Rare books from Arcana: Books on the Arts

(HIRST, DAMIEN). Hirst, Damien, Iwona Blazwick, Charles Hall & Sophie Calle. DAMIEN HIRST - A SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY FROM THE ARTIST WITH A DRAWING. Signed Presentation Copy - with a Drawing. London: Institute of Contemporary Art & Jay Jopling, 1991. First Edition 1/1750. Small 4to. Illustrated Wrappers. Artist Monograph. Near Fine. np (64pp), profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Designed by Form, London. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. This is the catalogue issued on the occasion of Damien Hirst's tour-de-force 1991 Institute of Contemporary Art London exhibition - the enfant terrible of the New British Art scene's very first one-man museum presentation. The first monographic publication on his work, this elegant document reproduces each of the exhibited butterfly paintings, dot paintings and glass vitrine pieces, and includes a transcribed interview between Hirst and Sophie Calle. A handsome example from an edition of one thousand, seven hundred and fifty… Read More

(RYDEN, MARK). Ryden, Mark. Introduction by Carlo McCormick. MARK RYDEN: ANIMA MUNDI - SIGNED LIMITED BOXED EDITION WITH A SIGNED PRINT. Signed by the Artist - with a Giclee Print Laid in. Sierra Madre & San Francisco, CA: Porterhouse Fine Art Editions & Last Gasp, 2001. First Edition 1/500 Deluxe. Square 4to. Boards in Clamshell Box. Artist Monograph. As New./No Jacket - As Issued. 134pp, profusely illustrated in color. The near-perfect distillation of childhood creepiness transformed into adult fine art, this first monograph on Mark Ryden sold out of its initial print run almost immediately. See Jimi Hendrix, Abe Lincoln, Christina Ricci, Leonardo Di Caprio, Colonel Sanders, the Teletubbies, Big Boy, Speedy Alka-Seltzer, and so many more in ways you've never imagined - not to mention the requisite Bees, Bunnies and Meat. A brand new, pristine unopened example of the deluxe edition limited to five hundred copies acquired directly from the artist featuring a copy of the book SIGNED AND… Read More

(HIRST, DAMIEN). Hirst, Damien. Robert Violette, Editor. DAMIEN HIRST: I WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE, EVERYWHERE, WITH EVERYONE, ONE TO ONE, ALWAYS, FOREVER, NOW - FIRST EDITION WITH A SIGNED PRESENTATION FROM THE ARTIST. Signed Presentation Copy from the Artist. London: Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1996. First Edition. Large Square 4to. Cloth in Dust Jacket. Artist Monograph. Near Fine/Near Fine. 334pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Designed by Jonathan Barnbrook and Damien Hirst. With a chronology, bibliography, and exhibition history. Published in conjunction with Booth-Clibborn Editions and the Gagosian Gallery, "I Want to Spend My Life With You,..." is likely the most lavish single trade publication to date on a contemporary artist. Frieze enfant terrible Hirst collaborated with the great Jonathan Barnbrook on its innovative, over the top design; incorporating a number of pop-ups, sliding and movable plates, transparent overlays, die-cut pages, stickers, and two… Read More

(MIRO, JOAN) (DERRIERE LE MIROIR). Miro, Joan, Jacques Dupin & Rene Char. DERRIERE LE MIROIR (DLM) NO. 14-15 + 29-30 + 57-58-59 + 87-88-89: MIRO - WITH THIRTY-FOUR COLOR LITHOGRAPHS. Paris. 1948, 1950, 1953 & 1956.: Maeght Editeur, First Edition Thus. Folio. Wrappers Bound in Cloth. Artist Monograph. Fine/No Jacket - As Issued. np + np + np + np, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Text in French. This is a compilation of four issues of Maeght's legendary periodical "Derriere Le Miroir" (featuring the great artists and writers of the 20th Century) devoted solely to Joan Miro. Bound by Maeght in dark blue cloth-over-boards with debossed white lettering in 1956, it collects the complete contents of DLM numbers 14-15 (Novembre - Decembre 1948): "Joan Miro"; 29-30 (Mai - Juin 1950): "Miro"; 57-58-59 (Juin - Julliet - Aout 1953): "Miro"; and 87-88-89 (Juin - Julliet - Aout 1956): "Miro Artigas". An internally spectacularly bright, most… Read More

(SOKOLSKY, MELVIN). Sokolsky, Melvin & Raphaelle Stopin. Afterword by Ali McGraw. MELVIN SOKOLSKY: PARIS 1963 / PARIS 1965 - "FLY" EDITION LIMITED TO ONE HUNDRED COPIES IN A LUCITE SLIPCASE WITH A SIGNED AND NUMBERED SILVER-GELATIN PRINT. Signed and Numbered with a Print. Beverly Hills, CA: Leafcar Editions, 2011. First Edition 1/100 Deluxe. 4to. Cloth in a Lucite Slipcase. Photography Monograph. As New/No Jacket - As Issued. 80 + 80pp, profusely illustrated in duotone and color. Designed by Melvin Sokolsky. This beautiful volume is the definitive collection of all seventy-four printed images from Melvin Sokolsky's wildly innovative "Bubble" and "Fly" series shot in Paris for "Harper's Bazaar" in the sixties. It includes for the first time more than a dozen previously unreleased and alternate visions of his iconic series, behind the scenes documentary photos, outtakes, and an intimate insight into the legendary fashion photographer's process… Read More

(RUSCHA, EDWARD). Ruscha, Edward. FLIPPING, KICKING, HOWLING, ROLLING, SITTING, STANDING, CLIMBING, TELLING. Signed and Numbered by the Artist with 8 Etchings. Los Angeles: The Lapis Press, 1988. First Edition 1/35. Elephant Folio. Full Leather in Slipcase. Artist's Book. Very Good/No Jacket - As Issued. np (28pp), 1 letterpress colophon + title page, 8 color etchings. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. "Flipping, Kicking, Howling, Rolling, Sitting, Standing, Climbing, Telling" is the oversized, extraordinarily luxe artist's book published in 1988 by Sam Francis' Lapis Press containing eight original etchings by Edward Ruscha. Each "silhouette" image was pulled by master printer Jacob Samuel at The Litho Shop on a 20 x 16" sheet of Rives BFK paper. The title and colophon pages are printed by hand-letterpress, and along with the etchings, four blank preliminaries, and endpapers have been hand-bound by Klaus Ullrich S. Rotzscher in an exquisite debossed,… Read More

(SAMMALLAHTI, PENTTI). Demos, John & Mario Peliti, Editors. Preface by Finn Thrane. PENTTI SAMMALLAHTI: HERE FAR AWAY - PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE YEARS 1964-2011 - SIGNED COLLECTORS' EDITION WITH A SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT. Signed by the Photographer - with a b&w Photograph. London & Santa Monica, CA: Dewi Lewis Publishing & Peter Fetterman Gallery, 2012. First Edition 1/45 Deluxe. Oblong 4to. Cloth in Clamshell Box. Photography Monograph. As New/No Jacket - As Issued. 256pp, 200 illustrations in duotone and color. Text in English. With a biography and bibliography. Published in 2012, "Here Far Away" is the exquisitely beautifully produced book that is the most comprehensive survey to date on the work of renowned Finnish photographer Pentti Sammallahti. A brand new, pristine example of the deluxe 2013 first printing issued by the Peter Fetterman Gallery as a "Collectors' Edition" limited to forty-five copies of the first English language edition of the book… Read More

(ANDO, TADAO). Ando, Tadao. TADAO ANDO: LECTURES AT TOKYO UNIVERSITY 1 + 2 - COMPLETE IN TWO VOLUMES - EACH BOLDLY SIGNED BY THE ARCHITECT WITH A DRAWING . Signed by the Artist - with a Drawing. Tokyo, JAPAN. 1999 (2002) + 2001 (2002): Tokyo University Press, Later Printings. 8vo. Cloth in Printed Dust Jackets. Architecture Monographs. Fine/Fine. 268 + 232pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. Text in Japanese. Issued in 2001 and 2002 only in Japanese, these two copiously illustrated volumes gather the complete typographic transcriptions of a series of lectures by renowned architect Tadao Ando held at Tokyo University. A bright, most handsome set of the two in dust jacket and obi with each additionally BOLDLY SIGNED WITH AN ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING in aqua colored marker on the front pastedown. The first volume features a rendering of Ando's iconic cruciiform window illuminating his 1989 Chapel of the Ibaraki Kasugaoka Church, known as "The Church of the Light". The second volume… Read More

(BEARD, PETER). Beard, Peter. PETER BEARD: 1977 EXHIBITION POSTER FOR "THE END OF THE GAME: THE LAST WORD FROM PARADISE" - A UNIQUE FRAMED EXAMPLE INSCRIBED BY PETER BEARD TO ICONIC NEW YORK RESTAURANTEUR ELAINE KAUFMAN THAT HUNG IN "ELAINE'S" UNTIL ITS CLOSING IN 2011. Signed Presentation Copy from the Photographer. New York: Peter Beard, 1977. First Edition Thus. Elephant Folio. Printed Poster. Exhibition Poster. Near Fine. One 25 x 18" heavy paper sheet printed photo-lithographically recto only, 1 illustration. Designed by Ruth Ansel and Peter Beard. This is the striking poster produced in conjunction with Peter Beard's 1977 "The End of the Game" exhibition at New York's International Center for Photography. Originally subtitled "The Last Word From Paradise: A Pictorial Documentation of the Origins, History & Prospects of The Big Game in Africa", Beard's groundbreaking first book from 1965 weaves his own photographs with vintage… Read More

(WOODRUFF, HALE). Woodruff, Hale. HALE WOODRUFF: "THE TRAVELERS" - AN EARLY COLOR LINOLEUM BLOCK PRINT. NP. ND (Circa 1935).: Self-Published, First Edition. 4to. Printed Paper. Color Linoleum Block Print. Near Fine. One 8 x 10 ¼" sheet of cream wove paper printed in colors recto only, neatly folded vertically to make 8 x 5 1/8" mounted with archival photo corners in a heavy white 14 x 11" beveled mat, 1 color illustration. This is the vibrant linoleum block print in colors entitled "The Travelers" self-published in the 1930s by the noted muralist, painter, and printmaker Hale Woodruff. Sent to a friend as a holiday card, it features three doves flying above three riders on asses underneath a brilliant star, in what was likely a stylized depiction of the three wise men. The recipient was Ms. Marjorie Green, a modest art collector and employee of Los Angeles' Golden State Mutual Insurance Company, the city's largest black-owned insurer for most of the… Read More

(BEARD, PETER). Bowermaster, Jon & Peter Beard. THE ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES OF PETER BEARD IN AFRICA - A UNIQUE COPY ELABORATELY COLLAGED AND INSCRIBED BY PETER BEARD. Elaborately Inscribed and Signed by Peter Beard. New York: Bulfinch Press / Little, Brown & Company, 1993. First Edition. 4to. Cloth in Pictorial Dust Jacket. Photography Monograph. Fine/Fine. 200pp, 153 b&w and 13 color illustrations. "The Adventures and MisAdventures of Peter Beard in Africa" is Jon Bowermaster's copiously illustrated, semi-salacious 1993 biography of the noted photographer, adventurer, and liver of the high life. A brand new, most handsome example of the 1993 first edition additionally with a UNIQUE, BOLDLY SIGNED TWO PAGE INSCRIPTION "To Lee / infinitely from PB / .... reaching from one / cement jungle / to another / gasp / etc -" in dark grey watercolor ink accompanied by a HAND-ASSEMBLED COLLAGE BY PETER BEARD comprising three 4 x 6" color c-prints from the sequence… Read More

(ALBERS, JOSEF). Albers, Josef. ALBERS: HOMAGE TO THE SQUARE (40 NEW PAINTINGS BY JOSEF ALBERS, SEPTEMBER 28 THROUGH OCTOBER 24, 1964, SIDNEY JANIS, 15 EAST 57, NEW YORK). New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1964. First Edition. Oblong 4to. Printed Wrappers. Artist Monograph. Good. np (10pp), 4 color screenprint illustrations. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. This is the elegantly minimal publication that accompanied legendary abstract artist, Bauhaus design teacher, and Yale University Art department chair Josef Albers' 1964 exhibition of forty "Homage to the Square" paintings held at New York's Sidney Janis Gallery. It reproduces a brief text by the artist as well as four exhibited works in the form of vibrantly colored, unsigned individual screenprints. An internally bright, handsome example with crisp plates - one of which has an unobtrusive tiny pinhole through the far edge of the right hand margin not affecting the image in any way - showing showing some moderate wear,… Read More

(WARHOL, ANDY). Warhol, Andy. THE PHILOSOPHY OF ANDY WARHOL (FROM A-B & BACK AGAIN) - SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY WITH A CAMPBELL'S SOUP CAN DRAWING. Signed Presentation Copy with a Soup Can Drawing. London: Cassell London / A Michael Dempsey Book, 1975. First British Edition. 8vo. Cloth Over Boards in Jacket. Artist Autobiography. Fine/Near Fine. 242pp, no illustrations. Dust jacket design by Julian Rothenstein with a photograph by David Bailey. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (A-B & Back Again)" is the charming 1975 confessional autobiography cum successful artist's instruction manual penned by Andy Warhol with the assistance of Pat Hackett, Brigid Polk and Bob Colacello. It combines the Pop Art titan's ephemeral musings and concrete business suggestions intertwined with hilarious transcribed excerpts from his ever-present daily telephone calls. A most handsome example of the stated 1975 British first edition of this inspirational and aspirational tome additionally bearing… Read More

(WARHOL, ANDY). Frei, Georg & Neil Prinz, Editors. THE ANDY WARHOL CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ: PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE 1961-1963 (VOLUME 01). London & New York: Phaidon Press Limited, 2002. First Edition. Stout Oblong 4to. Boards in Printed Slipcase. Catalogue Raisonné. Near Fine/No Jacket - As Issued. 504pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Designed by Julia Hasting. With appendices and a title index.. Sponsored by Thomas Ammann Fine Art and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., this the massive first installment of the catalogue raisonné of the paintings and sculpture of Andy Warhol. Included are fully detailed and illustrated entries for five hundred and forty-six unique works created by the late Pop Art icon between 1961 and 1963. An internally most handsome example of the now unavailable 2002 first edition of this invaluable document whose slipcase shows a bit of wear and discoloration. It has been priced accordingly. PLEASE NOTE: Additional… Read More

(CHRISTO). Javacheff, Christo, Jeanne-Claude & Jonathan Henery. Photographs by Wolfgang Volz. CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE: THE FLOATING PIERS, LAKE ISEO, ITALY, 2014-2016 - LIMITED SLIPCASED COLLECTOR'S EDITION SIGNED BY THE ARTIST. Signed by the Artist and Photographer. Koln, GERMANY & New York: Benedikt Taschen Verlag, 2017. First Edition #696/1000 Deluxe. Stout 4to. Cloth in Slipcase. Artist Monograph. As New/No Jacket - As Issued. 846pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Text in English. Designed by Christo and Jeanne Claude. "In this massive undertaking, Christo reveals the complete story of his and Jeanne-Claude’s extraordinary "Floating Piers" project executed in 2016 on Italy's Lake Iseo. It presents preparatory drawings and collages along with important documents, engineering drawings, technical data, maps and more than two thousand project photographs about the final sixteen day installation experienced by more than one million visitors from… Read More