. Near fine condition. $35
147. FRANK, Robert. The Lines of My Hand, Tokyo: Yugensha/Kazuhiko Motomura, 1972. Hardcover (white-stamped black cloth), 13 ¾ x 10 ¼ inches, 120 pages, halftone illustrations, slipcase and pamphlet.
The deluxe first edition of this important book, issued without a dustjacket in a slipcase with a mounted reproduction (one of two: here “Platte River, Tennessee”). It is Frank’s “autobiography,” beginning with images of deceased friends and his son and daughter. Then, he arranges pictures from his known bodies of work in rough chronological order; they commence in his native Switzerland, move through Peru, Paris, London, Spain, and include a number of images made in the mid-1950s that do not show up in The Americans. After his 1958 bus pictures, which represented, at the time, his last photography project, Frank includes stills from his first four films, his new focus. Deeply aware of the book as a retrospective project and involved in its layout and sequencing, he begins and ends it with references to the publisher, mentioning Mr. Motomura’s first visit and reproducing a later note to him. Limited edition of 1,000. Includes the 30-page pamphlet with the Japanese translation. Near fine condition, with the slipcase covering separating a little on the inside. $4,500
148. FRANK, Robert. The Lines of My Hand, New York: Lustrum Press, 1972. Softcover, 12 x 9 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
First published in a deluxe Japanese edition the same year (see above entry), this is the first American edition, presented in a more down-to-earth fashion by Ralph Gibson’s Lustrum Press. It is smaller in page size and has fewer and some different images. The cover features a drawing of a hand by Frank’s wife, June Leaf, inspired by a photograph he made in Paris of a mystic’s sign (reproduced in the book). He still provides minimal text, but adds a paragraph stating, “I have come home and I’m looking through the window. I am looking back into a world now gone forever.” Many of the photographs are now grouped in more distinct categories of place and time. Miniscule edgewear and minor marks on back cover. $250
149. FRANK, Robert. The Lines of My Hand, New York: Pantheon Books, 1989. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 12 ¾ x 10 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color), printed glassine dustjacket.
This is the second American edition, despite the copyright page declaring it the first (see above). Slightly bigger in size and now in hardcover, it also includes added material by Frank. The last quarter of the book comprises work created since the original 1972 publication. Much of it comprises multi-image pieces made in Nova Scotia of still lifes, landscapes, and portraits, with hand-scrawled lettering. A gatefold features four color stills from Frank’s 1983-84 video “Home Improvements.” Mint condition in shrink wrap, with original Distributed Art Publishers label affixed. $250
150. FRIEDLANDER, Lee, and Jim Dine. Work from the Same House: Photographs and Etchings, London: Trigram Press, 1969. Softcover, 9 ¾ x 10 inches, 48 pages, 33 halftone illustrations.
An unusual pairing of photographs and etchings by the artists, on two-page spreads. Shortly after they met in the early 1960s their work started to spark responses from one another, and they eventually joined images together for this project and the closely related portfolio of originals, titled “Photographs and Etchings.” The reasons for the pairings are sometimes formal but usually difficult to discern and certainly personal on the artists’ part. Friedlander’s social landscape photographs work well with Dine’s Pop Art imagery of simple objects such as a pair of scissors, a chair, an onion, and hands. From the library of former Princeton curator Peter C. Bunnell, with his modest stamp on the front free-end paper. One back corner lightly wrinkled but unusually crisp covers, though they are still lightly rubbed, as is almost always the case. $250
151. GAARD, Frank.
Archive of issues of Artpolice, related magazines, one book, and ephemera. Since the 1960s, Gaard (born 1944) has forged a deeply personal and idiosyncratic style in his paintings and drawings, often resembling cartoon imagery. He taught for many years at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, published an important artist’s zine, and in 2012 presented a one-man exhibition of his work at the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis). Artpolice includes the work of other artists, most notably Stuart Mead. Note that some of the items include explicit sexual content, and a handful of them are signed by Gaard. This is an impressive group of items, with the run of Artpolice missing only about a half dozen issues. Complete, detailed inventory sent upon request.
Artpolice
1974, 3 issues
1975, 2 issues
1976, 1 issue
1977, 3 issues
1978, 4 issues
1979, 4 issues
1980, 5 issues
1981, 4 issues
1982, 4 issues
1983, 4 issues
1984, 3 issues
1985, 3 issues
1986, 3 issues
1987, 3 issues
1988, 3 issues
1989, 3 issues
1990, 3 issues
1991, 3 issues
1992, 2 issues
1993, 3 issues
1994, 1 issue
Related magazines
Man Bag, 3 issues, 1994, 1995, 1996
Losing Faith, 2 issues, 1986, 1987
Sub-Art, 1 issue, 1979
Art Moves, 1 issue, 1982
Book
Men Beg, Marscillc, France: Le Dernier Cri, 2011. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 6 inches,
unpaginated. In original shipping envelope, hand-addressed by Gaard.
Ephemera
Artpolice Comics, undated, single sheet, miniature reprint of the first issue and three
other drawings.
Artpolice envelope, undated, hand-addressed by Gaard.
Letter , 1979, hand-written from Gaard asking for payment of Artpolice subscription,
in mailed envelope.
Exhibition announcement, New York: Medium West Gallery, 1985.
A Conversation with Frank Gaard, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1999, softcover, 36
pages, signed by Gaard.
One-page magazine article on Frank’s artist wife, Pam, 2001, signed by her.
Walker Art Center Members’ Magazine, 2012, cover article on Gaard’s solo show
there.
Exhibition announcement for Pam Gaard, Minneapolis: Susan Hensel Gallery, 2013.
Brochure for show of Gaard, Pam Gaard, and 2 others, Minneapolis: Instinct Art
Gallery, 2014.
Postcard for above show, signed by Frank and Pam.
Collection: $7,500
152. GALGIANI, Philip. 15 Titles: Fifteen Offset Images, San Francisco: Philip Galgiani, 1979. Folder, 11 ½ x 8 ¾ inches, with 15 loose sheets and envelope.
This set comprises sheets with four images of still lifes that Galgiani set up and photographed. Simple objects, such as light bulbs and hats are slightly rearranged in each image with words from everyday phrases like, “Out of the blue.” Conceptual and sometimes mystifying, these offset images are “first generation positives,” not reproductions of photographs. Galgiani (born 1951) earned two art degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute, produced books and photographs, and now sells European art books in New York. Tiny edgewear and corner folds to folder and original printed envelope. $75
153. 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. Laid into this copy is an announcement for Spider Webb’s 1982 book Tattooed Women. Covers lightly browned and rubbed. $250
154. 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. $35
155. GIBSON, Ralph. Days at Sea, 1974. Softcover, 12 x 8 ½ inches, 72 pages, duotone illustrations. With signed ephemera.
The last of the books in Gibson’s ground-breaking “Black Trilogy,” named for the predominance of darkness on the covers and in the images. The pictures are variously grainy, formalistic, erotic, and, by intent, do not provide an obvious narrative. The cover features his suggestive photograph of a woman caressing her buttocks with a feather of variegated tones. Laid into this copy is a prospectus for a portfolio of original prints of the same name, signed by Gibson. $100
156. GOSSAGE, John. Stadt des Schwarz/Eighteen Photograph of Berlin, Washington, D.C.: Loosestrife Editions, 1987. Hardcover (gray-stamped black cloth), 18 ¼ x 13 ½ inches, 24 pages, 18 duotone illustrations, glassine dustjacket, original photograph on cover. Signed, with ephemera.
This is Gossage’s nocturnal ode to Berlin, translated as “City of Black.” The extremely dark and mysterious images, made 1982-1986, are printed large on the oversize pages and interleaved with glassine pages. Curator Jane Livingston provides an introduction and there are three legends based on the collection of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Printed in a signed and numbered edition of 500. An original gelatin silver print is tipped onto the front cover. Laid into this copy is an announcement for a 1987 exhibition of the work at Castelli Graphics, New York. Near fine condition, in glassine dustjacket that is lightly rubbed and with a few creases. $1,500
157. GROSSMAN, Sid, and Millard Lampell. Journey to the Cape, New York: Grove Press, 1959. Softcover, 10 x 7 ½ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (2 in color), dustjacket.
This is a poetic look at the human condition, in many parts of the world, at the middle of the twentieth century. Among the locales in which individuals interact are New York, Coney Island, Oklahoma, Panama, and Guatemala. Grossman (1915-1955) photographed in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression and was a member of the Photo League, where he taught classes. Tiny edgewear and rubbing to covers and original glassine jacket. $35
158. HALSMAN, Philipp, and Salvador Dali. Dali’s Mustache: A Photographic Interview, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1954. Hardcover (paper over boards), 7 x 5 ½ inches, 126 pages, screen-gravure illustrations.
This little, well-printed item is an uproarious collaboration between the Surrealist artist Dali and Halsman, proclaiming on the back cover, “Warning! This Book is Preposterous.” The two use Dali’s famous facial hair in various shapes and functions—as a brush, mobile, and fishing pole, and in combination with flowers, Swiss cheese, and other objects. Dali provides an introduction, the photographer an afterword, and the publisher technical notes. Front hinge separating, with cover edgewear. $50
159. HAMILTON, Richard. Polaroid Portraits Vol. 1, Stuttgart, Germany: Hansjörg Mayer, 1972. Hardcover (white cloth), 6 ½ x 5 inches, unpaginated, 32 halftone illustrations (some in color).
A little book of casual portraits of the English artist Richard Hamilton made by other artists. Among those tripping the shutter were Claes Oldenberg, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Joseph Beuys, Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Christo. Pages thumbed, covers lightly soiled, and a ¼-inch hole piercing the entire book (perhaps for being secured at an exhibition). $35
160. HEINECKEN, Robert. A Case Study in Finding an Appropriate TV Newswoman (A CBS Docudrama in Words and Pictures), Los Angeles: Robert Heinecken, 1986. Softcover, 11 ¼ x 9 inches, 16 pages, color halftone illustrations. With ephemera.
This entertaining artist’s booklet was inspired by CBS’s hunt for a female news anchor in 1984. Heinecken provides a running commentary on the search and combination images of different newscasters, taken off a television screen. Among the pairs he superimposed were Diane Sawyer and Tom Brokaw, Connie Chung and Bill Kurtis, and Meredith Vieira and Steve Baskerville. Haunting results that presaged the composite work of Nancy Burson. Laid in is an announcement for the book. Light rubbing to covers. $50
161. 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
162. HOSOE, Eikoh. Man and Woman, Tokyo: Camerart, 1961. Hardcover (paper over boards), 9 ½ x 7 ½ inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, slipcase. With signed ephemera.
This intimate book was Hosoe’s first, published when he was only twenty-eight. It is graphically strong and richly printed in gravure, the pictures usually bleeding off the pages. The nude figures are frequently presented close up and somewhat abstracted. Text in Japanese. Lacking the English-translation booklet and rare bellyband. However, laid into this copy is a 1998 form letter signed by Hosoe. Eikoh Hosoe (born 1933) is known for his figurative work and remains today Japan’s most recognized creative photographer. Near fine condition, in original slipcase with minimal wear. $1,500
163. 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
164. HOSOE, Eikoh. Embrace, Tokyo: Shashin Hyoronsha Publishing, 1971. Hardcover (silver-stamped black cloth), 14 ¼ x 10 ½ inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket, slipcase, and bellyband. With signed ephemera.
Similar in subject matter and treatment to Man and Woman, but much larger in scale and more consistently abstract in its imagery. Arms, legs, breasts, and other body parts graze, caress, and embrace one another., in a tour-de-force of human fleshiness. Laid into this copy is a 1988 form letter signed by Hosoe. Near fine condition, in original slipcase that is lightly rubbed. $2,000
165. HOSOE, Eikoh. BA•RA•KEI: Ordeal by Roses, New York: Aperture, 1985. Hardcover (silver-stamped purple cloth), 14 ½ x 10 1/2 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, dustjacket with belly band. With signed ephemera.
Initially issued in Japan in 1971, this is the first Western edition of Hosoe’s photographic essay on the renowned Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. The high-contrast pictures, grouped into five sections, reveal the subject’s inner and outer worlds, in a highly surrealistic fashion. Includes a preface by Mishima, afterword by Mark Holborn, and notes by the photographer. Laid into this copy is a postcard reproducing one of the images in the book signed by Hosoe and a 1998 form letter also signed by him. Cloth slightly sunned, bellyband mildly scratched and wrinkled. $250
166. HOSOE, Eikoh. Kamaitachi, New York: Aperture, 2005. Hardcover (printed cloth), 15 x 12 ¼ inches, unpaginated, 34 tri-tone illustrations, glassine dustjacket, box.
Another oversize and deluxe publication illustrated by Hosoe. This one was a collaboration with the dancer Tatsumi Hijikata, who performed a series of “happenings” in the Japanese countryside, invoking the aura of the Kamaitachi, legendary Japanese tricksters. The book features 34 gatefold bleed images, hidden by dense blue pages. Issued in a signed, numbered edition of 500 in Japan and 500 in the U.S., in a Pop-Art-designed clamshell box. Mint condition, in original plastic bag. $750
167. HOSOE, Eikoh. Deadly Ashes, Tokyo: Mado-Sha Publishing, 2007. Softcover, 11 ¾ x 9 inches, 120 pages, duotone illustrations, dustjacket, and bellyband. With signed ephemera.
This is Hosoe’s haunting tribute to the dead of Pompeii, Auschwitz, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. At each site he variously photographed bones, memorials, nothingness, and other reminders of the tragedies of the natural and man-made disasters. With an introduction by professor Robert Jay Lifton and text by the photographer. Laid into this copy is a 1998 form letter signed by Hosoe. Near fine condition. $100
168. JOSEPHSON, Ken. The Bread Book, Chicago: Kenneth Josephson, 1973. Softcover, 5 ¾ x 7 ½ inches, 20 pages, 20 duotone illustrations.
This is a conceptual artist’s book, straightforward and humorous. Josephson simply took a loaf of homemade bread, sliced it up, and then photographed both sides of each piece. He then arranged the images in correct order, creating the illusion of a dissected article of food. Tiny chipping. $125
169. KLEIN, William. Mister Freedom, Paris: S.N.I.L., 1970. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 12 ¼ x 9 ¾ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed.
Comprises stills from Klein’s 1969 film of the same title. This copy inscribed and signed by Klein. Near fine condition. $350
170. 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 below). Normal minor wear to corners of box. $250
171. 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
172. 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 shows 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, with Krims’ signature. One of three limited-edition boxes he issued in 1972 (see other entries above). Normal minor wear to corners of box. $250
173. 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
174. LABROT, Syl. Pleasure Beach, New York: Eclipse, 1976. Hardcover (blind-stamped gray and maroon cloth), 11 x 16 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (most in color).
This luscious, oversize book features rich color images, often collaged, that were created on press. It is divided into three sections: “The Invention of Color Photography,” with straightforward urban details; “Pleasure Beach,” focused largely on an amusement park and female nudes; and “The Archeological Way,” which combines tourists and ancient Egypt. Indeed a pleasurable book to hold and visually regard. Labrot (1929-1977) also had his work included in the 1960 book Under the Sun, with Nathan Lyons and Walter Chappell. Near fine condition. $350
175. LEO, Vince. Timetable Project: Mao Prints Kept, Over Objections, Minneapolis: First Bank, 1989. Softcover (spiral bound), 15 x 9 ¾ inches, 38 pages, halftone illustrations. Signed.
This oversize item juxtaposes various chronologies, including the history of the First Bank System, the relationship of the bank with the People’s Republic of China, the lives and careers of Andy Warhol and Chairman Mao, and changes in U.S. foreign policy toward China. First Bank owned and displayed some Mao portraits by Warhol in two branches, and the ensuing controversy is covered. Photographer Vince Leo (born 1949) is a professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he teaches photographic history and theory. This copy signed and dated by Leo. Near fine condition, in original mailing envelope. $100
176. LEO, Vince. Timetable Project: National Association of Artists’ Organizations, Minneapolis: Vine Leo, 1990. Softcover, 10 ¼ x 8 inches, unpaginated, unillustrated. Signed.
This is an extensive chronology of events from 1905 to 1990. The entries include confluences between labor, government, art, artists, censorship, war, and race. $25
177. LIGHT BOUND: A Love Affair Between Books and Light, Chicago: Sarah Ranchouse Publishing, 2004. Softcover, 6 ¾ x 4 ¾ inches, unpaginated, 14 halftone illustrations.
This title was inspired by the exhibition “Light Bound: Photographers Regard the Book,” presented at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It features reproductions of work by the seven artists in the show: Sally Alatalo, Peter Beard, James Henkel, Doug Keyes, Abe Morell, Alison Rossiter, and JoAnn Verburg. Includes essays on photographs and books by curator Christian A. Peterson and professor Simon Anderson. This was the fourth in publisher Alatalo’s Sarah Ranchouse “romances.” Fine condition. $25
178. LYON, Danny. I Like to Eat Right on the Dirt: A Child’s Journey Back in Space and Time, Clintondale, New York: Bleak Beauty Books, 1989. Softcover (spiral bound), 11 x 15 ¼ inches, unpaginated, duotone illustrations. Signed.
This is a large, family-album style book, with handwritten commentary on the pictures by Lyon’s two sons, Raphe and Noah. The pictures are largely snapshots from their youth, plus historic studio portraits of their ancestors in pre-war Germany and Czarist Russia. The first page features an eight-line poem that begins, “I like to eat right on the dirt, and let the food fall on my shirt, and wipe my hands upon my pants, and feed the little crumbs to ants.” This copy signed by Lyon. Tiny edgewear, in opened shrink wrap. $100
179. LYONS, Nathan. Notations in Passing, Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1974. Hardcover (black-stamped silver cloth), 8 ¼ x 9 inches, 124 pages, 96 halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
Lyons’ contribution to the social landscape aesthetic. “Snapshots—a series of images—cool—haunting—a modern iconography—a compendium of images by one of the most significant teachers of visual arts—a careful exploration in perception—a series with its own continuity and time relationships—commonplace juxtapositions—sequences—notations in passing.” This copy signed by Lyons. Near fine condition. $50
180. MAGRITTE, Rene. Rene Magritte: Peintures et Gouaches, Antwerp, Netherlands: Ronny Van de Velde, 1994. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 10 x 13 ¾ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color).
This is an elaborate production, published posthumously without Magritte’s input, but sporting the look of an artist’s scrapbook. Most of the illustrations are tipped-in, along with one that is stapled in and one that is held in place by corners. They include: reproductions of snapshots of the artist with friends; color reproductions of many of his paintings; reproductions of documents like an exhibition proposal and a hand-written letter; and advertisements for bedroom slippers. With an essay by David Sylvester, bilingual in Dutch and French. Near fine condition. $125
181. MANDEL, Mike. Myself: Timed Exposures, Los Angeles: Mike Mandel, 1971. Softcover, 5 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 36 pages, 34 halftone illustrations.
As the title suggests, self-portraits of Mandel, made by placing his 35mm camera on a tripod and setting the self-timer. He frequently includes others he encountered, such as a line of policemen (as seen on the cover), made when he would “steal from the house out into the insane world of everyday people, in hope of recording a bit of real fantasy.” Near fine condition. $75
182. MANDEL, Mike. Seven Never Before Published Portraits of Edward Weston, Los Angeles: Mike Mandel, 1974. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 5 ½ inches, 20 pages, 7 halftone illustrations (some in color).
The seven photographs are not by the famous Edward Weston, but, rather, portraits of other men with the same name. Each filled out a questionnaire that gave their date of birth, occupation, hobbies, signature, and other information. An entertaining artist’s book. Covers lightly rubbed and bent. $150
183. MANDEL, Mike, and Larry Sultan. How to Read Music in One Evening, Santa Cruz: Clatworthy Colorvues, 1974. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 11 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
A selection of images apparently found in magazines, often grouped in sets of two or three to a page. Among them is a woman wearing a knitted nose cap paired with gloved hands holding burning charcoal. You explain it to me. Near fine condition. $250
184. MANDEL, Mike. The Baseball-Photographer Trading Cards, Los Angeles: Mike Mandel, 1975. Box (with label), complete with 36 unopened packs of ten cards each (3 ½ x 2 ½ inches) and gum. Signed.
Undoubtedly Mandel’s most wide-ranging and uproarious project, these cards lampoon the newfound fame of artistic photographers during the 1970s. Each features a casual portrait of the shooter (or occasional curator), with “statistics” on the back, such as height, weight, favorite photographer, and favorite camera. Mandel photographed a total of 134 individuals, including himself. It is unknown how many boxes he issued, but this one is signed and dated 1992 (the year I bought it directly from Mandel). There was only one printing of the cards. Near fine condition. $5,000
185. MARDEN, Brice. Suicide Notes, Lausanne, Switzerland: Editions des Massons, 1974. Softcover, 11 ½ x 7 ¾ inches, unpaginated, 70 line illustrations.
This book comprises high-contrast line drawings, abstract and contained in small rectangles on each page. The cover suggests that this is a autobiographical work, as it presents the artist’s name, address, and phone number, hand written, along with the question “I don’t know what my suicide means!?” Marden (born 1938) is a minimalist artist, working in various media, including monochrome paintings during the 1960s and seventies. Spine browned and tear to top of spine. $75
186. MARTON, Michael. Dark Light, New York: Lustrum Press, 1973. Softcover, 12 x 9 inches, 52 pages, 48 screen-gravure illustrations.
A grouping of personal images of figures and objects, very much in the style of Ralph Gibson, the publisher of the book. They are somewhat soft and formalist, and do not suggest an obvious narrative. The only text reads, “It needed in the first instance a bright light to expose and a dark light to expose.” Near fine condition. $50
187. MEROM, Peter, and Haim Guri. The Root, Israel: Davar, 1963. Hardcover (gray-stamped cream cloth), 11 ¼ x 9 inches, unpaginated, 24 screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket.
This is a collaboration between photographer Merom and poet Guri, Israelis who produced at least one other book together. Here a personified gnarled root wanders over a barren landscape and goes airborne after seeing a bird fly overhead. It is a rather haunting tale, presented with rich gravure images. Text in Hebrew. Light edgewear to bottom of cloth and dustjacket. $50
188. MERTIN, Roger. Plastic Love Dream, Davis: University of California, Memorial Union Art Gallery, 1969. Box (plastic with adhesive label), 4 x 4 ½ x 1 ¼ inches, 7 inserts. Signed.
This is an unusual exhibition “catalog” created by curator Fred R. Parker, who was partial to such productions (see two entries under his name). “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
189. MICHALS, Duane. Sequences, Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 8 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
A compendium of fifteen of Michals’ accomplished sequences. Among them are “The Human Condition,” “The Spirit Leaves the Body,” “The Fallen Angel,” “The Young Girl’s Dream,” and “Paradise Regained,” which shows a room being filled with plants as the man and woman shed their clothes (presented on the book’s cover). Tiny edgewear. $125
190. MICHELS, Duane. The Journey of the Spirit after Death, New York: Winter House, 1971. Softcover, 8 ½ x 8 ½ inches, unpaginated, 27 halftone illustrations. Signed.
This sequence presents a man dying in a fall and various phases of his spirit’s subsequent journey. It is consumed by a white light, visits living humans, and, finally, reappears as a baby in a crib. This copy signed by Michals. Edgewear and creases to back cover. $100
191. MICHELS, Duane. Things Are Queer, Cologne, Germany: Fotogalerie Wilde, 1972. Softcover, 8 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 24 pages, 9 halftone illustrations. Signed.
One of Micaels’ most well-known sequences, which plays on scale and perception. What appears to be real bathroom fixtures, turn out to be miniatures, then an image in a book, then a framed picture, which turns out to be in the original bathroom, taking the viewer full circle. This copy signed by Michals. Near fine condition. $75
192. MICHALS, Duane. Chance Meeting, Cologne, Germany: Fotogalerie Wilde, 1973. Softcover, 8 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 16 pages, 6 halftone illustrations. Signed.
In this six-part sequence two men walk by each other in an alley. They both seem to recognize the other man only after passing, and, at different times, turn around for a second look. This copy signed by Michals. Near fine condition. $75
193. MICHALS, Duane. Real Dreams: Photo Stories by Duane Michals, Danbury, New Hampshire: Addison House, 1976. Hardcover (blue-stamped tan cloth),
11 ¾ x 7 ¾ inches, 148 pages, halftone illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
Perhaps the photographer’s most important book, unusual in hard and in such good condition. This copy signed by Michals. Near fine condition, with one short tear to dustjacket. $350
194. MICHALS, Duane. Homage to Cavafy, New York: Addison House, 1978. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 6 inches, 48 pages, 11 halftone illustrations, glassine dustjacket. Signed.
This homage comprises ten short poems by the Greek writer Constantive Cavafy, who was working in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, paired with images by Michals. The photographer introduces the book by stating that Cavafy “was a man of great feeling and even greater courage. His poetry was his life. And because he was a man who loved other men, he demonstrated his courage by making public these private passions.” The photographs generally show pairs of men in domestic rooms, and end with a self-portrait with his camera and a younger man. This copy signed by Michals. Near fine condition in darkened dustjacket (as is normal). $125
195. MICHALS, Duane. A Visit with Magritte, Providence, Rhode Island: Matrix, 1981. Softcover, 8 x 8 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color), dustjacket.
A series of photographs that Michals when he visited the painter René Magritte in Brussels in 1965. They show the artist, sometimes in his signature bowler hat, and objects and paintings in his house. Tiny wear to dustjacket. $50
196. MICHALS, Duane. Sleep and Dream, New York: Lustrum Press, 1984. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 6 inches, 64 pages, halftone illustrations. Signed.
Comprises various poems and photographs by Michals that deal with sleeping and dreaming, as the title suggests. His staged images usually depict figures and are sometimes double exposures. Among the specific poems are “Awakeland,” “Earth Dreams,” and “The Sandman.” This copy inscribed by Michals. Light edgewear. $50
197. MICHALS, Duane.
Upside Down, Inside Out and Backwards: Fairy Tunes for Children, New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1989. Softcover, 6 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 18 pages, halftone illustrations. Light creases along spine.
Poetry and Tales, New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1991. Softcover, 6 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 18 pages, halftone illustrations. Light creases along spine.
Paris Stories and Other Follies, New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1992. Softcover, 6 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 18 pages, halftone illustrations. Light creases along spine.
Set of three: $75
198. MICHALS, Duane. Upside Down, Inside Out and Backwards, Sonny Boy Book, 1993. Softcover, 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, 80 pages, halftone illustrations, glassine dustjacket.
This is a mashup of stories and poems, handwritten and typeset, and illustrations that are both hand-rendered and photographic. It is fanciful, goofy, and humorous; the title pages declares that the book might also be called, “Downside Up, Outside In and Frontwards.” Mint condition, in opened shrink wrap. $35
199. MOFFATT, Tracey. Laudanum, Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 1999. Hardcover (paper over boards), 7 ¾ x 10 inches, 80 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed.
A short series of pictures that suggest the use of opium (thus the title) and captivity in a domestic environment. Moffatt’s images, almost exclusively of women, are melodramatic, softly focused, and replete with Victorian-era interiors and clothing. The book, which was issued without a dustjacket, includes essays by Stephan Berg, Bridgette Reinhardt, and Alexander Tolnay, in German and English. Tracey Moffatt (born 1960) is an Australian artist who works primarily in photography and video. This copy inscribed, “Ms. Moffatt/New York/2002.” Near fine condition. $35
200. MOON, Sarah. Still, Minneapolis: Weinstein Gallery, 2000. Folded cardboard cover, 7 x 9 ¾ inches, unpaginated, 32 halftone illustrations, in original cardboard slipcase and black paper wrapper. Signed by Moon.
Moon’s moody images are primarily of dolls and figures, softly focused, closely cropped, and darkly printed. Includes her explanation of the title of the book and additional text by artist Ilona Suschitzky. Sarah Moon (born 1940) is a French fashion and commercial photographer. Produced without a dustjacket, in a numbered, signed edition of 200 copies. Fine condition. $275
201. MORINAGA, Jun. River, Its Shadow of Shadows, Tokyo: Yugensha, 1978. Hardcover (white-stamped brown cloth), 12 x 10 ¾ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
Apparently Morinaga’s only book, it is a tour-de-force of design. His images, made in the 1960s, are gritty impressions of polluted water, as if produced by a demonic Minor White. They are printed in high-contrast tones and often presented as gatefolds. Morinaga (born 1937) assisted W. Eugene Smith when the great photojournalist was in Japan working on his “Minamata” project, and Smith contributes some text to this book. Issued by the same concern that published two important Japanese books by Robert Frank. Fine condition, in original slipcase (printed paper over boards) and plain cardboard shipping container. $950
202. The 1993 Jerome Book Arts Exhibition, Minneapolis: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1993. Softcover, 7 ½ x 8 ½ inches, 12 pages, 4 halftone illustrations.
A catalog that accompanied a show of books by the four recipients of Jerome Foundation grants in 1993. They were Julie Baugnet, Ricardo Bloch, Joyce Lyon, and, jointly, Robert Silberman and Judith A. Martin. Includes an essay on the books by Nancy Princenthal and biographical information on the artists. Light damp wrinkling to one corner. $10
203. OHARA, Ken. One, Tucson, Arizona: Nazraeli Press, 2005. Hardcover (paper over boards), 7 ½ x 5 ¾ inches, 16 pages, 10 halftone illustrations and one original photograph. Signed by Ohara.
These images are a tiny representation of the more than five hundred that comprised Ohara’s innovative 1970 book of the same title. They show people’s faces tightly cropped to just outside of the eyes and mouth. This title is part of Nazraeli Press’ “One Picture Book” series, all issued without dustjackets. Ken Ohara (born 1942 in Japan), worked with New York fashion photographers Hiro and Richard Avedon, and remains known for his various bodies of portrait work. The book was printed in an edition of 500, and this one is numbered 489. The tipped-in original print is signed on the back by Ohara. Fine condition. $125
204. PARKER, Fred R. Attitudes: Photography in the 1970’s, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1979. Softcover (plastic spiral binding), 11 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, sheet of 20 color slides and pieces of original art. Signed.
This is an elaborate catalog for a large show at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art—something of a West Coast answer to John Szarkowski’s “Mirrors and Windows” book and exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, of the previous year. It is something of a group artist’s and curator’s book. Features a high-quality reproduction by Don Worth on heavy stock with a blindstamp facsimile of his signature and a color reproduction of a piece by Karen Truax that is signed and titled by her. The original items are a screen print by Keith A. Smith (signed), an offset lithograph by Todd Walker (signed), an offset lithograph by Alex Sweetman (signed and numbered), and a piece by Robert Heinecken. The latter is a unique page (different in each copy) extracted from a popular magazine over which Heinecken printed (on both sides) the grizzly image of a Vietnamese soldier holding two severed human heads. Printed in an edition of 1,000 copies, all of which are numbered and signed by Parker. The fragile covers are lightly bent around the edges. $650
205. PARKER, Fred R. Sequence Photography, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1980. Box, 10 x 10 x 2 ½ inches, with loose contents. Signed.
Another innovative “catalog” for a show organized by curator Parker. The exhibition was presented in four parts, and there are four corresponding inserts that line the inside of the box and show the layout of the gallery walls. Also included are an unbound (as issued) set of reproductions, a stapled catalog, signed by Parker and numbered 351/500, a news release and a set of 18 slides in a small box (by the likes of Barbara Crane, Suda House, and Eve Sonneman). Unique to this copy is a typed 1980 letter from Parker, mentioning family matters and this show. Near fine condition. $350
206. PARR, Martin. From Our House to Your House, Stockport, England: Dewi Lewis, 2002. Hardcover (soft-padded printed paper), 7 x 7 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed.
Like other Parr publications, this one exhibits his sense of humor. It comprises actual-size reproductions of family holiday greetings cards of photographs of families, adults and children, or sometimes just the little ones. Occasional inscriptions appear, usually the names of those pictured. Most seem to date from the latter half of the twentieth century. Pure camp. This copy signed by Parr on the title page. Near fine condition. $35
207. 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.
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 both 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 curious, little object of erotica. Light folding to a few corners. $150
208. PHIBBS, Harry C. Hodge Podge, Chicago: Harry C. Phibbs, 1952. Hardcover (maroon cloth and paper over boards with mounted label), 12 ¼ x
9 ¼ inches, 32 pages, 28 halftone illustrations.
Issued without a dustjacket, this is one of the last volumes of the same title that Phibbs self-published almost yearly beginning in about 1939. It comprises a selection of his salon images, mostly figure studies and landscapes. Reproduced one to a page, Phibbs writes about each of them. Harry C. Phibbs (1885 – ?) was a member of the Chicago Camera Club and exhibited in pictorial salons during the 1920s and thirties. Light wear, one corner bumped, small stains on back, label chipped. $25
209. PHOTO MEDIA: Elements and Technics of Photography Experienced as an Artistic Medium, New York: Museum of Contemporary Crafts, 1971. Box, 5 x 7 ¾ x 1 inches, with loose items.
This is the innovative “catalog” for an early show trumpeting alternative photographic processes, organized by Ray Pierotti, the museum’s assistant director. It includes a checklist of 66 objects, a collapsible paper slide viewer, an envelope with three sheets of photographic paper, a folded sheet titled “Photo Media Camera Kit,” and a color film strip with images by Linda Connor, Kenneth Josephson, Barbara Kasten, and five others. There are three pieces of original art: a cyanotype by Al Lunt, a gum-bichromate print by Judith Steinhauser (signed and dated), and a wood block with an image affixed by photo emulsion by Oscar Bailey (with his stamp and thumb print). The cardboard box has a mailing label, metered postage sticker, and light edgewear. $375
210. PICHLER, Michalis. Twentysix Gasoline Stations, New York: Printed Matter, 2009. Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, 17 color halftone illustrations, dustjacket.
An obvious homage to Ed Ruscha’s artist’s book of the same title. Curiously, this one features only 16 stations, with Pichler indicating that he discarded “eccentric” ones. He presents Total brand gas stations exclusively, all of them in Germany, and most looking nearly identical. Near fine condition. $35
211. PLANTUREUX, Serge. Niépce, Daguerre or Talbot?: The Quest of Joseph Hamel to Find the Real Inventor of Photography, Venti, Italy: Accademia dei Venti, 2004. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 5 ¾ x 5 ¼ inches, 48 pages, 21 halftone illustrations.
This is the story of the quest of a Russian spy to figure out who was the first person to actually make photographic images, utilizing a collection of fragile documents in St. Petersburg. Fact or fiction? Near fine condition. $25
212. RESNICK, Marcia. Landscape, Marcia Resnick, 1975. Softcover, 8 ¼ x 11 inches, 64 pages, 30 halftone illustrations (some in color).
A self-published artist’s book, whose only text quotes Michel Tournier: “If beautiful landscapes could be eaten they would be photographed much less.” Most of the intentionally bland, Ruscha-like, images picture an expanse of sky over a thin strip of horizon. Occasionally, however, other subject matter fills in, though the images remain formally the same. Near fine condition. $75
213. RESNICK, Marcia. Re-Visions, Toronto: Coach House Press, 1978. Softcover, 8 ½ x 11 inches, 104 pages, halftone illustrations.
Another Resnick artist’s book, this one concerning adolescent girl culture. The staged images generally depict faceless female figures with props such as food, toys, clothing, and books. Each is accompanied by a sentence or two of text addressing the subject’s dilemma, like “She secretly lusted for her television idols.” Tiny chipping to covers. $125
214. RUSCHA, Ed. Edward Ruscha (Ed-werd Rew-shay) Young Artist, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1972. Hardcover (printed paper over boards), 4 ½ x 3 ¾ inches, 436 pages, halftone illustrations. Business card of the curator (signed) and artist laid in; book signed by Ruscha.
This little publication, issued without a dustjacket, accompanied an exhibition at the museum of Ruscha’s prints, drawings, and books, his first major retrospective. Co-designed by museum curator Edward A. Foster and Ruscha, it mimics the format of the Big Little children’s books of the mid-twentieth century. Like them, it consists entirely of newsprint pages and has a thick spine. It reproduces images of the artist, works of art, lists of words chosen by Ruscha, and a checklist. About 150 of its pages are intentionally blank. Printed in an edition of 2,000 copies. Unknown to most, the business cards of both Foster and Ruscha must be present for this item to be complete, as here. This copy signed by Ruscha, with Foster’s card signed. Free endpapers are beginning to separate (as usual), cover lightly rubbed. $750
215. RUSCHA, Ed. Various Small Fires and Milk, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1964 (second edition, 1970). Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, unpaginated, 16 halftone illustrations.
The fires include a candle, a cigarette, a gas stove burner, and others, all rendered in yellow duotone. However, the sole glass of milk, at the end, is seen in straight black and white. Near fine condition, in glassine that is chipped, browned, and missing a tiny piece on the spine. $500
216. RUSCHA, Ed. Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1966 (second printing). Softcover, 7 ¼ x 5 ¾ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations, original silver slipcase. Signed.
Ruscha’s most important artist’s book, presented accordion-style, with the cars, buildings, and intersections on both sides of the street facing each other, along the top and bottom of the pages. This copy signed by Ruscha. Spine slightly wrinkled, mild tape residue, and light wear to two inches along bottom of slipcase. $2,500
217. RUSCHA, Ed. Royal Road Test, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1967 (third edition, 1971). Softcover (spiral bound), 9 ½ x 6 ¼ inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
Collaborating with Mason Williams and Patrick Blackwell, Ruschas documents the results of tossing a Royal typewriter from a car traveling at 90 miles-per-hour. Most of the images are close-ups of mangled pieces of the machine along the side of a highway in Nevada. Perhaps they should perform an updated project with a laptop computer. Previous owner’s wet stamp (photographer Betty Hahn), tiny edgewear and scuffing to covers. $500
218. RUSCHA, Ed. Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass, Los Angeles: Edward Ruscha, 1968 (second edition, 1976). Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, unpaginated, 10 color halftones.
Contains Ruscha’s typically mundane snapshots of private swimming pools, presumably in Los Angeles, finished off by an image of a broken drinking glass that apparently had water in it, presented on a blue background. Near fine condition. $500
219. RUSCHA, Ed. Crackers, Hollywood: Heavy Industries, 1969. Softcover,
8 ¾ x 6 inches, unpaginated, screen-gravure illustrations, dustjacket. Signed.
A photo sequence based on the short story “How to Deride the Maximum Enjoyment from Crackers” by Mason Williams, which is printed on the rear inside flap of the dustjacket. They show a man making a giant salad on a bed, convincing a nude woman to lay in it, dowsing her with salad dressing, and then leaving to eat saltine crackers in a different bed. Among the four characters in the images are the artist Larry Bell and the comedian Tommy Smothers. This copy signed by Ruscha. Near fine condition, with just a tiny wrinkle and very short tear to rear of fragile dustjacket. $1,500
220. RUSCHA, Ed. Real Estate Opportunities, 1970. Softcover, 7 x 5 ½ inches, 48 pages, 25 halftone illustrations. Signed.
Here we have Ruscha as real estate agent, turning his camera on empty urban and rural lots of property, each sporting a “For Sale” sign. They were all in the Los Angeles area and are identified by street address. This copy signed by Ruscha. Fine condition, in glassine with browned spine, one chip, and two tears. $1,500
221. SEYMOUR, Daniel. A Loud Song, New York: Lustrum Press, 1971. Softcover, 10 x 10 inches, 60 pages, halftone illustrations.
Danny Seymour’s poignant, personal visual poem of casual photographs and handwritten text. One of Lustrum’s first publications and an early example of the autobiographical photobook. Includes pictures of family members such as his mother, Isabella Gardner II (of the wealthy Boston family), and friends like Robert Frank and actress Jessica Lange. Seymour wrote in the introduction that he considered the book to be something of a “storyboard for a movie. It is an attempt to survive—to preserve my identity.” Unfortunately, the last picture shows the author getting ready to shoot heroin. Seymour (1945-1973) was in important photographer, filmmaker, and bookmaker, working in Minneapolis and New York during the 1960s and early seventies. His photographs epitomized the personal documentary style that enjoyed great currency at the time. Seymour’s subjects frequently were from his wide circle of fellow artists and in 1967 he ventured to the Monterey Pop Festival, where he photographed musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Ravi Shankar. That same year he had a one-person exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 1971 he released his film “Home is Where the Heart Is,” with Robert Frank serving as cameraman and Jessica Lange appearing on screen for the first time. Shortly thereafter Seymour collaborated with Frank on the film “Cocksucker Blues,” a behind-the-scenes look at a Rolling Stones’ tour, which was so raw that the band essentially suppressed it. Seymour had family money and generously funded other artists’ projects. Among them were Larry Clark’s startling book “Tulsa” and films by Danny Lyon. He was also close to Ralph Gibson, whose Lustrum press published the Clark book and Seymour’s “A Loud Song.” In 1973, Danny Seymour mysteriously disappeared from his sailboat while returning from Cartagena, Columbia, probably with a large stash of cocaine. His body was never found, but he left a rich legacy of work, perhaps most importantly “A Loud Song.” Printed in an edition of five thousand copies. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $275
222. SHERMAN, Cindy. The Kaleidoscope House: Art Collection #1, Philadelphia: Bozart Toys, 2000. Cardboard box, 8 x 14 ¼ x 4 ½ inches, with objects.
This unusual item comprises a set of accessories for the Kaleidoscope House, one of a series of children’s educational toys designed by artists. This collection comprises 1:12 scale reproductions of works by Mel Bochner, Carroll Dunham, Peter Halley, Mel Kendrick, Laurie Simmons, and Sherman. Sherman’s piece is her well-known “Untitled Film Still #54,” which shows her in an overcoat, walking at night, housed in a plastic frame that measures 1½ x 2 inches. The box is complete and unopened, in fine condition. $50
223. SIMMONS, Laurie. Water Ballet/Family Collision, Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1987. Hardcover (stiff boards), 6 x 9 ¼ inches, 10 pages, 10 halftone illustrations (some in color).
This is an inventive artist’s book, issued without a dustjacket. The covers are made from an aqua-colored reflective material that shimmers like water. Inside, reproduced on very heavy board-pages are color images of nudes under water juxtaposed with black-and-white pictures of dolls also under water. Fine condition. $100
224. SIMMONS, Laurie. The Kaleidoscope House: Art Collection #1, Philadelphia: Bozart Toys, 2000. Cardboard box, 8 x 14 ¼ x 4 ½ inches, with objects.
This unusual item comprises a set of accessories for the Kaleidoscope House, from a series of children’s educational toys designed by artists. This collection comprises 1:12 scale reproductions of works by Mel Bochner, Carroll Dunham, Peter Halley, Mel Kendrick, Cindy Sherman, and Simmons. Simmons’ piece is a soft-focus image of a female doll, housed in a plastic frame that measures 2 ½ x 3 ¼ inches. The box is complete and unopened, in fine condition. $50
225. SMITH, Keith A. When I Was Small, Rochester, Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1980 (second printing). Softcover, 7 ¾ x 12 inches, 52 pages, halftone and line illustrations.
Smith’s text begins, “Phantasy is making mental pictures employing one’s imagination; to visualize.” The images are primarily figures in interiors, often collaged and printed in reverse tones. Smith (born 1938) taught at the Visual Studies Workshop for most of his career and produced nearly three hundred books. Light edgewear and smudging to front cover. $35
226. SOMMER, Frederick. All Children are Ambassadors/Alle Kinder sind Botschafter, Tucson: Nazraeli Press, 1992. Softcover, 5 ½ x 7 inches, 30 halftone illustrations (some in color), slipcase.
Contains a group of untitled and undated images, including collages, drawings, and photographs. They are interspersed with text, in German and English, in two sections, bound back-to-back. In the original printed and embossed cream slipcase. Fine condition. $75
227. SOMMER, Frederick. The Box, Tucson, Arizona: Nazraeli Press, 1994. Plexiglass box, 4 ½ x 4 ½ x 1 ½ inches, 63 loose sheets, 50 screen-gravure illustrations (some in color).
Comprises a selection of Sommer’s work, both photographs and collages, ranging from the 1930s to nineties. While the collages usually utilize anatomical imagery, the photographs depict figures, landscapes, and still lifes. Issued in a numbered edition of 1,000 copies (this one is #15). Fine condition. $125
228. SONNEMAN, Eve. Real Time: 1968-1974, New York: Printed Matter, 1976. Softcover, 8 x 15 inches, 96 pages, 46 halftone illustrations. Signed.
This elongated-format artist’s book was Sonneman’s first publication, and features the work for which she is best known. Each reproduction is a pair of images shot a few seconds apart, sometimes from a slightly different camera position and always addressing time and change in the real world. Her human subjects perform everyday activities such as talking, walking, and smoking. This copy warmly inscribed and dated 1980. Near fine condition. $250
229. SOTH, Alec, and Brad Zellar. House of Coates, St. Paul, Minnesota: Little Brown Mushroom, 2012. Softcover (spiral bound), 8 ¾ x 6 ¾ inches, unpaginated, color halftone illustrations. Signed, with ephemera.
Though the title page claims the photographs are by a Lester B. Morrison, they are, in fact, by Alec Soth. He took these Eggleston-like, banal color images inside and in the vicinity of the House of Coates, a suburban Twin-Cities bar, restaurant, and motel. Minnesota writer Brad Zellar provides a fictional account of Lester’s activities. “You know Lester as a man and a boy you refused to see or acknowledge. There are, from the time of childhood, Lesters all around you and, try as they might, they never entirely disappear as adults, even if you still persist in not seeing them.” First edition of one thousand copies, this one signed by both Zellar and Soth. Laid in is a press release for a book signing at a St. Paul resident hotel, along with a registration card additionally signed by the two. Near fine condition. $100
230. SOTH, Alec. Geoff Dyer and Pico Iyer, Ping Pong, St. Paul, Minnesota: Little Brown Mushroom, 2013. Hardcover (white cloth spine and printed paper over boards), 8 x 6 ½ inches, 46 pages, halftone illustrations (some in color). Signed, with ephemera.
An ode to table tennis by Minnesota photographer Alec Soth, who plays almost every day in his studio. The pictures are snapshots and postcards collected by Soth of everyday kids and adults playing the contained sport. Accompanying them is a running conversation between one Geoff Dyer and Pico Iyer, undoubtedly fictional ping-pong aficionados. This copy of the book signed by Soth. Added is the September 22, 2013, issue of The New York Times Magazine, which includes a three-page article on the book. Near fine condition. $75
231. STIMSON, Abbie Ann. Unique book of original photographs, c. 1950s. Spiral binding with clear hard plastic covers, 11 x 9 inches, 12 pages, 10 gelatin silver prints. Signed.
This seemingly one-of-a-kind item praises Stimson’s teacher Ed Kaminski, whom she studied under at Pasadena’s Art Center. It pictures a young man, with his camera, in class with Kaminski, and photographing, along with a full-page negative-image photogram. The full text, which is presented one sentence per page and photographically printed in the images reads: “You take the average photographer. He’s loaded with gadgets. Then you put him in Kaminski’s class. Where he learns to think. Gradually he grows. He emerges with new eyes to create. Rather than imitate.” After attending the Art Center, Abbie Ann Stimson (1916-1988) married Stewart W. Purcell, who supervised the installation of microwave relay stations in California from the 1950s to 1970s. This copy is inscribed and signed by Stimson. A revealing piece on photographic instruction, Los Angeles culture, and visual thinking. Covers rubbed. $350
232. 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. $100
233. THOMAS, Kesa. Pages from a Child’s Documentary, San Francisco: NFS Press, 1980. Softcover, 6 x 8 ¼ inches, 54 pages, halftone illustrations.
Unusual, in that this is a children’s artist’s book, created by Kesa and her father, Lew Thomas, a photographer, installation artist, and visual arts curator. It features an introduction by Lew and drawings and words by Kesa, combined with photographs, presumably by Lew, of the nine-year old girl playing with a dog, toys, leaves, and other things. Edition of 1,000 copies. Little rubbing to covers. $25
234. TILLMAN, Ulrich, and Wolfgang Vollmer. Meisterwerke der Fotokunst, Colgne, Germany: Weinend Verlag, 1985. Hardcover (gold-stamped red cloth with mounted reproduction), 8 ½ x 5 ¾ inches, 104 pages, halftone illustrations (a few in color), slipcase. Signed.
This is a sendup on collecting fine-art photographs, in which Tillman and Vollmer allegedly find unknown predecessors to iconic images. Among those spoofed are Edward Weston’s “Pepper No. 30,” Ansel Adams’ “Moonrise over Hernandez,” and images by Cameron, Frith, Sander, Outerbridge, Kertesz, Man Ray, Penn, Warhol, Mapplethorpe, and others. Includes text by the “collectors,” Friedrich Heubach, and L. Fritz Gruber, who writes on “Outranked Masterpieces”. Glassine envelope pasted in with a silver of wood, described as an “original fragment of Klaus Peter Schnuettger-Webs’ plate camera, which he threw out of the studio window at the Bauhaus in Dessau following an argument with Herbert Bayer in 1925.” The numbered edition of 1,000 is signed by the two authors. Fabulously funny for those who know the history of photography. Bilingual text in German and English. Near fine condition, except for two scuffs to back of slipcase. $750
235. WALKER, Todd. A Portfolio of Eighteen Reproductions of Photographs by Todd Walker, Thumbprint Press, 1968. Paper folio (printed label pasted on), 10 x 8 inches, 23 sheets, 18 halftone illustrations.
This is an early imprint of Walker’s own Thumbprint press, comprising soft, close-up images of flowers. He was inspired by poems of the sixteenth-century poet John Donne, five of whose pieces are included on their own individual sheets. Printed in an edition of 500 copies, this is number 304. Near fine plates in cover that is lightly wrinkled and with a few tears. $125
236. WALKER, Todd. Todd Walker, Newport: Northern Kentucky University, 1978. Folio, 13 x 10 inches, 12 sheets, 10 color halftone illustrations.
The ten loose plates were printed at the university’s print shop with plates made from negatives the artist provided while an artist-in-residence. The nudes inhabit primarily interior spaces and are turned into vibrantly-colored semi abstractions, due to Walker’s manipulations. Includes a sheet with texts by art professor Kevin Booher and the photographer, who states, “For me, the image from the camera needs to be transformed into a picture. I am trying to make pictures, to re-present something in visible and/or symbolic form.” This is number 512 from an edition of 600 copies. Minor folds and spots to covers. $125
237. WEBER, Bruce. Sam Shepard, New York: Little Bear Press, 1990. Hardcover (black-stamped red cloth with pasted-on reproduction), 11 x 9 inches, 32 pages, 23 screen-gravure illustrations.
Issued without a dustjacket, this thin volume pictures actor/playwright Shepard posted mostly outdoors. Appearances by Shepard’s convertible and dog and his partner, Jessica Lange. Commentary by the photographer. Mint condition, in shrink wrap. $250
238. WEGMAN, William. $19.84, Buffalo: C.E.P.A., 1984. Softcover, 9 x 7 ½ inches, 24 pages, 23 halftone illustrations (most in color).
An artist’s book, in which Wegman declares that early on in his career, “I had no choice but to engage and exploit women photographically. Although I am physically well and financially secure I feel guilty.” Comprises color Polaroid images, largely of women and girls posed in his studio, interspersed with black-and-white watercolors of male figures. Light rubbing and faint creases along spine. $150
239. WELLING, James. Gelatin Photographs 1-12, Buffalo: CEPA, 1985. Softcover, 7 ¾ x 10 inches, 12 pages, 12 halftone illustrations.
Comprises twelve images of black, rock-like formations, in high contrast and bleeding off the page. The only text appears on a slipped-in sheet of paper, giving the essentials and indicating the edition was of 400 copies. Light rubbing to the covers. $175
Catalog 9 — November 2014