overlapping theories on art, design, & concrete poetry
TRANSCRIPT
catalog no. one
overlapping theories on art, design, & concrete poetry.
no. one
catalog no. one
3
hello.Welcome to catalog no. one — our first, featuring a sampling of material in the overlapping fields of art, design, & concrete poetry.
We’re excited beyond belief to be able to launch the catalog jointly with our colleagues Adam and Kate Davis at Division Leap.
Please visit our website at theideaofthebook.com for more information about these items, or email us at [email protected] with questions.
Sincerely,
Fredrik Averin Proprietor
catalog no. one
4
1. Lawrence Weiner, Dieter Schwartz 2. Adrian Frutiger, Bruno Pfäffli
3. Hansjörg Mayer, ed. 4. Warja Honegger-Lavater
catalog no. one
5
1. A suite of four items relating to ‘Lawrence Weiner, Books 1968 — 1989: Catalog Raisonné’
Lawrence Weiner, Dieter Schwartz
Köln: Walther König, 1989. Large 4to hardcover with a blue linen spine and paper-covered red boards with black lettering inside an offset printed dust jacket. 206 pp. To which is added a die cut and folded poster 59.5 x 84 cm (23.4 x 33") in size printed in three colors on glossy stock on recto, a die cut 14.8 x 10.5 cm (5.9 x 4.125") announcement card offset printed in color on card stock on recto, and a 14.2 x 10.5 cm (5.6 x 4.125") invitation card offset printed on recto. Text in German, English, and French.
A suite of four items relating to Weiner’s catalog raisonné surveying his artists’ books and catalogs created 1968 — 1989. Weiner’s writings, philosophies, and ideas are eloquently expressed through typography often relying on upper case Franklin Gothic and similar bold fonts. This is designed art in the highest regard. The dust jacket, poster, and announcement card feature the phrases “Books do furnish a room” and “Learn to read art”– both powerful reminders of the importance of books and art, and the role they play in our lives.
Dust jacket with trace amounts of rubbing to spine in three places, including a 14 cm (5.5") surface scratch on back. A near fine example of the book with a touch of soiling to top edge of text block and light bumps to lower tips. Very good example of the poster which is folded three times (likely as issued) showing trace amounts of toning and rubbing along fold lines. A fine example of the announcement card fine. Invitation very good with a relief along the top edge from at one point being paper clipped to something else.
$1,250.00
2. Genesis: Im Anfang / Au commencement / In the beginning
Adrian Frutiger, Bruno Pfäffli
Zürich: Castella, Albevue, and Flamberg, 1969. Edition of 400. Square 4to softcover in printed wraps with French fold binding printed in color and black and white, with several two and four-page gatefolds printed in red and blue. Unpaginated. Book housed in glassine wrappers (as issued) and housed inside original white cardboard slipcase alongside an announcement flyer. Text in German, French, English, and Hebrew.
A modern visual interpretation of the first book of the bible where Frutiger weaves his way through color, form, and typography in four languages with an impeccable rhythm. This book features some of Frutiger’s more remarkable abstract illustrations juxtaposed with
Univers typography set by Pfäffli. An iconic example of Swiss design.
Wear to glassine wrappers at crown and heel of spine and some age toning, else fine. Very good slipcase with a two-inch tear at top and a small tide mark on back.
$250.00
3. Sammelband Futura 1 Bis 13, Sammelband Futura 14 Bis 26
Hansjörg Mayer, ed.
Stuttgart: Edition Hansjörg Mayer, 1968. Two 16 x 24 cm (6.3 x 9.45") card stock sleeves letterpressed in black each containing thirteen folded letterpressed and offset printed broadsides measuring 16 x 24 cm folded, 64 x 48 cm unfolded (6.3 x 9.45” folded, 25.2 x 18.9" unfolded). Text in English, French, German, and Japanese.
A complete two-volume set of twenty-six broadsides (one for every letter of the alphabet) with each issue devoted to an individual concrete poet, artist, or writer. Edited and published 1965 – 1968 by Hansjörg Mayer, this iconic broadside series rooted in the lowercase font Futura, is a seminal publication as it relates to concrete and visual poetry, typography, printmaking, and conceptual art.
Vol. 1 — 1. Mathias Goeritz: Die goldene botschaft, 1965; 2. Klaus Burkhardt: Coldtypestructure, 1965; 3. Max Bense: Tallose Berge, 1965; 4. Reinhard Döhl: 4 Texte, 1965; 5. Louis Zukofsky: “a” — 9, 1966; 6. Bohumila Grögerova/Josef Hirsal: Job boj, 1966; 7. Ian Hamilton Finlay: 5 poems, 1966; 8. Claus Bremer: Engagierende texte, 1966; 9. Augusto de Campos: Luxo lixo, 1966; 10. Edward Lucie Smith: Cloud sun fountain statue, 1966; 11. Dieter Rot: Zum laut lesen, 1966; 12. Emmett Williams: Rotapoems, 1966; 13. Frieder Nake: Computergrafik, 1966
Vol. 2 — 14. Carlo Belloli: Sole solo, 1966; 15. Jonathan Williams: Polycotyledonous poems, 1967; 16. Hiro Kamimura: 5 vokaltexte, 1967; 17. Wolfgang Schmidt: Sl6köpfig, 1967; 18. Pierre Garnier: Six odes concretesa la picardie, 1967; 19. Bob Cobbing: Chamber Music, 1967; 20. Edwin Morgan: Emergent Poems, 1967; 21. Dick Higgins: January Fish, 1967; 22. Wolf Vostell: De coll age aktionstext, 1967; 23. Herman de Vries: Permutierbarer text, 1967; 24. Peter Schmidt: Programmed square 11, 1968; 25. Andre Thomkins: palindrome, 1968; 26. Robert Filliou: Galerie legitime, 1968
Both card stock sleeve portfolios show trace amounts of rubbing and minor surface creasing to margins with two minor closed 5 mm tears at the head and foot of Vol. 2. The twenty-six broadsides with light age toning and trace amounts of rubbing to back of issue no. 13, else fine.
$2,500.00
catalog no. one
6
5. Robert Lax, Emil Antonucci (design)
7. Ferdinand Kriwet
6. Henri Chopin, Serge Béguier, Antonio Berni, Gianni Bertini, et al.
8. António Aragão, E. M. de Melo e Castro, Herberto Helder, eds.
catalog no. one
7
4. Folded Story 13: Homo Sapiens? Warja Honegger-Lavater
Basel/Stuttgart: Verlag von der Basilius Presse, 1965. Leporello bound 16mo printed on card stock pasted into two laminated orange covers, one at each each end and measures 215 cm (84") when unfolded. Panels feature a lithograph illustration printed on recto side only in black, blue, yellow, red, purple, green, brown, and blue. Text in French and German.
A visually complex and powerful artists’ book by Honegger-Lavater where she explores the evolution of mankind in the vernacular of a map complete with a hidden legend on the inside left flap. The book can be read by turning the pages, or as a single long horizontal panel. Much like in her other work, Honegger-Lavater uses icons and symbols to replace language, thus completely altering the reading process. Through a carefully organized layout and organic illustrations, and much like on a map, the reader deciphers the narrative by referencing the legend. A remarkably rich and rewarding experience.
Honegger-Lavater was originally trained as a graphic designer – a skill that clearly comes across in her artwork. Along with Ed Ruscha and Dieter Rot, she’s one of the earliest artists’ bookmakers. Furthermore, she’s one of the earliest women artists’ bookmakers.
Overall age toning throughout with trace amounts of rubbing and scuffing to boards, else fine.
$250.00
5. A-ble Char-lie Bak-er Dance Robert Lax, Emil Antonucci (design)
East Markham, Nottinghamshire: Tarasque Press, 1971. Edition of 250. Saddle-stapled 8vo printed on heavy card stock. Unpaginated (12 pp.)
A stunning work of concrete poetry by Lax illustrated with abstract geometric artwork by Antonucci who also designed the book. An extremely intimate and collaborative artists’ book between these two unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
Very good with trace amounts of rubbing to covers including some light foxing, and rusted staples of which the bottom one has bleed through to the front cover.
$300.00
6. Festival de Fort Boyard, 1967 Henri Chopin, Serge Béguier, Antonio Berni,
Gianni Bertini, Julien Blaine, Nikos et Wolman, et al.
Torino: Edizione il punto, 1970. Edition of 1,000, of which this is no. 0756. Small 8vo in printed card
stock wrappers. Unpaginated (ca. 30 pp.) Text in French and Italian.
A small program containing concrete poetry and artwork for an imagined art festival that never actually took place. Organized by Chopin, Béguier, Berni, Bertini, Blaine, and et Wolman, with supposed contributions and performances by Brion Gysin, Dom Sylvester Houédard, and Gil Wolman, the festival’s intent was to poke fun at the arrogance and standards of the art world and push against materialism. In turn, the imagination of the festival itself ‘was’ the artwork, making the point that conception of ideas is the root of all art. A playful and beguiling book as it relates to art and concrete poetry.
Trace amounts of rubbing and foxing to covers including age toning and bumps to corners, else near fine.
$250.00
7. Stars, Lexikon in 3 Bänden: Band 1 / A — H, Band 2 / I — Q, Band 3 / R — Z (Complete)
Ferdinand Kriwet
Köln, Berlin: Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1971. First edition. Three softcover 8vos in letterpressed wraps, with silver foil stamping on front of covers. Unpaginated (ca. 128 pp., 144 pp., and 144 pp.)
A set of three artists’ books featuring a deluge of appropriated and manipulated images, a few of which include Dürer’s painting of Adam and Eve, Ave Maria sheet music, Batman, baseball, congress, James Dean, Garbo, street signs from Germany, the Eifel tower, the Onassis family, portraits of Jesus, Rolling Stones, Cadillacs, commercial airplanes, the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Marilyn Monroe, the bust of Nefertiti, Barbara Streisand winning her Oscar, bullets in various calibers, repeating images of tires, details of handguns, Frank Sinatra, Super Boy, watches, recording equipment, Andy Warhol, X-15 fighter planes, currency, zeppelins, cigarettes, and images of teeth.
Kriwet’s powerful visual narrative walks a delicate line between awareness, fascination, obsession, and critique of western media. Together the three books, organized from a — z, feel more like a movie questioning the direction of western culture. A complete volume that feels remarkably relevant today given how little has actually changed since 1971. Perhaps that was the intent.
The covers were designed by Hannes Jähn who worked for nearly fifty different publishers in Germany between the1950’s and 1980’s.
Light age toning and rubbing to covers and a reading crease on the spine of second volume, else fine.
$450.00
catalog no. one
8
8. Cadernos de hoje: Poesia Experimental No. 2 (Complete)
António Aragão, E. M. de Melo e Castro, Herberto Helder, eds., Jorge Peixinho, Álvaro Neto, Ana Hatherly, António Barahona da Fonseca, Edgard Braga, Emílio Villa, Haroldo de Campos, Henri Chopin, Ian Hamilton Finlay, José Alberto Marques, Luiza Neto Jorge, Mike Weaver, Mário Diácono, Pedro Xisto, Pierre Garnier, Salette Tavares
Lisboa: Edições do Autor, 1966. Narrow 4to cardboard folder silkscreened in orange, black, and silver containing thirteen sheets letter pressed in black and white and folded into thirds, a title card letter pressed in black on verso with a list of participating artists thermography printed in dark gray on recto, and a 16-page booklet offset printed in black and white with two gatefold spreads.
An early and remarkable gathering of concrete poetry featuring stunning works by several Brazilian, Portuguese, and British artists including de Augusto de Campos, Henri Chopin, and Pedro Xisto. Two of the more notable pieces are by the women artists Luiza Neto Jorge and Ana Hatherly. A complete second issue of this rare publication, of which there were only two published.
Light age toning to folded sheets and booklet including trace amounts of foxing to recto side of title card, else fine. Folder very good with bumps and chipping to margins.
$1,250.00
9. Abracadabra Nos. 1 — 5 (Complete) Marcello Angioni, Franco Beltrametti,
Harry Hoogstraten, eds.
Luxembourg: Abracadabra & Authors, 1977 — 1981. Softcover 8vos in saddle-stapled wraps, offset printed in black and white. Unpaginated. Text mostly in English, with some in French, Italian, and Dutch.
A complete run of this seminal Italian publication published in Luxembourg featuring a cross pollination of some of the best experimental poetry, concrete poetry, poetry, essays, collages, and art from Europe and the Americas.
A sampling of contributors in each issue include:
No. 1 — Philip Whalen, Joe Brainard, Anne Waldman, Julien Blaine, Michael Gibbs, Franco Beltrametti, Adriano Spatola, Harry Hoogstraten, et al.
No. 2 — Leo van der Zalm, Steve Lacy, Milli Graffi, Anne Waldman, Julien Blaine, Carl Weissner, Susanne Hahn, John Giorno, Markuz Raetz, Charles Plymell, et al.
No. 3 — Flavo Ermini, Steve McCaffery, Magnus Hedlund, Dick Higgins, Jochen Gerz, Ted Berrigan, Adriano Spatola, Susanne Hahn, et al.
No. 4 — Michael Andre, Marcello Angioni, John Cage, Franco Beltrametti, Mara Cini, Brion Gysin, Dick Higgins, Harry Hoogstraten, David Weiss, et al.
No. 5 — Diether Roth, Marcello Angioni, Adriano Spatola, Tom Raworth, bpNichols, Milli Graffi, Julien Blaine, Dick Higgins, Giuliano della Casa, The Tinklers, et al.ed.
All issues very good, with sunning to spine and top edge of cover and the usual overall age toning throughout on issue no. 1. Trace amounts of rubbing to cover, a bump to crown of spine, and light age toning to pages on issue no. 2. Trace amounts of rubbing to covers including ghosting (from another book) on back cover of issue no. 3. Bump to bottom right tip of issue no. 4. Trace amounts of rubbing to covers including a small stain on the front, age toning to pages, and rusted staples on issue no. 5.
$800.00
10. La poesia visiva e il presente-futuro / Visual poetry and the present — future
Eugenio Miccini, Michele Perfetti
Firenze / Belgrade: Edizioni di Techne “quaderno” 18, 1971. Stab-stapled square 8vo in printed wrappers with alternating light pink and yellow pages. Unpaginated (ca. 32 pp.) Text in alternating pages of Italian and English. With publisher’s original belly band.
Divided up into eight chapters, this essay published in 1971, provides an extensive academic philosophy on visual poetry as it relates to its origin, the development of language, the general arts, aesthetics, the avant-garde, and its historical context. With references to McLuhan’s ‘The Medium is the Massage’ and the philosophies of Burroughs, Miccini and Perfetti make a convincing case for the future of visual poetry as a means to affect society, art, and culture.
“ Visual poetry does not hide away in monasteries while war rages, nor does it pass into the enemy ranks; visual poetry is the hidden horse of Troy.”
Issued as a supplement to ‘Techne, nº 7/8, — Nov. 1970’.
Very good with wear and darkening to spine, including a small closed tear near top staple, trace amounts of foxing to front cover, and age toning throughout. Belly band is torn at one end, but still attached at opposing end, thus good only.
$300.00
catalog no. one
9
9. Marcello Angioni, Franco Beltrametti, Harry Hoogstraten, eds. 10. Eugenio Miccini, Michele Perfetti
11. Eugen Gomringer, cur. 12. Robert Barry
catalog no. one
10
11. visuelle poesie: ideogramme, konstellationen, dialektgedichte, palindrome, typogramme, pictogramme
Eugen Gomringer, cur., Friedrich Achleitner, Claus Bremer, Klaus Burkhardt, Reinhard Döhl, Heinz Gappmayr, Helmut Hessenbüttel, Ernst Janda, Ferdinand Kriwet, Kurt Martin, Franz Mon, Hansjörg Mayer, Dieter Rot, Gerhard Rühm, Konrad Balder Shcäufflen, Daniel Spoerri, André Thomkins, Timm Ulrichs, Wolf Wezel, Oswald Wiener, with essays by F. T. Marinetti, Öyvind Fahlström, Max Bense, Eugen Gomringer, and Franz Mon
Hamburg: Haus Deutscher Ring, 1972. Small softcover 4to in black, orange, and silver printed wrappers. 18 pp. To which is added a twice folded A4-sized exhibition flyer printed in black, orange, and silver on recto, and black on verso, alongside a 21 x 10.5 cm (8.26 x 4.125") invitation card printed in black, orange, and silver on recto only. Text in German.
A beautiful exhibition catalog and two pieces of ephemera set in all lower case Helvetica designed by Gomringer himself. This exhibit featured some of the most active and influential concrete and visual poets of the 1960’s and 1970’s and specifically examined the various categories of concrete poetry as it relates to ideograms, constellations, dialect poems, palindromes, typograms, and pictograms. Complete with essays by Gomringer, Bense, and Mon including notes from Marinetti’s ‘Destruction of Syntax’ from 1913, and Fahlström’s ‘Manifesto for Concrete Poetry’ from 1953 for added historical context.
A very good example of the catalog with light age toning, two small surface scratches to front cover, light chipping to spine, and bumps to corners. Exhibition flyer and invitation card also very good with light age toning, handling creases, and bumps to corners.
$120.00
12. It is … it isn’t … Robert Barry
Paris: Yvon Lambert, 1972. 8vo in white softcover wraps printed in black and white. Unpaginated.
A conceptual artists’ book consisting of two halves, where the first half explores adjectives that may be, and the second adjectives that may not be. The minimalistic layout, typeset in Helvetica, features a single adjective followed by a comma centered in the middle of the page creating a delicate rhythm that carries the reader from beginning to end.
Very reminiscent of Bernardo Salcedo ‘what is it ? qué es ?’ published a year earlier in 1971.
Light yellowing to covers, else fine.
$250.00
13. publikaties van de en werk van / publikationen der und arbeiten von / publications by and works by edition hansjörg mayer
Hansjörg Mayer
(Stuttgart): Edition Hansjörg Mayer, 1968. Small 4to in printed softcover wraps with French fold signatures printed in black and white with four chapter dividers printed in color. 194 pp. Text in Dutch, German, and English.
Published on the occasion of a 1968 exhibition at the Haags Gemeentemuseum in the Netherlands, this catalog features some of the most iconic and recognizable concrete poetry of the 1960’s. Organized into four sections, the first chapter features an introductory essay on the history and Mayer’s personal philosophy on concrete poetry written by Hans Locher and Kees Broos. The second chapter features details of publications by Edition Hansjörg Mayer including the Futura broadside series and Emmett Williams’s Sweethearts. The third features individual contributions from Haroldo de Campos, Emmett Williams, George Brecht, Robert Filliou, Franz Mon, Herman de Vries, Diter Rot, and Reinhard Döhl to name a few. And appropriately, the fourth and last chapter features Mayer’s own artwork dating back to 1961. An extremely comprehensive and thoughtfully produced catalog which feels more like an artists’ book.
A very good example with age toning throughout, darkening to text block, and the usual light curling to front and back cover including trace amounts of soiling.
$200.00
14. Twenty-eight pieces of mail art, appropriated ephemera, and documents
Peter van Beveren, Woody van Amen, Endre Tót
Np: ca. 1973 — 1976. Twenty offset printed and appropriated postcards in various sizes, to which is added one index card with an affixed 35 mm slide, one piece of orange fabric inside an envelope, six A4 sheets including one smaller sheet folded twice for mailing, and one appropriated and folded alcohol circular with a printed address label, all housed inside three brown paper envelopes. Two items signed by van Beveren and van Amen respectively and two examples are numbered. Text in English, Dutch, and French.
A collection of printed, rubber-stamped, and handwritten mail art from one of the more prolific European mail artists dealing with concepts and ideas around the purpose and influence of art, happenings, and related constructs.
catalog no. one
11
13. Hansjörg Mayer 14. Peter van Beveren, Woody van Amen, Endre Tót
15. Jochn Gerz 16. Jochn Gerz
catalog no. one
12
17. Hans Clavin (signed) 18. Andy Warhol
19. Gianni Bertini 20. Piero Heliczer
catalog no. one
13
At times serious and other times absurd, the strength of van Beveren’s work is how much he accomplishes using so little. Each piece conceptually stands on its own, and together they create a larger narrative regarding the place of mail art in the 1970’s. Also included, but not counted against the twenty-eight pieces, are two Dutch newspaper clippings about the artists.
Most examples have been mailed and therefore show usual wear but remain in very good condition with age toning to a few of the documents, bumps to corners including strong fold marks to one of the postcards, and tide marks to three of the postcards and sheets.
$250.00
15. Play-Texts 1 Jochen Gerz
Paris: Agentzia, 1968. Sealed 21.5 x 27 cm (8.5 x10.6") vinyl sleeve printed in one color containing loose black vinyl letters. Text in German.
A concrete poetry multiple in the form of a sealed vinyl bag containing small moveable black letters and a printed poem that explores the vastness of the barren desert.
Some toning to plastic, else fine.
$100.00
16. Play-Texts 2Jochen Gerz, Nannucci Maurizio
Paris: Agentzia, 1968. Sealed 21.5 x 22.2 cm (8.5 x 8.75") vinyl sleeve containing die cut paper disc printed in one color and loose black vinyl letters.
A concrete poetry multiple in the form of a sealed vinyl bag containing small moveable black letters that explores the fluidity of time. A handsome and poetic collaboration between these two artists.
Some toning to plastic, else fine.
$100.00
17. L’Angerie. Visuële Poëzie. (signed) Hans Clavin
Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 1973. Softcover 8vo in printed green wraps with glassine endpapers. Inside pages offset printed in red, brown, green, and yellow with tipped in strings of yarn on one page, and a double-edged razor blade sealed in wax paper on another. Unpaginated. Text in Dutch. Inscribed and signed by the artist.
A profusely illustrated artists’ book in which Clavin playfully alters between collage, typography, illustration, and photography to create some of the most memorable
concrete poetry of its time. The added variation in the use of color makes each spread feel unique, yet it all holds together as a singular story. It’s clear that this book is as much about the connection between art, typography, and design, as it is about a man, woman, and relationships.
Very good with a slightly cocked spine, darkening around edges, and a few bumps to the corners.
$150.00
18. Andy Warhol Andy Warhol, Kasper König, Pontus Hultén,
Olle Granath, eds.
Stockholm: Moderna Museet, 1968. Softcover 4to in illustrated wrappers with pages offset printed on newsprint in black and white. Unpaginated (ca. 620 pp.) Text in English and Swedish.
A handsome and conceptual catalog often referred to as the ‘Stockholm Catalogue’ published on the occasion of Andy Warhol’s first European solo exhibition at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, February — March, 1968. It opens with several quotes by Warhol which is followed by hundreds of black and white photographs of artwork, the Factory, celebrities, New York, and collaborators. Contributing photographers include Rudolph Burckhardt, Eric Pollitzer, John D. Schiff, Billy Name, and some of the earliest work by Stephen Shore, who first met Andy when he was only seventeen.
One of the more distinguished exhibition catalogs that feels more like an artists’ book on account of its creative execution by the Swedish designer John Melin, who over the course of his career worked closely with Moderna Museet on several exhibitions and projects including their corporate identity.
Ref. Parr / Badger: ‘The Photobook: A History Volume II’, pp. 144 — 145 (open book 238 — 239).
Very good with trace amounts of rubbing to covers and edge wear around extremities including two minor tears at heel of spine, some folding to tips of first five pages of the text block, and the usual age toning throughout (on account of the newsprint). Near fine.
$500.00
19. Comunicazioni interdisciplinari. Gianni Bertini
Milano: Milano, Edizioni Castelli & Rosati, 1972. Edition of 1,200. Horizontal 4to in maroon wrappers printed in white with interior pages offset printed in green. Unpaginated. Text in Italian.
A photographic artists’ book documenting Bertini’s 1971 exhibition at Studio Santandrea in Milano. The show
catalog no. one
14
21. Lawrence Weiner 22. Hansjörg Mayer
23. Robert Filliou 24. Mirella Bentivoglio, et al.
catalog no. one
15
was organized as a mean to clarify his painting process and consisted of three projectors filling the gallery walls from floor to ceiling with images of advertisements, airplanes, car crashes, motorcycles, and women interspersed with large typographic texts which would sometimes extend onto the ceiling. A handsome documentation of Bertini, his process, and his passions.
Light sunning to spine which extends 4 cm (1.5") onto the front cover, with the slightly oversized covers wraps have folded inward toward the text block creating a few small nicks and closed tears, and trace amounts of age toning throughout, else fine.
$450.00
20. The Soap Opera Piero Heliczer
London: Trigram Press, 1967. Edition of 500. Wide hardcover 4to bound in purple cloth boards with blue cloth spine, and a silver foil stamped cover inside dust jacket printed in red and black on red paper. Pages printed in black, with light green, red, and yellow accents. 40 pp.
Heliczer’s poetry is here paired with handsome images by Paul Vaughan, Robert Harding Brown, Augusto Genina, Ferro, Wallace Berman, Jean-Jacques Lebel, Jack Smith, Andy Warhol, and Harold Chapman. An intriguing gathering of luminaries from the late 1960’s that only Heliczer could pull together. The book eloquently ends with a printed dedication and portrait of the artist reaching toward the camera. This is one of Trigram’s most beautiful books and has somewhat of a cinematic feel to it, which given Heliczer’s background makes absolute sense.
Very good dust jacket with sunning to spine and a half-inch closed tear at the top on the front, two small quarter-inch closed tears at the top of the back, and a small chip missing at the bottom of spine. Discoloration around margins of the endpapers of the book, else fine.
$250.00
21. Towards a Reasonable End / Auf ein vernünftiges Ende zu
Lawrence Weiner
Bremerhaven: Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst in cooperation with Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD, 1975. Edition of 700. Small softcover 8vo in affixed pink pictorial dust jacket (as issued). Unpaginated (ca. 70 pp.) Text in English with a German translation.
A dos-à-dos bound artists’ book in which Weiner’s text reads in English from one side and in German from opposing side. Translation by Jürgen Wesseler. Illustrated
with four black and white stills by Larry Williams and AZW (Alice Weiner).
Ref. Schwarz, Dieter: ‘Lawrence Weiner, Books 1968 — 1989: Catalog Raisonné’, pp. 37.
Very good with rubbing to covers, small amounts of chipping at top right corner of dust jacket, and sunning to spine and bottom edge of back cover.
$150.00
22. typoaktionen Hansjörg Mayer
Frankfurt: typosverlag, 1967. Edition of 500, of which this is no. 32. Horizontal leporello bound 8vo consisting of fourteen panels letter pressed in black. Signed by the artist. Text in German.
An artists’ book with groupings of small letterforms that build in layers from panel to panel, finally reaching a critical mass of black. An exploration in poetry using letterforms handsomely set in Futura, like most of Mayer’s work.
Very good with trace amounts of darkening and soiling including light foxing to outside covers and age toning throughout.
$220.00
23. Petite histoire un peu sainte Robert Filliou
Edition of 500. 6 x 6 cm (2.36 x 2.36") round book bound with a brass ring. Unpaginated (ca. 100 pp). Text in French.
An inventive small round book of poetry by Filliou which straddles the line between artists’ books and Fluxus. Published by Robert Morel.
Trace amounts of chipping to blue ink along extremities of front cover, else fine.
$150.00
24. Arti visive. Poesia visiva. / Visual Poetry by Women, an International Exhibition in Venice
Mirella Bentivoglio, Annalisa Alloatti, Irma Blank, Paul Claire, Lia Drei, Ulrike Eberle, Anna Esposito, Amelia Etlinger, Gisela Frankenberg, Ilse Garnier, Boumila Grogerova, Ana Hatherly, Annalies Klophaus, Liliana Landi, Giulia Niccolai, Anna Oberto, Anezia Pacheco e Chaves, Marguerite Pinney, Betty Radin, Giovanna Sandri, Mira Schendel, Mary Ellen Solt, Chima Sunada, Salette Tavares, Biljana Tomic, Patrizia Vicinelli
Roma: Studio d’Arte Contemporanea, 1976. 22 x 16 cm (8.7 x 6.3") folded card stock portfolio containing
catalog no. one
16
nineteen loose cards printed in black and white on recto and verso with blue ink to one card, alongside a smaller postcard, an introductory essay, a list of participating artists, and an English translation which is larger and folded in half (likely as issued). Text in Italian, some English.
A gathering of artists’ cards documenting visual and concrete poetry all created by women from Italy, England, Germany, United States, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Canada, and Japan. Organized by Bentivoglio, this multiyear exhibit which traveled form city to city throughout Italy starting in 1972, showcases some of the most prolific and important concrete poets such as Solt, Hatherly, Tavares, and also Bentivoglio herself. A truly remarkable example which also comes with an English translation providing historical background.
An incomplete example with only nineteen of the twenty-six cards present. Lacking are those of Claire, Frankenberg, Garnier, Grogerova, Schendel, Tomic, and Vicinelli. Light rubbing, age toning, and some foxing to card stock portfolio, else very good. Contents very good with light age toning to cards, introduction, essays, and list of artists, including a small nick to bottom right tip.
$100.00
25. And Then There Were None Channa Horwitz
Van Nuys: Grafix Artist Press, 1978. Small horizontal 16mo offset printed in black and white on rectos only. Unpaginated.
An artists’ book which explores the possibilities of an eight-by-eight grid in the form of a flip book. Beginning with the bottom eight squares filled in black, the left-most square moves up and down its row from page to page until it falls off. The subsequent rows repeat this action until all eight of the squares have fallen off leaving only a white page. Flipping through this book is a joyful experience that is hard to do just once. Much like Horwitz’ other work, this is as much about systems, math, and the fascination with the number eight as it is about creating a book that breathes. A rare and important artists’ book by this conceptual artist.
Very good with shelf wear and light soiling to covers, age toning throughout, and a cocked spine as a result of being flipped through.
$400.00
26. L. Wally Depew
Livermore: PN Books, 1976. 8vo softcover in printed gray wraps with inside pages printed on rectos only
in black ink on white paper. Endpapers and six random pages throughout are printed in red ink on yellow paper. Unpaginated.
A whimsical artists’ book depicting the same line art portrait of a face with its features getting filled in over fifty different ways. It’s somewhat unclear if the portrait is of a man or a woman which only adds intrigue much like the single letter title. A very unlike yet Depew-like book at the same time.
Very good with rubbing to covers and sunning to spine.
$40.00
27. 21. Marts / March 21 Stig Brøgger
Copenhagen: Jysk Kunstgalerie, 1970. Second edition of 500 (the first 1969 being 3). Square 8vo printed in black and white. Unpaginated. Minimal text in Danish and English.
An alluring photographic artists’ book featuring portraits of a woman outside in the snow. The locations of the images range from the city to the forest and in some of them the woman is lying face down in the snow. A few of the photographs are repeated, as is the title page with the words ‘21. Marts / March 21’ creating an intriguing chapter divider effect. A very intimate and at times dark Scandinavian artists’ book with a printed dedication to Mariann.
Near fine with trace amounrs of rubbing to covers.
$150.00
28. Compendium for Literates: A System of Writing Karl Gerstner, Dennis Q. Stephenson (translation)
Cambridge: MIT Press, 1974. First U.S. edition. Square hardcover 8vo in black cloth covers with white lettering inside printed dust jacket. Text block is offset printed in black and white and color with French fold binding. Unpaginated.
The first English translation of this seminal philosophy on writing, design, and systems which was originally published 1972 in German. Efficiently organized into five chapters, the typographic layout of the book is set sideways creating a unique experience as it’s read from top to bottom with the gutter dividing the page in half. Gerstner’s fascination and obsession with systems clearly shines through in this thoughtful book exploring theories surrounding the design of language and syntax as a means to create more efficient ways of communication. Some of the parameters presented herein specifically relate to the ‘coming of electronically controlled, or computer controlled typography.’ The
catalog no. one
17
25. Channa Horwitz 26. Wally Depew
27. Stig Brøgger 28. Karl Gerstner
catalog no. one
18
29. Ferdinand Kriwet 30. Heinz Brand
31. Eugenio Carmi, Cathy Berberian, Umberto Eco 32. John Baldessari
catalog no. one
19
overall design is unmistakably Swiss and set in Univers (designed by Adrian Frutiger). This is an academic lesson in typography and graphic design still relevant today. Highly recommended for any typographer or designer.
Gerstner believed in the philosophy that typography could be a more effective tool if used in a more informed manner creating a connection between the word and the meaning. A philosophy also shared by concrete poets. A firm believer in the grid and systems surrounding design and visual problem solving, Gerstner’s work lives on today as some of the most iconic Swiss design ever created.
Some light tide markings to the top edge of the text block and some rubbing and wear to the margins of dust jacket, else near fine.
$250.00
29. Apollo Amerika Ferdinand Kriwet
Np: Edition Suhrkamp, 1969. 8vo softcover offset printed in black and white in printed and laminated wrappers, with yellow printed dust jacket. Unpaginated.
An artists’ book created by Kriwet while in America documenting the 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, and 35 second moon launch of Apollo 11 in 1969. Profusely illustrated, this day-by-day journal contains texts, newspaper articles, travel forms, photographs, sounds, advertisements, illustrations, diagrams, concrete poems, collages, radio transmissions, and television footage all relating to the Apollo moon project. Part comment on American culture and media, and part artists’ book, Kriwet obliterates the boundaries between, sight, sound, and culture of the late 1960’s. Reading this book is information overload, but in a very controlled way. The dos-à-dos binding further underscores the barrage that is American media, creating two distinct yet overlapping narratives surrounding this historic event. Somewhat reminiscent of Marshall McLuhan’s 1967 book ‘The Medium is the Massage’, but more artful and poetic in its execution.
Very good with age toning throughout including cover lamination beginning to detach from top, bottom, and spine as well as reading creases. Dust jacket also very good with trace amounts of rubbing and two crease marks along the top and bottom margins.
$120.00
30. Leerer Gedankengang Heinz Brand
Bern: Erika + Otto Friedrich, 1978. Edition of 400, of which this is no. 238. Saddle-stapled 8vo in card
stock wrappers with a 4 mm die cut hole at center. Unpaginated (16 pp.) Text in German.
A conceptual artists’ book with a German title that translates into ‘Empty Thought’ in which a die cut hole has been drilled through an entire book of blank pages. An elegant experience that strikes a perfect balance between thought and interaction.
Rare.
Darkening along spine and extremities including trace amounts of rubbing, else near fine.
$150.00
31. Stripsody Eugenio Carmi, Cathy Berberian, Umberto Eco
Roma/Houston: Arco d’Alibert edizioni d’arte & Kiko Galleries, 1966. First edition. 4to in printed red hardcovers with red cloth strip spine, a white die cut circle pasted onto the cover, and French fold binding. Unpaginated. Inside front and rear covers features two tipped in green envelopes, the first of which contains a 7" vinyl record of the performance and a fly sheet denoting the first time it was preformed, and the second containing a folded four-page glossary defining the words used in the performance. Inside left cover also features a handwritten inscription in English and Japanese with a date and signature in black ink that reads ‘Happy Birthday To Max!!’, alongside ‘Dec. 10, 1978’ by the Japanese sculptor Masaru Takiguchi.
A colorful and remarkable piece of sound poetry where Berberian performs a list of onomatopoetic words borrowed from comic books. The book opens with a thoughtful and manifesto-like introduction by Umberto Eco. From there, the varied use of color, typography, and supporting design elements making each spread unique to further illustrate the sounds they’re attempting to create. Berberian’s performance is also captured on the accompanying 7" vinyl record. An intimate walk between sound and concrete poetry that delivers eloquently on both art forms.
Very good with signs of wear to the front cover including light sunning to top edge and a single small stain. Back cover has three small stains. The cloth binding has dried and weakened with age, but remains intact. Inside pages bright and clean. The green envelope on the inside left cover with the vinyl record has begin to split along the seams on account of the sharp edges of the record. Vinyl record has not been played, but has no visible scratches.
$250.00
catalog no. one
20
33. Lily Greenham, Enzo Mari, Bruno Munari, Nam June Paik, et al.
36. John Giorno and Daniel Spoerri
34. Martin Leman, ed.
35. Jochen Gerz
catalog no. one
21
32. Four Events and Reactions John Baldessari
Florence / Paris: Centro Di, Florence / Galerie Sonnabend, Paris, 1975. Small horizontal softcover 8vo in printed black wrappers. Unpaginated (ca. 52 pp.)
Published on the occasion of Baldessari’s exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam November 21, 1975 — January 4, 1976, a photographic artists’ book documents a woman experiencing the following events first hand: 1. Putting a finger in milk, 2. Touching a cactus, 3. Putting out a cigarette, 4. Pushing a plate off a table. As often is the case, Baldessari walks a delicate line between the sardonic and the obvious with a wink.
Very good with surface scratches to cover including a hard diagonal fold line to lower right tip of cover, wear to extremities, and light foxing to endpapers.
$200.00
33. Kinetics Hayward Gallery, Martha Boto, Alexander Calder,
Lily Greenham, Enzo Mari, Bruno Munari, Nam June Paik, Jean Tinguely, Stephen Willats, et al.
London: Hayward Gallery / The Arts Council of Great Britain, 1970. Tall 8vo card stock folder containing seventy-three loose and folded plates printed in black and white. Unbound.
Designed by Crosby / Fletcher / Forbes, a catalog issued on the occasion of the exhibit ‘Kinetics’ at the Hayward Gallery, September 25 – November 22, 1970 documenting the influence of Kinetics in modern art. Each of the sixty-seven artists is given their own plate featuring a short statement, portrait, and artwork. One of the more notable contributions is titled ‘A Possible Refusal’ by the Italian designer and artist Enzo Mari, in which he states his refusal to participate in the show on account the gallery not covering the full costs. Complete with introductory essays and manifestos providing historical and artistic context. An iconic piece of design by the distinguished trio of Theo Crosby, Alan Fletcher, and Colin Forbes in London printed by Lund Humphries, who also published Typographica.
Trace amounts of rubbing and age toning to folder, including light amount of foxing to fore edge, else fine.
$120.00
34. Arcade Nos. 1 – 5 (Complete) Leman, Martin, ed.
London: Arcade, 1964 – 1967. Five square 8vos saddle-stapled and offset printed in black and white. Issue no. 1 with a rectangular blue label diagonally affixed to front
cover, and a small red and blue sticker diagonally affixed to the back cover. Issue no. 3 with a lenticular mouth affixed to front cover. Issue no. 5 cover offset printed in two colors. Unpaginated. The covers of all five issues also have a small round red ‘3/-’ shilling price label affixed in various places, as well blue ex-library stamps.
A complete and collated run of Leman’s pop art-inspired magazine featuring works by William Burroughs, Georges Sheridan, Stan Peskett, Colin Smith, Mike Forman, Brian Mills, Edward Mace, David Cripps, David Kozubei, Ron Sandford, Rufus Segar, among others. Profusely illustrated with drawings, photographs, and collages, this small-sized publication deals with the visual side of poetry, music, art, sex, politics, and racism. A clear articulation of the 1960’s London culture.
Very good with age toning throughout and trace amounds of rubbing to covers including library stamps to front covers.
$500.00
35. Is there life on earth? Jochen Gerz
Paris: Editions Agentzia, 1969. Clear flat vinyl bag 219 x 278 mm in size with black text.
An empty bag from Gerz’ 1969 — 1970 performance art piece titled ‘Is there life on earth?’ in which 800 empty bags were mailed to friends, strangers in the Paris phone book, and exhibition visitors in Nice, Basel, München, London, Swansea, Belgrade, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires. The bags were sent with instructions to mail back to the artist any object they no longer wished to possess. Over 300 individuals responded and these were sealed and buried 30 meters below ground on the site that is now Montparnasse Tower in Paris. A gentle commentary on materialism and the difficulty in doing away with things that burden our lives.
Very good with light scuffing to both sides.
$200.00
36. Daniel Spoerri presents Eat Art: Chocolate Bar Poem
John Giorno and Daniel Spoerri
Düsseldorf: Eat Art Gallery, 1970. Small 21 x 29.7 cm (8.26 x 11.7") poster printed in dark brown on brown paper on one side only. Text in English and German.
Announcement poster for Giorno’s exhibition at Spoerri’s long running Eat Art Gallery which opened in 1970 above his restaurant and featured artists such as Joseph Beuys, Karl Gerstner, André Thomkins, Roy Lichtenstein, Emmett Williams, and Robert Filliou.
catalog no. one
22
Folded once with trace amounts of handling creases, else fine.
$75.00
37. A Book Kota Ezawa
Np: Nd. 8vo in softcover wraps bound with a strip cloth spine, printed in black and white. Small clear label pasted down on title page stating author and title. Unpaginated (ca. 142 pp.)
A curious artists’ book where words have been replaced by multiple rows of same-sized arrows pointing to the right. At the end of each row is a return arrow leading the reader to the next row. The pages are identical throughout the book except for the last arrow on the last page being a stop arrow. The repetitiveness of the layout creates an alluring effect that makes one want to read the whole book from beginning to end in hopes that something different might appear.
Very good with age toning to pages throughout and trace amounts of rubbing to covers.
$200.00
38. Sínteses / Visão Segunda (complete) E. M. de Melo e Castro
Lisboa: Quadrum Galeria de Arte, 1978 — 1982. First edition. Two 4to-sized (20.5 x 26.8 cm) card stock folders containing loose illustrated plates offset printed in black and white on recto side only. Issue one with seven plates including a three-panel prospectus, issue two with thirteen plates plus an overview sheet. Text in Portuguese.
Two handsome and exploratory exhibition catalogs featuring essays, concrete poetry, collages, photography, and art by one of the more prominent leaders of the Portuguese avant-garde. The first volume was issued in 1978 and features photography by the concrete poet Ana Hatherly, and the second four years later in 1982. A complete set of the only two issues published.
Both volumes very good with trace amounts of rubbing to covers, age toning throughout and some tide marking to overview sheet in the second volume.
$400.00
39. Standard-Book / Livre-Étalon Robert Fillliou (Filliou)
Stuttgart: Dieter Roth, ed. 1982. Edition of 1,000. Concertina format, 4 x 4 cm folded, 4 x 80 cm unfolded. Offset printed in blue and black. Text in English and French.
Published by Dieter Roth, a small artists’ multiple that gives anyone the ability to measure and rank printed
matter on a scale from 1 — 19. The text, printed in English and French, reads:
“ all literature — past, present and future — can be objectively evaluated at last, thanks to the STANDARD-BOOK which alone ensures the faultless measurement and impartial assessment of printed matter(s).”
A joyful multiple consisting of equal amounts seriousness and absurdity. The additional ‘L’ in Filliou’s printed last name remains unclear, however.
A trace amount of rubbing to covers, else fine.
$250.00
40. Graphismes by Frutiger: The Graphic work of Adrian Frutiger
Adrian Frutiger
London: Monotype House, 1964. Saddle-stapled narrow 4to in printed red and black wrappers. Unpaginated (24 pp.)
A brief yet comprehensive survey of Frutiger’s work and career including illustrated examples of type designs, directional signs, marks, magazines, books, miscellanea, wood engravings, and sculptures. Also includes a biographical essay outlining Frutiger’s philosophies and the influences and experiences that shaped his career up to 1964. Elegantly typeset in Univers throughout and printed at the Curwen Press in east London. Very good with age toning throughout, light scuffing to covers, and bump to crown.
$100.00
41. Pop Art: Do it Yourself Diter Rot, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes
Oldenburg, George Segal, George Brecht, Wolf Vostell, Hans Joachim Dietrich, Mimmo Rotella, Nam June Paik
Düsseldorf: Verlag Kalender, Hansjoachim Dietrich, [1963]. 12mo in stiff laminated wrappers bound with a glued black cloth spine. Pages printed on card stock. Unpaginated. Text in German and English.
A survey documenting the new art of the 1960’s bringing together artists from the fields of Pop Art and Fluxus featuring early paintings, collages, documents, prompts, and texts by Rot, Dine, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, Segal, Brecht, Vostell, Dietrich, Rotella, and Paik, most of which were relatively unknown at the time. Different than most surveys of the time, the book is designed in a way that combines the art forms, in turn, creating a new narrative. A unique and handsomely designed reading experience which is an artists’ book above anything else.
catalog no. one
23
38. E. M. de Melo e Castro
39. Robert Fillliou (Filliou) 40. Adrian Frutiger
37. Kota Ezawa
catalog no. one
24
A very similar design and format was used for the 1965 publication ‘Happenings, U.S. Pop Art, Nouveau Realisme, Etc.’, also published by Verlag Kalender.
Trace amounts of rubbing to covers with a lightly cocked spine and age toning throughout, else near fine.
$850
42. klankteksten ? konkrete poëzie visuele teksten / sound texts ? concrete poetry visual texts / akustische texte ? konkrete poesie visuelle texte
Liesbeth Crommelin, ed., Stedelijk Museum (SM)
Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum (SM), 1971. 4to in printed dust jacket over softcover wraps printed in black and white with section dividers printed in blue. 230 pp. Text in Dutch, English, and German.
Catalog for a traveling exhibition of concrete, visual, and sound poetry organized by the Stedelijk Museum in 1971 with contributions from over one hundred artists from Europe, North and South America, and Asia including Augusto de Campos, Pedro Xisto, Adriano Spatola, Carlo Belloli, Claus Bremer, Decio Pignatari, Diter Rot, Daniel Spoerri, André Thomkins, Max Bense, Ferdinand Kriwet, Henri Chopin, Heinz Gappmayr, Öyvind Fahlström, John Furnival, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Mathias Goeritz, Herman Damen, Hans Clavin, Eugen Gomringer, Hansjörg Mayer, Michele Perfetti, Timm Ulrichs, Thomas Ockerse, Mirella Bentivoglio, Hiro Kamimura, Kawashima, Emmett Williams among others. A most comprehensive and beautifully designed survey complete with essays by de Vree, Döhl, and Cobbing. The iconic cover and catalog designed by Wim Crouwel and Jolijn van der Wouw at Total Design. Issued as SM Catalog No. 492.
Very good with trace amounts of soiling to cover including crease lines to top right corner of dust jacket and text block (which has since been mostly flattened out), a small chip to crown of dust jacket, and the usual age toning along spine, extremities, and throughout.
$300.00
43. konkrete poezie uit tsjechoslowakije Bohumila Grögerová, Josef Hiršal, Josef Honys,
Jirí Kolár, Dana Konecná, Karel Milota, Ladislav Nebesky, Ladislav Novák, Jindrich Procházka, Karel Trinkewitz, Jirí Valoch
Amsterdam: Np, [1970]. Tall green paper portfolio 28.2 x 35.5 cm (11.125 x 14") in size with eleven loose plates of the same size measuring 26.8 x 34.9 cm (10.5 x 13.75") printed in color and black and white, and a single sheet of rubber stamped toilet paper.
A striking suite of concrete poetry broadsides published in Amsterdam during the Communist Party rule in Czechoslovakia by eleven different Czech poets and artists with individual plates exploring language, design, and other visual intricacies. One of the two pieces by Valoch is in the form of a sheet of toilet paper rubber stamped with the word ‘m:erde’. An intriguing and historical gathering of art and poetry.
Portfolio very good with trace amounts of rubbing and handling creases. Small diagonal fold line to bottom tip of first plate, else fine.
$350.00
44. l’in finito / un nonulla / busta celeste (serie situazioni plasticoverbali nos. 1 — 3)
Arrigo Lora-Totino, Sandro de Alexandris (design)
Torino: studio d’informazione estetica, 1969. No. 1: Edition of 1,000 of which this is no. 863. Die cut and folded 10.3 x 10.3 cm card stock sleeve containing a leporello bound card stock book printed on recto and verso measuring 10 x 10 cm folded, 80 x 10 unfolded. No. 2: Edition of 1,000 of which this is no. 305. Die cut and folded 10.3 x 10.3 cm card stock sleeve containing a 10 x 10 cm card stock book printed on recto and verso which unfolds to a 10 x 10 x 10 cm cube. No. 3: Edition of 1,000 of which this is no. 544. Die cut and folded 10.3 x 20.3 cm card stock sleeve containing a leporello bound card stock book printed on recto and verso measuring 20 x 10 cm folded, 60 x 10 unfolded. Text in Italian.
A remarkable set of three-dimensional Italian concrete poetry pieces by Loratotino and De Alexandris in the form collapsible and expandable paper sculptures that feel like individual artists’ books.
No. 1 is an unfolding leporello piece with the word ‘finito’ repeated without word spacing on recto and verso with one mentions typeset in bold. No. 2 is an intricately die cut and collapsible cube that can be reassembled with the words ‘un nonnulla’ which translates into ‘a no one’. No. 3 is a larger unfolding leporello piece with the word ‘cielo’ and ‘cieco’ which translates into ‘sky’ and ‘blind’.
Minimalist Italian design and concrete poetry at its best and issued as nos. 1 — 3 in the ‘situazioni plasticoverbali’ series. Our research suggests these are the only issues published.
Card stock sleeves on all three very good with trace amounts of rubbing and foxing to extremities, crease lines along margins, and bumps to corners. Trace amounts of rubbing of leporello books and folded cube, else fine.
$750.00
catalog no. one
25
41. Diter Rot, George Brecht, Wolf Vostell, Nam June Paik, et al.
43. Jirí Kolár, Jirí Valoch, et al. 44. Arrigo Lora-Totino, Sandro de Alexandris (design)
42. Liesbeth Crommelin, ed.
About us Our purpose is to promote, further, and preserve the history and tradition of books and materials in the overlapping fields of art, design, and concrete poetry.
We specialize in artists’ books, ephemera, prints, correspondence, and art from the 1960’s onward.
Our clientele include collectors, artists, designers, art directors, creative directors, teachers, art and design students, museums, colleges, institutions, and libraries.
If you would like to be on our mailing list for items or our catalogs, please let us know.
We also purchase books and collections within our fields of interest, and we also help individuals and institutions build collections with a creative focus.
If you have any questions, email us at [email protected].
It’s raining here in Portland, Ore.
Terms All items are subject to prior sale. All items are returnable within seven days of receipt for any reason. Buyer assumes responsibility to pay for return shipping. Refunds will be credited upon receipt of returned item in its original condition. Institutions may be invoiced according to their requirements. Reciprocal dealer discounts apply. We accept PayPal and major credit cards, and all orders are properly packaged with care and attention and shipped within 2 — 3 business days.
Grading We work hard to grade our inventory honestly, fairly, and accurately including any and all imperfections, blemishes, defects, or faults. Should you have specific questions about the condition of an item, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re happy to provide additional information or images if need be.
The Idea of the Book 3603 SE 10th Avenue Portland, OR 97202 [email protected] theideaofthebook.com
© The Idea of the Book, 2017. All rights reserved.
overlapping theories on art, design, & concrete poetry.
pause.
illegal america.
division leap
no. 26—
division leap
no. 26—
illegal america.
Booksellers, publishers and researchers of the history of print culture.
Collections purchased. Books found. Appraisals performed. Libraries built.
divisionleap.com
31
1.
1.
1.
2.
32
1. Jeannette Ingberman and Papo Colo, curators. Illegal America.
New York: Exit Art, 1982. 4to, [108] pp, cardbox box fastened with a pasted-down dollar bill, containing 27 sheets, each folded into a four pp. brochure. Illustrated in b/w. Though unstated, one of 500 copies.
The brilliantly designed catalog for this 1982 exhibition, the first by Exit Art, which was held at Franklin Furnace, and was devoted to art which included the concept of illegality as discourse. The project was a natural progression from both artists’ shared interest in the subject, as Papo Colo’s first work of art was a forgery of a university diploma, and Ingberman had previously studied art and law. Shortly before the exhibition opened, the two found that they had been given a grant of $4,000 for the show, and so they decided to create a cata-log. “Four thousand was an enormous amount of money, and it enabled us to do the catalogue. We made 500 of them. It was the first one we made with a cardboard box. We attached a dollar bill across the top of the box so you had to something illegal – tear the bill – to open it.” – Ingberman, Unfinished Memories p. 8].
The choice of a cardboard box was one of necessity, but became the vital part of the design. “Necessity determines how you are creative… we wanted to have a catalogue, and by necessity it was in a cardboard box. We made the cardboard box the beauty and the creative part of the design. And then we sealed the catalogue by gluing a dollar on top, so it cost us an additional dollar for each catalogue.” [ibid, p.13]
The exhibition included work by Vito Acconci, Gempei Akasegawa, Louis Aragon, Scott Billingsley, Marc Blane, Gunther Brus, Barry Bryant, Chris Burden, Papo Colo, Bogomir Ecker, William Farley, John Fekner, Lou Forgione, John Giorno, Guerilla Art Action Group (GAAG), John Halpern, Abbie Hoffman, Sam Hsieh, Jay Jaroslov, Komar & Melamid, George Maciunas, Gordon Matta Clark, Ann Messner, Richard Mock & Cesar Chavez, Peter Monnig, Charlotte Moorman, Otto Muehl, Herman Nitsch, Dennis Oppenheim, People’s Flag Show, Real Estate Show, and Jan
Van Raay. The catalog documents the works of all artists in the exhibition except for Brus, Bryant, Forgione, Muehl, Nitsch, People’s Flagshow and Van Raay, as issued.
The work documented in the catalog is incred-ible, using a wide variety of strategies to approach the topic. There is documentation of Chris Burden’s “Coal to Newcastle”, in which Burden flew a model airplane carrying marijuana which bore the legend “Hecho en U.S.A.” over the border in Mexico, reproductions of William Farley’s censored Kent State stamp, John Giorno’s description of his par-ticipation, with Abbie Hoffman, in the WPAX proj-ect, a photograph of Abbie Hoffman being checked into prison carrying a hacksaw as a bookmark in a copy of “Fire in the Minds of Men”, Richard Mock and Cesar Chavez stealing a section of Christo’s 2 million dollar “Running Fence” sculpture in order to write the number 14 on it to publicize Bill #14, which would allow union organizer’s on private land to unionize migrant workers, and Tehching “Sam” Hsieh issuing his own U. S. Immigration Service wanted poster for being undocumented, and photographs of the occupation of the con-demned building in which the Real Estate Show took place.
This example of the catalog is still sealed with the dollar bill unbroken. The previous owner had carefully opened at one end to avoid committing the suggested crime.
One of the most important catalogs of the de-cade, and not as well known as it should be perhaps due to its rarity. OCLC locates 7 holdings.
Contents lightly toned, with some creasing to margins of title page. Near fine. Sold
2. Cildo Campos Meireles. Zero Dollar.Np: The Artist, [1976-1984]. 2 5/8 x
6 1/8" sheet, offset lithograph. Signed in plate by the artist.
Beginning in 1969, Meireles began his Árvore do dinheiro series, which appropriated currencies in order to question their relationship between national identity, exchange value, inflation, materi-ality and representation, all called into sharp relief by reducing the stated value of these printed objects
33
3.
34
to zero. One of the most potent art projects of the 1970’s-1980’s, and one which has increasing and not yet fully understood repercussions in our own time as we hurtle towards a zero marginal cost society. $1,500
3. Angela Davis. Wanted by the FBI. Interstate Flight – Murder, Kidnaping. Angela Yvonne Davis [Inscribed].
Washington DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1970. 10 1/2 x 15 3/4", offset printed. Inscribed by Angela Davis beneath her photo, “Peace! Angela Y. Davis L. A. 10/12/97.” Provenance available upon request.
The FBI wanted poster, issued August 18, 1970, for Angela Davis, then wanted on charges con-nected to the events of August 7 of that year at the Marin County Courthouse. Davis was then on the FBI most wanted list, only the third woman ever to be afforded that distinction. After evading police for two weeks, she was captured and incarcerated for 16 months before being acquitted at trial.
The iconography of FBI wanted posters is a very specific type of modern portraiture, sometimes – as appears to be the case here – appropriating photographs taken of subjects in other contexts, instead of mug shots. The proximity of the inscrip-tion to the left hand photograph, suggests that Davis reappropriates her image which had been stolen by the pursuer.
Folded three times for mailing; old paper tape remnants at upper and lower margins and lower tips at verso from being posted. Signature slightly smudged. Very good. $2,500
4. Jenny Holzer. Untitled [Abuse of Power Comes as No Surprise…].
[New York]: The Artist, [1977–]. 13 1/2 x 20" broadside, offset printed.
One of the best known posters from her Truisms series, which the artist began in 1977 and posted and distributed around New York City. A pencilled note at the verso that this copy was from the Times Square Show, and the account of the show at the Times Square Revisited website by Tom Otterness notes that Holzer sold Truism posters at the event.
Foded once, with some very light handling creases to extremities, else fine. $1,250
5. Richard Prince. In Complete Control [Exhibition Announcement]
New York: Ellen Sragow , [1976]. 4 1/2 x 6 1/8" exhibition announcement postcard, illustrated at recto with a reproduction of the title work.
The exhibition announcement for this 1976 exhibition by Richard Prince at Ellen Sragow Gallery – one of the artist’s earliest exhibitions, perhaps his second.
Fine. $750
6. Kathy Acker. Security and Punishment. Original Eighties Vol. 1, No. 1
[San Francisco]: The Artist, 1980. Tabloid format, [32] pp [incl. covers], offset printed on newsprint. Association copy, addressed and mailed by Acker to Jackson Mac Low.
An appropriation work in which Acker ap-pears to have taken a copy of the debut issue of the tabloid periodical RE/Search No. 1, pasted her own text onto each page, and reprinted it. OCLC locates no holdings, and the only reference we’ve ever seen to the work is in Vale’s RE/Search e-newsletter #160, in which he mentions that Acker had mailed him a copy. This copy, mailed to Acker’s fellow writer Jackson Mac Low, is the only example we’ve seen or handled, and OCLC locates no holdings. The subtitle, Original Eighties Vol. 1, No. 1, sug-gests that further installments might be forthcom-ing, but we’ve seen no references to further install-ments. Perhaps Acker’s rarest book. Sold
7. William S. Burroughs. Time. New York: C Press, 1965. First edition. 4to,
offset printed, saddle stapled wraps.The trade edition, one of 886 copies.
One of Burroughs’ most successful explorations in the cut-up and appropriation of popular print. As one of the most immediately recognizable main-stream magazines of the decade, Time Magazine was a natural target, but the choice was more im-mediately spurred by the magazine’s infamous and libellous review of Naked Lunch in the November 30, 1962 issue – the same issue which Burroughs
35
4.
6.
7.
5.
36
has cut-up on the cover. The interior prints cut-ups and texts by Burroughs, some utilizing texts from other issues of Time as source material, and also includes four reproductions of drawings by Brion Gysin.
[Reference: Maynard and Miles A11].Very good with toning to wraps, some
moderate soiling to wraps, and some light rubbing along spine. $350
8. Lucy Lippard, curator. c. 7,500.Valencia, CA: California Institute of the Arts,
1973. 30 postcards housed in an unprinted manila clasp envelope.
The catalog for the fourth and last of the “num-bers shows”, which began in Valencia, California – population c. 7500 – and travelled to other loca-tions. Like the previous installments in the series, the catalog consists entirely of randomly arranged postcards by artists, but for the first time in this catalog all of the artists are women.
The postcards include a title page, and a fore-ward by Lippard over three postcards, followed by 26 postcards by the artists, which includes Renee Nahum, Renate Altenrath, Nancy Wilson Kitchel, Poppy Johnson, Alice Aycock, Rita Myers, Christiane Möbus, Bernadette Mayer, Patricia Lasch, Suzanne Kuffler, Christine Kozlov, Nancy Holt, Doree Dunlap, Hanne Darboven, Jennifer Bartlett, Judith Stein, N.E. Thing Co., Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Ulrike Nolden, Jacki Apple, Laurie Anderson, Adrian Piper, Athena Tacha, and Eleanor Antin.
Postcards fine. Envelope is well-creased at margins, with Lucy Lippard’s name written ink, along with the word exhibition, underlined, and the names of two other artists in a different hand – Lil Picard and George Brecht – crossed out. $2,500
9. [Adrian Piper]. Dear Friend, I am not here to pick anyone up…
Np: Angry Art, 1986. 2 x 3 1/2" card, offset printed on white card stock.
An installment in the artist’s Calling Card series, in which the artist appropriated the 19th century convention of calling cards to draw attention to racism and sexism in the 1980’s.
Fine. Sold
10. [Disband]. Land at Fashion Moda. Bronx: Fashion Moda, 1980. 8 1/2 x 14" poster,
offset printed on pink paper.The poster for this 1980 event at Fashion Moda,
which included a performance by the feminist no wave supergroup Disband, which at one time or another included Ilona Granet, Donna Henes, Barbara Kruger, Ingrid Sischy, Diane Torr, and Martha Wilson. The project disbanded in 1982, and never recorded an album in that time, though a worthy 2009 release by Primary Information documents some of their live recordings. The night also included a film screening by Joseph Nechvatal, a reading by Fontaine Dunn, and a performance by Cid Collins and Carol Parkinson. $150
11. The Judson Three (Faith Ringgold, Jon Hendricks, and Jean Toche). Postcard Invitation to the Soul Champagne Dinner Party.
New York: Legal Defense of the Judson Three, 1970. 4 3/8 x 6 5/8" postcard invitation, illustrat-ed at recto with a b/w reproduction of a painting by Ringgold, with event information at verso. Addressed and postmarked.
The Judson Three consisted of the African American artist Faith Ringgold, Jon Hendricks, and Jean Toche, who had organized the infamous People’s Flag Show at Judson Church in 1970, and were subsequently arrested on charges of desecrating the flag. Each were fined $100, and this event was held to raise money for their legal defense fund. As described on the verso, the admission charge was $10, which bought the attendee “one champagne drink and all the soul you can eat.” The recto of the poster, reproducing a painting of three figures standing behind the bars of the American flag, must certainly be a reference to the legal plight of the 3.
The lightweight paper stock is lightly creased, toned, and abraded. with some paper adhesion to verso from removal of the original stamp, else very good. $250
12. A.I.R. Gallery. Manifesto for the Founding of A.I.R.Gallery.
New York: A.I.R., 1972. 23 x 29" sheet, folded once to make [4] pp. Illustrated in b/w.
37
8.
10.
11.
9.
38
Folded several times for mailing, and addressed by Howardena Pindell and mailed to a curator
The oversized poster mailer for the founding of A.I.R. at 97 Wooster Street. An unsigned text describes the need for, and founding of the exhibi-tion space. The founding twenty artists are listed: Dotty Attie, Rachel Bas-Cohain, Judith Bernstein, Blythe Bohnen, Maude Boltz, Agnes Denes, Daria Dorosh, Loretta Dunkelman, Mary Grigoriadis, Harmony Hammond, Anne Healy, Laurace James, Nancy Kitchel, Louise Kramer, Rosemary Mayer, Patsy Norvell, Howardena Pindell, Nancy Spero, Susan Williams, and Barbara Zucker- along with a reproduction of a work by each, and the date of their exhibitions at the gallery, giving a valuable in-sight into the programming of the space for the first months of its existence. The poster also announces the debut exhibition at the gallery which opened September 16 and included the work of 10 artists.
Folded three times as mailed, with additional handling creases, but very good. Sold
13. [David Wojnarowicz] Ed Baynard, curator. Fast.
New York: Alexander F. Milliken , 1982. 4to, [28] pp, offset printed. Saddle-stapled wraps. Illustrated with full page reproductions, some in color. Designed by Antony Drobinski and Roberta Savage. With a foreward by Susan L. Putterman. With a checklist for the exhibition laid in.
The catalog for this 1982 exhibition at Alexander F. Milliken – a key exhibition for the downtown art scene in the early 1980’s, and the first exhibition to include work by David Wojnarowicz. It was because of the invitation to join this exhibition that Wojnarowicz began to ex-plore painting as a medium. While assembling the work for the show, Baynard was struck by stencil art he had seen in the East Village of a burning house. Baynard asked his friend Peter Hujar about the stencil, and Hujar told him of Wojnarowicz. Baynard asked if Wojnarowicz painted, and Hujar mentioned that Wojnarowicz didn’t, but was think-ing about trying it. Wojnarowicz subseqently cre-ated his first painting for the exhibition, Diptych, a portrait of Hujar. See Carr, Fire in the Belly: The
Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz, p. 210.The exhibition also included work by Anselm
Kiefer, Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Richard Hambleton, Jane Dickson, Baynard him-self, Richard Bosman, Sandro Chia, Martin Disler, James Hansen, Jonathan Borofsky, Francesco Clemente, David Salle, Judy Rifka, Jedd Garet, David Hockney, and Joan Snyder.
Catalog fine; checklist with ink annotations, and folded once, else very good. $250
14. [The Committee for the Real Estate Show]. Bilingual Poster for the Real Estate Show.
New York: The Committee for the Real Estate Show, 1980. 11 x 17", printed on recto in two colors, with English text, and on the verso in b/w with Spanish translation.
Original poster for the Real Estate Show, which took place at the dawn of the 1980’s, and eventually led to the creation of ABC No Rio. The poster recapitulates the early chronology of the show and struggles with the HPD until the January 11th seizure of artwork.
Some very faint toning to extremities else fine. $250
15. The Committee for the Real Estate Show. Locked Up Ideas.
New York: The Committee for the Real Estate Show, 1980. 4to, three sheets printed on rectos only from a hand-corrected typescript. Illustrated with a drawing by Rebecca Howland and a photo of 123 Delancey.
A manifesto for the reopening of the Real Estate Show and announcement of an upcoming press release on January 8, 1980. The release is illustrated with a drawing of an octopus clutching buildings and cash, perhaps an illustration of the HPD. Of special note is an announcement that the Real Estate show would exhibit documents related to environmental and legal problems in the city, including arson, the failure of the Red Hook waste treatment plant, and a proposal for a circumvention of Con Edision by forming an electricity coop. The final page reproduces a flyer entitled “An Urban Development Insurrection” and which explains the
39
14.
13.
12.
15.
40
reasons of the Real Estate show and dedicates it to Elizabeth Mangum, the African American woman who was killed in Flatbush during an eviction the previous year.
A hasty but cogent presentation of the aims of the show at the very dawn of the decade.
Heavily toned at recto of first leaf and verso of last, where there is also some evidence of dampstaining.
Rare. The only example we’ve seen. $100
16. Rebecca Howland. Romance of War. Np: The Artist, 1980. 8 1/2 x 11", xerox
and hand-painting on paper. Signed by the artist twice at lower margin, once in plate and once in holograph.
Howland was an important member of the Downtown scene in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, and was involved with COLAB and ABC No Rio. This work, which critiques the Corporate Oil ties behind armed conflict, is related thematically to her other works attacking big oil, including Oil Rig Fountain, which had been installed in the men’s room as part of the Times Square Show. The work is xeroxed in b/w, with hand-coloring, and was perhaps made as a street poster.
Some light toning, and short nicks to margins; pinholes to tips; very good. $450
17. Rebecca Howland. Reagan? Np: The Artist, 1980. 8 1/2 x 11", xerox and
hand-painting on paper. Signed by the artist in ink at lower margin.
Heavily creased, with some small closed tears to margins, and a 1” dampstain to lower margin, else about very good. $300
18. Erika Rothenberg. Four Early Poster Works.
[New York]: The Artist, [c. 1979 – 82]. Four sheets, each 8 1/2 x 11", collage, marker, and offset printing. Each signed by the artist at verso.
Four very early works by Rothenberg, dating from the late 1970’s and the 1980’s – years in which she was an important part of the downtown arts scene associated with COLAB, the Guerrilla Girls. These works critique the political scene at the
dawn of the 1980’s as well as the role of the human in an increasingly automated and computerized world. “Computer Designs the Coziest Possible Room” is assigned the date of 1979 on the artists’ website, and is entirely offset printed. The other three examples, including Launch/Lunch, a version of which was exhibited in 1982 at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, all have paper collage elements, and are possibly maquettes; the latter is visually different from the example pictured on the artists’ website.
Small pinholes at tips from being posted, not affecting images; small area of dampstaining to one poster; collage element loose from one poster, but still present; very good. $850
19. Jenny Holzer et al. Museum für (Sub-) Kultur.
West Berlin: Museum für (Sub-) Kultur, 1981. First edition. 4to, [4], 83 pp. + index. Xeroxed on various colors of paper stock. Clipbound into or-ange card wraps. Illustrated with b/w photographs and reproductions. One of 150 copies printed. Texts in German and English.
Artists’ publication documenting exhibitions at the Museum für (Sub-) Kultur from 1980-1981. The Museum was an artist-run alternate arts venue created and operated by Detlef Carl, Gerti Fietzek, and Andreas Stucken, and financed by “surplus gained through the jobs of” the three. It was con-nected to a library and collection of works from the 1960’s and 1970’s at Stucken’s private flat. The group was associated with COLAB and Fashion Moda as part of Collectiva International, a group of alternate art groups in the early 1980’s. This connection with the New York downtown scene is exemplified here by the inclusion of work by Jenny Holzer & Peter Nadin (including pho-tographs of altered graffiti and photographs of posters in situ from their early 1981 exhibition at the gallery), Reese Williams, Sean Scully, Catherine Porter-Scully, and Judy Rifka. Other artists included are Onze Rue Clavel, Goran Djordjevi, Zvi Goldstein, Gerard Hemsworth, Jochen Krüger, and Dominique Pasqualini.
Rare. This is the first example we’ve seen, and OCLC locates only one holding.
Fine. $600
41
18.
16. 17.
19.
42
20. Donald Moffett. Call Senator Jesse Helms 1 (202) 224-6342. Tell Him I Can Teach Him to Swallow.
New York: Simon Watson, 1991. 4 1/4 x 6" postcard, offset printed.
Postcard issued for two 1991 exhibitions by Moffett, Wet Dreams at Simon Watson, and Wet Holes at Wessel O’Connor, which took place in January and February 1991. In the space in which the postage should be affixed, there is the printed instruction “Lick and Stick Here.”
Fine. Sold
21. Gabor Attalai. Collage, ALS and Exhibition Announcement Related to the “Redy-Made Windows” Action in New York.
Hungary: Attalai Gabor, 1977. 5 7/8 x 8" collage, sealing wax, rubberstamp and wax paper on a photograph which is rubberstamped at verso. With a 2 pp. rubberstamped TLS to gallerist John Gibson, and a rubberstamped exhibition announce-ment postcard for a 1977 exhibition by Attalai at Galerie Lóa in 1977.
For the Hungarian artist’s 1977 “Redy-Made Windows” exhibition in New York cIty, he wrote letters to 16 New York Galleries and bookstores, requesting that they paint a portion of their gallery window red according to a collage enclosed, and document the work with slides sent back to the artist. A brilliant proposal dealing with geography, the art market, and attention, which we can find no documentation of having been realized; an essay by Hock Beáta about Attalai on the Art Pool website suggests that no responses were forthcoming, if we can trust our precarious grasp of Hungarian.
Fine. Sold
22. [Ray Johnson]. Collage by Sherrie Levine.Np: nd. 4 5/8 x 6 1/4" collage on paper,
rubberstamped “Collage by Sherrie Levine.”A collage on a Christmas card, on which a
sheet of paper featuring concentric circles around a central hole has been pasted down over the second half of a religious text, allowing only the word “toward” to be read.
Provenance available upon request. A brilliant and minimalist collage that we
strongly suspect to be the work of Ray Johnson, not Sherrie Levine. The “Collage by Sherrie Levine” rubberstamp utilizes the same gothic font which Johnson used for his rubberstamps, and the finding aid for the rubberstamp portion of the Ray Johnson archive at Feigen notes that a rubberstamp bearing this attribution was in Johnson’s archive. See also Clive Philpott’s essay “The Mailed Art of Ray Johnson” for Johnson’s use of the Levine rubberstamp.
$1,250
23. [Ray Johnson]. Collage by Alexandra Findlay.
New York: 1967. 5 x 7" collage on postcard, rubberstamped “Collage by Alexandra Findlay” and “Ray Johnson”.
A collage by Ray Johnson upon a postcard ex-hibition announcement for “The Hanging Floating and Cantilevered Show” at gallerist John Gibson’s office. Ray has added the phrase “Let it all Laing Out” in his distinctive hand following the name of the show, stapled a match booklet with an adver-tisement to become a computer programmer to the postcard, and sent the postcard back to “Mr. John Gibsong.” Offered with John Gibson’s file personal copy of the same postcard announcement, which he has addressed and mailed to himself.
Alexandra Findlay was another mail art per-sona of Ray Johnson. The rubberstamp is in his rubberstamp collection in the archive at Feigen.
Collage with a couple of strong creases, else very good. $600
24. Edward Kienholz. Contract for Purchase of a Concept Tableau.
New York: Dwan Gallery, [1967]. 4to, two leaves, each offset printed on rectos only on light-weight rice paper, folded into and stapled along top edge into a blue card sheet bearing the Dwan Gallery address at top margin.
A contract produced in conjunction with the February 4 – March 1 1967 exhibition by Kienholz at Dwan Gallery, and likely mailed out – though this example without envelope. A landmark work of conceptual art which highlighted the transactional nature of the artist / collector / gallery relationship.
43
23.
22.
20.
21.
44
Folded three times, likely for mailing, and rubberstamped “Artists’ File” on the blue outer sheet. Very good. $850
25. Bruce Conner. Poster for an Exhibition at Ferus Gallery.
Los Angeles: Ferus Gallery, 1962. 10 x 13" poster, offset printed. Photographically illustrated. Machine folded twice.
The poster for Conner’s June 4th, 1962 exhibition at Ferus Gallery – an early exhibition by Conner, and his first at Ferus. The poster is illustrated with a photograph of Conner’s key early assemblage Portrait of Allen Ginsberg. Like Conner’s other assemblages from the period, the sculpture includes woman’s hose as a key element.
“Given what we know about Ginsberg’s sexuality (he was open about it even in 1960), it is tempting to read PORTRAIT OF ALLEN GINSBERG as a homosexual encounter. A viewer looking at the work from the front, head-on, sees two tin cans, one long and one short, encased in tan nylon stockings and hanging from the woo frame at slightly different heights. Paired with each “can” is a stuffed, flesh-colored sack. The pairings seem to face each other, like two men standing naked in a doorway.
In this tender evocation of what was then an illicit activity, Conner (a heterosexual) indicated his sense of commonality with Ginsberg. Both were young men at the start of their careers, both setting out to break the taboos of conventional morali-ty and cultural consensus in their art. Although political activism was not their immediate purpose, Ginsberg, Conner, and the community of poets and artists around them understood the alienation of their generation and advocated for a moral and political rebellion in original and compelling ways that became integral to their art.” Anastasia Aukeman, Welcome to Painterland: Bruce Conner and the Rat Bastard Protective Association, pp. 140 – 141.
Narrow touch of red paint to upper margin, affecting neither image nor text, some faint handling creases and toning to verso, else near fine. Sold
26. Bruce Conner. Announcement Multiple for ‘Lithographs’.
New York: Martha Jackson Gallery, [1972]. 5 1/8 x 7" postcard announcement, offset printed. With illustrated overlay sheet printed on glassine.
The two part announcement for this 1972 exhi-bition by Conner at Martha Jackson Gallery. Both the recto of the card and the glassine overlay repro-duce typically dense, abstract drawings by Conner. The overlay, when moved against the card’s surface, produces coruscating distortions of time and space.
Fine. Sold
27. Berndt Petterson. i Påsen. Mälmo: Bo Cavefors, [1965]. 4to, 27 perforated
leaves printed in various colors of ink on the rectos only of various colors of paper stock, tapebound along upper margin, housed with a separate printed title page in a paper shopping bag with printed title label.
Artists’ book of concrete poetry, published by the audacious Swedish publisher Bo Cavefors on the occasion of Petterson’s 1965 exhibit at Galleri Karlsson. The perforated sheets give an air of disposability to these significant concrete composi-tions, which, presented in a shopping bag, suggests perhaps a critique of consumer culture while also involving the reader as rearranger and participant, and, with the latter, anticipating Steve McCaffery’s artists’ book Carnival (1973). Important as both an early European artist book and an innovative presentation of concrete poetry, and perhaps over-looked in both narratives due only to its rarity – this is the first example we’ve handled, and OCLC locates only the National Library of Sweden’s copy.
Fine; shopping bag near fine, creased and toned, with an old price sticker to front panel. $750
28. James Lee Byars. Three Items Mailed to James Butler.
Np: 1975. A suite of three items, all sent by Byars to James Butler, husband of Byars’ gallerist Eugenia Butler.
a. Three panel folding room service menu from the Bellevue Palace Bern, annotated in pencil by Byars in his distinctive, star-studded
45
26.
27.
24.
25.
46
handwriting to James Butler, with reference to “soft seats and a 2 o’clok checkout.” Housed in the original pink mailing envelope, addressed and postmarked to Butler.
b. A copy of the 1973 Faber edition of Samuel Beckett’s book “Not I”, in which is written on the half title page “JlovesJ” in Byars’ distinctive hand, in pencil.
c. A postcard exhibition announcement for Byars’ 1973 exhibition at Wide White Space, addressed and postmarked to Butler.
A suite of items indicative of Byars’ ludic sensibility with correspondence, which was central to his work.
Light creasing and wear, but very good. $1,250
29. [Fluxus]. Program for the March 29, 1979 Flux-Concert at The Kitchen [Folded Into a Paper Airplane].
New York: The Kitchen, 1979. 8 1/2 x 14" sheet, xeroxed on recto only. Folded into a paper-airplane.
The program for this late 1970’s Fluxus per-formance at the Downtown alternative arts space The Kitchen. The program announces installa-tions of works by Trisha Brown, Geoff Hendricks, Robert Watts and others, as well as as 33 Fluxus sound compositions, including works by La Monte Young, Philip Corner, George Maciunas, Yoko Ono, George Brecht, Nam June Paik, Mieko Shiomi, Takako Saito, Ben Patterson et al. The performers included Dick Higgins, Philip Corner, Geoff Hendricks, Robert Watts, Alison Knowles, Larry Miller, Yoshi Wada, Peter Van Riper, Yasunao Tone, Peter Frank, and Ken Friedman.
This example of the program has been artfully folded into a paper airplane, by whom, and under what circumstances, we are uncertain – but definite-ly in the spirit of Fluxus. The paper is toned, with some stressing at fold lines, else very good. $250
30. Zephyrus Image. Lettuce Pray. Healdsburg: Zephyrus Image, 1977. First
edition. folded paper airplane and broadside, letterpress and linocut in three colors.
A broadside made by Holbrook Teter and Michael Myers of the ZI in order to crash an early
artists’ book show at the Berkeley Art Center in 1977; the two handed the broadside out at the event, saying they had just made it “on a wing and a prayer.” The text was supplied by Robert Rusk and is from a book of short stories by Malcolm Lowry. One of several ephemeron the group made in order to distribute at specific events, this one perhaps meant to gently provoke some of the seriousness surrounding the canonization of artists’ books at the time.
See Johnston p. 125 and 212. $50
31. [John Cage] David Tudor. Handbill for the First New York Performance of 4’33.
New York: [1954]. 4 x 8 1/4", offset printed on recto; blue card stock.
The original handbill for two performances by David Tudor in 1954 at Carnegie Hall. The first night notes that there will be performances of piec-es by Earle Brown, Christian Wolff and John Cage. Though not mentioned by name, this performance was the first New York performance of 4’33, and second ever performance of the piece, preceded only by the first performance in Woodstock. We’ve never managed to find any ephemera documenting the Woodstock performance, making this perhaps the first printed ephemera in relation to Cage’s most famous composition. Moreover, this New York performance was likely the performance at which a greater number of Cage’s contempories, the musicians and poets of what would become the New York School, were first exposed to the piece. It is tempting to wonder who was in the audience that night – aside from a write-up the following day in the New York Times, we can find little documenta-tion of the performance or its reception.
The handbill notes that advance tickets can be ordered from John Cage at his East 17th street address. We have handled another handbill for the first night performance which mentions 4’33 by name and lists each movement; the present handbill uses the same font and spacing schema, and was probably designed by the same person.
This handbill exists with at least 4 different colors of paper stock – blue, green, cream, and gray. Sold
47
30.
31.
28.
29.
48
32. Bas Jan Ader & Bill Leavitt. Poster for a 1972 Event at Gallery A-402.
Valencia, CA: Gallery A-402, 1972. 8 1/2 x 11", mechanically reproduced on recto only.
The poster for this 1972 exhibition by Bas Jan Ader and his friend and collaborator Bill Leavitt at the small, student-run gallery at the California Institute of the Arts, an important venue for the dissemination of conceptual art on the west coast. The poster announces two dates, October 24 and 27, and announces that the event would take place from 2-4 in the mezzanine (opposite elevator) but makes no mention of what the performance or screening was. We can find no references to the show, which would have occured shortly after the Studio Show and the Pomona College Gallery exhibition (the latter being where Ader had first exhibited work from the various Fall series for the first time in LA.)
Rare. The only example of the poster we’ve seen.Fine. $450
33. Zero. Exhibition Announcement for “Zero Onuitgevoerd”.
Amsterdam: Kunsthistorisch Instituut, 1970. Single sheet folded once [folded size 8 3/8 x 12"]. Illustrated at the front panel with a reproduction of a drawing [by Otto Piene]. With invitation to the opening [5 1/2 x 8 1/2", mimeographed from typescript] laid in.
The exhibition and opening announcement for this 1970 exhibition devoted to the Zero group. The front panel drawing is unattributed, but repro-duces the work Balloon Blackberry by Otto Piene.
Old horizontal fold line, else near fine. $150
34. Gunther Uecker. Dear John Weber, Düsseldorf: 1973. 8 1/4 x 11 5/8", typescript
with graphite drawing on watermarked Reflex Special paper. Signed in ink by Uenther.
A beautiful work sent from Uecker to the galler-ist John Weber, featuring a tracing of a hand over the typewritten phrase “Dear John Weber, we see each other sometimes and here a little present.”
Folded once, perhaps for mailing, paper lightly toned and creased along left and right margin. Very good. $850
35. Agnes Denes. Exhibition Announcement for ‘Teckningar, Objekt, Grafik, Foto’.
Lund, Sweden: Gelleriet, 1980. Single sheet folded once to make a small booklet, with two transparent leaves of tissue glassine laid in, which are printed in blue and are designed to overlay a geometric drawing within.
The strikingly designed announcement for this 1980 exhibition by Denes at Galleriet in Lund. One page of the booklet prints a manifesto by Denes, in which she states “We Must create a new language, consider a transitory state of new illusions and layers of validity…” Facing this state-ment is a globe projection, and on the the glassine overlays are printed, in blue, a corresponding but different projection and a drawing of the continents in blue, respectively. A striking illustration of the artist’s cartographic projections, here involving the participation of invitee. Brilliant.
Both glassine sheets lightly creased, with some soiling, else very good. $300
36. Dennis Oppenheim. A Search for Clues. New York: M. L. D’Arc Gallery, 1976. 8 x 8 3/4"
exhibition announcement, photographically illustrated at recto on card stock coated with reflective foil.
The announcement for the 1976 exhibition at M. L. D’Arc Gallery, illustrated with a haunting photograph of one of Oppenheim’s puppets with a knife in its chest, held gravely in the arms of a child staring at the photographer.
Some faint toning and a small crease to one tip. Near fine. $125
37. Claes Oldenburg. Mickey Mouse Bookmark.Np: nd. 2 3/16 x 6 5/16" bookmark,
offset printed. With author’s printed signature at lower margin.
A particularly striking image from Oldenburg’s exploration of the iconography of Mickey Mouse, this with Mickey’s rectangular eyes crossed out. Imprint, occasion, or publication date unknown.
Fine. Sold
49
34.
35.
32.
33.
50
38.
39.
36.
37.
51
38. Claes Oldenburg. Mickey Mouse Leporello Banner.
Düssedorf: Städtische Kunsthalle , 1970. Single sheet folded three times, offset printed and die-cut. Text in German [unattributed].
A leporello paper construction published on the occasion of Oldenburg’s 1970 exhibition in Düsseldorf. It includes a text about the artist in German, followed by instructions for the reader to cut and assemble each mouse.
Fine. Sold
39. Stephen Antonokos. Three Altered Postcards.
Np: 1976. Three altered commercial postcards, addressed to Robert Buck.
Three postcards sent by the Greek sculptor to Robert Buck when he was at the Albright Knox Gallery. One of the postcards bore a reproduction of a painting by Kasimir Malewitch. Another is of the twin towers at the World Trade Center, each tower having a triangular portion cut away, and the third is of the Marina City twin towers in Chicago.
Some additional creasing and toning, but very good. $450
40. Robert Longo. Series of Three Altered Postcards.
New York: 1966. Three 4 1/4 x 6" commer-cial postcards, each altered with golden marker. Housed in an envelope rubberstamped with Longo’s return address, addressed and postmarked to Robert Buck.
The three postcards reproduce works by Jackson Pollock, Winslow Homer, and Brassaï. Across the surface of each, Longo has written, in large gold letters covering the field of reproduction, “Psycho”, “Summertime”, and “Trouble”. On the verso of each the cards are numbered 1 – 3, and bear a letter in Longo’s holograph in the same gold ink.
Postcards fine. Envelope folded once, with a received stamp. $750
41. Marcel Broodthaers. Exhibition Announcement for Marcel Broodthaers 17.3 – 14.4.1973.
Amsterdam: Art & Project, 1973. 8 1/4 x 11 3/4" sheet, offset printed on recto only. Two fold lines for mailing; typewritten address of addressee.
The announcement for the 1973 Broodthaers exhibition at Art & Project, “een serie van negen schilderijen in de nederlandse taal op een thema uit de schilderkunst.”
1" closed tear at one fold at margin, else very good. $85
42. Ludus [Linder Stirling]. Pickpocket / SheShe.
Manchester: New Hormones, 1980. First edition. 4to, [16] pp. [including covers], offset printed, saddle-stapled and laid into a printed folder, housed in a plastic bag with with an audio cassette and photographically illustrated pin. New Hormones Catalog No. 1.
An artist’s book by Linder Sterling, featuring shorts texts by her matched with photographs of her by Christine Birrer, and issued with a cas-sette by the project Ludus, of which Sterling was a member. Sterling’s early photomontages helped to form the collage aesthetic of the first wave of British punk, with her early work appearing on the Buzzcock’s Orgasm Addict single and in the Secret Public zine. This is one of her early works dealing with what she termed self-collages – potent deconstructions of the portrayal of femininity at the dawn of the 1980’s. The work was reprinted as individual prints in an edition of three, and formed the basis of an installation at Tate Modern in 2007. Scarce complete – copies often have at least one of the elements missing.
Contents fine. Plastic bag clouded, but completely intact and very good. Sold
43. Zepyhrus Image. Three Items Urging the Impeachment of Richard Nixon.
San Francisco: Zephyrus Image, 1972. A selection of several items from the ZI’s campaign against Richard Nixon, a frequent target of their printed ephemera in the early part of the 1970’s. See Johnston p. p. 54 for a great account by Eileen Callahan of distributing the bumper sticker to senators in Washington.
52
42.
44.
40.
41.
53
a. Impeach Nixon. 5 3/4 x 15" bumper sticker broadside, linocut in black on white uncoated paper. This appears to be a variant or proof copy not noted by Johnston, printed on white, uncoated paper. Johnston p. 206.
b. Why Impeachment? Why Not!!? 6 7/8 x 8 1/8" broadside, letterpress printed in black on cream paper. A broadside in the form of a petition calling for Nixon’s impeachment. This particular item was done by Matt Teter (Holbrook Teter’s son), and friends.
c. Label for the Dick & Pat Fly-Swatter and Fan (Deluxe Common Market Model).
San Francisco: [Zephyrus Image], 1973/1974. 5.5" square with blue text and red photograph of the Nixons. Second printing. A collaboration with Ed Dorn, this is a proof for the label that the actual fly-swatter was issued with. There are a number of variants, this is the Common Market Model, (b.) in Johnston [Johnson p. 179].
Some minor creasing else fine. For all: $125
44. Raymond Hains. Untitled. Verona: Galleria Ferrari Verona, 1970. 4to,
single sheet of card stock folded once. Offset printed in blue. With a fluorescent purple wooden match tipped onto the card stock.
The striking, minimal announcement multiple for Hains’ 1970 exhibition at Galleria Ferrari, with minimal text announcing the exhibition, focusing attention upon the fluorescent match tipped into the announcement – an incendiary invitation.
Slight indenting to card stock from matchstick, else fine. $150
43.
Division LeapP.O. Box 83509Portland, OR 97283(917) [email protected] divisionleap.com
TermsAll items subject to prior sale. Please email or call to reserve. Institutions billed according to their needs. Payment can be made by check drawn on a U.S. bank, bank transfer, credit card, Square Cash, Paypal, or offers of housing or employment in certain foreign cities or New York. All items may be returned for any reason within a week of receipt.
Catalog designFredrik Averin
© Division Leap, 2017. All rights reserved.