Rare books from Bernett Rare Books Inc

Unpaginated set of texts (printed recto only on 27 loose-leaf sheets of monogrammed "Fluxus" cardstock) providing a chronological overview of events in Holland from 1960 to 1969 directly linked to George Macunias and the Fluxus organization in New York, housed together with 24 related items, including facsimile reproductions of historical documents, invites, programs, photographs (new prints from original negatives and video stills), and a DVD edition of Edo Jansen's 1962 film, Décollage. 4to. Texts and items housed together in three-ring binder with clear plastic page protectors and grey cloth cassette. Amsterdam (Galerie A & artKitchen Gallery) 2009. Limited to 100 hand numbered copies. Facsimile documents include works by Ruhé, Maciunas, Jaap Spek, Willem de Ridder, Ludwig Gosewitz, Wolf Vostell, Stanley Brouwn, Nam June Paik , Wim T. Schippers and others.

A collection of approx. 65 pamphlets, mostly religious in nature though peppered with some secular tracts, most published in the United States in the first half of the 19th century but with a few before and after, including a wealth of sermons relating to the nature and practice of religion, its place in civil society, and other topics, many of the sermons in response to landmark occasions both large and small including days of thanksgiving and fasting, the ordination, anniversary of the ordination, or retirement of a minister, funerals of noted persons, the graduation of classes from educational institutions, etc. Most of the pamphlets were deaccessioned from an institutional library and in most cases the text blocks have been removed from earlier bindings; the works are all intact and in generally good condition except for some staining and foxing; though most lack their original wrpps. cover;, the text blocks are generally sound, with an occasional loose page here or there. Boston, New York,… Read More

Portfolio with 8 original color woodcut prints (each approx. 15" x 22") by Vennekamp, in his own original Pop style with Surrealist undertones, showing erotic imagery in bold, densely colored and compositionally striking formats, including stylized abstractions of genitalia, playfully seductive vignettes, the integration of numbers and letters into the layout, segmented divisions within compositions, etc. Large oblong folio. Contents loose as issued in orig. flexible boards portfolio, with graphically arresting typography on front and rear covers, flaps, etc. N.p, n.d. (Germany ca. 1968). Each print is signed, dated, numbered 2/33, and labeled "Farbholzschnitt" by Vennekamp in pencil. One of 33 copies. A wonderful and spirited work, emblematic of its moment both visually and conceptually, celebrating sexuality and the freedoms unleashed by the upheavals of the late 1960's. Vennekamp was a founding member, along with Uwe Bremer, Arno Waldschmidt, et al, of the Werkstatt Rixdorfer Drucke in Berlin;… Read More

5 volume study and presentation (in English) of the history of Ukiyoye painting and woodblock printmaking, defined in the preface as genre pictures and popular works depicting manners and customs of the time as opposed to classical works, including an altogether 211 pp. text distributed throughout the volumes, 156 fine text illustrations, mostly from line drawings, and 170 superb mounted plates, some in photogravure, but most from exquisitely rendered original woodblock prints done by an array of artists after the original works. Several leaves in the second volume damaged at fore-edge and into the extremities of the sheets; a sharp object pierced the chitsu case. Large folio. Illustrated paper covered boards, elaborately tie-bound in the Japanese manner, housed in damaged chitsu cases (one case lacking). Tokyo (Shimbi Shoin) 1906-1907. One of six hundred sets. A complete set of a spectacular work, marred only by some damage to the contents of the second volume, containing nearly 150 original color… Read More

7 vols. bound in 15 parts, comprising a complete set of the monumental catalogue of manuscripts in the Austrian National Library, copiously annotated, with bibliographic references throughout, each volume containing its own registers and indexes, profusely illustrated with collotype reproductions of manuscript texts and illuminations, some in color. Large 4to. Near uniform binding in brown cloth, save for vol. I in tan cloth, with brown title badge on spine. Leipzig (K. W. Hiersemann) 1923-1938. Arntzen/Rainwater M 11. First edition. Uncommon complete and in good condition. Titles in the series include: Vol. I. Die Frühmittelalterlichen Handschriften des Abendlandes. 238 pp. 36 plates and 146 figures. 1923. Spine expertly repaired. Vol. II. Die Deutschen Romanischen Handschriften. 466 pp. 44 plates and 236 figures. 1926. Vol. III. Die Romanischen Handschriften des Abendlandes. Mit Ausnahme der Deutschen Handschriften. 163 pp. 2 plates and 149 figures. 1927. Vol. IV, 1. Der Wiener Dioskurides und Die… Read More

42 pp. compendium of poems by noted figures including Koshiro Onchi, who also designed the book and its layout, accompanied by 8 reproductions of photographs by the noted avant-garde photographer Katsuji Fukuda (1899-1991) mostly showing images of the female nude. 4to. Stiff printed and illustrated wrpps., sl. shaken. Tokyo (Fugaku Honsha) 1947. A rare and important work and a collaborative effort by noted cultural figures in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Onchi was a leading book designer in Japan, responsible for some 1000 titles in his long career, as well as a noted photographer, printmaker, and poet. Fukuda's images, some of which present the female nude as abstraction, offer serenity in the midst of the cultural unease of the time. As of Juen 2015, WorldCat locates only one copy of this work worldwide.

Antique Italian bingo-type game set, likely late 19th or early 20th century, comprised of cardboard game board with 90 gold-numbered spaces on red ground with embossed gold paper frame, 90 hand-numbered wooden game tokens, and 15 sets of 87 total individual cards, housed in 8 colored cardstock sleeves, the cards hand-numbered and with hand-colored empty spaces. Some light age-appropriate wear and soiling, minor abrasions to board surface and corners, overall very good. Board measures approx. 13-1/2 by 13-1/2 inches, most cards 2-5/8 by 4-3/4 inches. Wooden tokens and cards housed together in a paper-covered cardboard box, contents loose as issued. N.p., n.d. Tombola is a traditional Italian board game very similar to bingo, first played in Naples in the 18th century. Traditionally, players would cover the numbers on their individual cards with beans, lentils, or pieces of orange or tangerine peel. The cards included here comprise 15 sets, labeled on the outsides of the sleeves and the backs of the… Read More

1686. (24), 456, (36) pp. detailed text on artworks in hundreds of Roman churches and palazzi, each building getting its own entry ranging from a paragraph or two to several pages, and including works by Caracci, Mantegna, Gozzoli, Carlo Fontana, Cortese, Domenichino, Borromini, Guido Reni, da Vinci, Lorenzo Lotti, Michelangelo, Gentileschi, Giotto, da Cortona, Luca della Robbia, Masaccio, Raphael, Titian, and hundreds of other artists and architects, full indices of churches and artists. Minor pen notation to title page, some minor notations to inside covers. 16mo. Old vellum. Minor soiling, a few minor losses to vellum along spine and at corners. Rome (Giuseppe Vannacci) 1686. Rossetti 10918, Schudt 282, Fossati Bellani 757, Sicari 241, Kissner 980, Schlosser pp. 595, 600. Provenance: From the library of Sergio Rossetti. A completely revised edition, by the author himself, of his "Studio di Pittura, Scultura, Architettura" of 1674. Descriptions of the Vatican and other palaces are newly added to… Read More

A complete run of 6 issues bound in 5 (160, 160, 131, 120, 156 pp.) of the transatlantic literary and artistic journal, with text in English and German, edited by Carl Laszlo, René Matti, Michael Barfuss, and Michael Heitmann, discussing topics such as art, photography, pop culture, and underground political movements, with written and artistic contributions from Allen Ginsberg, Carl Laszlo, Richard Avedon, Gerard Malanga, and William S. Burroughs, among others. Profusely illustrated throughout with images from photographs, together with five original photographs laid-in, one in each issue, by Robert Mapplethorpe, Manon, Gerard Malanga, Victor Bockris, and Eric H. Olson, depicting portraits of William S. Burroughs (two) and Taylor Mead, and one abstract image, photographs measure approximately 10 x 7". 4to. Original embossed silver wrpps., slight wear and rubbing to covers. Basel (Edition C.L.A.G. Basel) 1982-1988. A fascinating and rare journal featuring some of the major figures of the postmodern… Read More

Unpaginated photobook dedicated "allen noch lebenden Widerstandskämpfern des Dritten Reiches", comprised of approximately 29 black-and-white images from the funeral of three members of the RAF, each accompanied by a short explanatory text on the opposite page, with some pages of just text taken from contemporary newspaper reports, the images depicting the open graves and graveside before and during the funeral, as it becomes a public spectacle and the cemetery fills with spectators and media. Oblong 8vo. Original photo-illustrated wrpps., some slight soiling to cover, very minor wear to edges and spine, overall very good. Hannover (Internationalismus) 1977. On October 27th, 1977, photographer Max Dans attended the funeral of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, three founders and leaders of the RAF (Roten Armee Fraktion) who allegedly committed collective suicide while in prison. They were jailed for allegedly orchestrating several bombings, which caused the deaths of four people.… Read More

xv, 206 pp. catalogue and description of the paintings in the new Vatican art gallery, heavily annotated, with index, 63 text illustrations, 126 fine plates including 10 in full color. Folio. Leather-backed boards, binding professionally repaired, some edgewear and chipping, contents in good condition. Bergamo (Istituto Italiano d'Arti Grafiche) 1914. Ex-Pierpont Morgan library with bookplate on pastedown. The monumental catalogue of the paintings from the Quattrocento and later in the Vatican collections. The photographs of the works in this volume are of excellent quality and reveal details and defects of the paintings prior to modern restorations.

Stockholm: Holger Schildt, 1929 (printed in Helsinki by F. Tilgmann). Octavo (19.5 × 16.5 cm). Original photo-illustrated wrappers; 231, [1] pp. Twelve black-and-white photographs, a few full-page. Old creases to spine; front wrapper lightly creased and sun-tanned along spine; else about very good. First edition of this key work of the Finno-Swedish literary avant-garde, which was chiefly represented by Hagar Olsson (1893-1978) and the poet Elmer Diktonius. Olsson's work was situated in the tradition of symbolism and expressionism, and urged a spiritual revolution in both the arts and social life. Her writing was marked by a high level of stylistic and formal innovation, such as irregular rhythm, experimental structures, grammatical fragmentation, and contrasting images. She was also an important conduit of futurist and modernist ideas, and a generally cosmopolitan and internationalist outlook, to Finland in the 1920s. "One year after the publication of Andre Breton's novel Nadja the Finnish author… Read More

1901. 2 vols. text, x, 535, viii, 663 pp. history and description of the Gothic cathedral and its rich sculptural decoration and works of art, extensive notes including bibliographic information, inscriptions, index, profusely illustrated throughout with 274 text illustrations and 111 fine plates divided between the two vols. Considerable foxing throughout. Large 4to. Cloth portfolios, contents loose as issued, a bit rubbed and shaken. Amiens (Yvert & Tellier)/Paris (Picard) 1901-1903. (Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de Picardie). The monumental work on the important Medieval cathedral, with detailed illustrations of the building, sculptures, chapels, doors, stained glass windows, choir stalls, etc.

N.p. [Amsterdam]: Willy Scholte [Stempelplaats], 1970s-1980s. Various sizes, most cards approximately 10.5 x 15.5 cm. Loose, some cards with original mailing envelopes. Excellent condition. Willy (Wilhemina) Scholte was one of very few women working at the Stempelplaats workshop in the late 1970s and early 1980s, close to the heart of Dutch Mail Art activity. She became involved in the avant-garde mail art happening there, and was inspired by artists like Ulises Carrion and Aart van Barneveld. These cards are beautiful examples of the work she created while at the workshop. Many of the cards are signed by Willy, and some are titled with individual or series names such as "Sun's Suicide", "bellelibelle", "Arboretum", "The Last Bird", and "Kerk-gangsters". Many are also stamped or printed Stempelplaats. Included are six original mailing envelopes addressed to Bart Boumans in Amsterdam, each bearing a large round rubber stamp which reads "My Miles = Mail = Art - Willy Scholte". A collection of… Read More

Rome: Edoardo Tinto Editore; Edizioni della Casa d'Arte Bragaglia, 1923-1928. Various sizes, most ca. 19.0 × 13.5 cm. Original printed self-wrappers; between 16 and 24 pp. per issue. Most issues very good or better; occasional faint postal stamps or light spotting; issue no. 85 with pencil scribblings to cover and several interior pages; issues no. 95 and 96 removed from Sammelband, and lightly resized (ca. 17.5 × 12.5 cm), with no loss to text. Nearly complete run of this rare Italian futurist satirical journal, edited by Anton Giulio Bragaglia (1890-1960), who is primarily known for his work in futurist film and photography, and for his journal Cronache di Attualità, out of which the present publication developed. "This 'Roman Compendium', as it was subtitled, continued the use of the sfottetti or 'take-offs' found in the column I misteri della Cabala [The Mysteries of the Kabbalah] of its parent magazine, i.e. contemptuous and sarcastic comments on events and personalities of the art world...… Read More