catalogue 147

MODERN ART

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C AT A L O G U E 1 4 7

MODERN ART

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November 2008
 avant-garde 5

1
(ARP) Tzara, Tristan
Vingt-cinq poèmes. H arp: dix gravures sur bois. 52pp. 11
original woodcuts by Arp, printed in black (8 full-page hors
texte; 1 repeat). Sm. 8vo. Orig. wraps., bearing an additional
woodcut by Arp printed on a gold foil panel mounted on front
cover (repeat).
Arp’s woodcuts for “Vingt-cinq poèmes,” like those for
Huelsenbeck’s “Phantastische Gebete,” show the darker
range of feeling his work was capable of, brooding and at
times even sinister, as well as its more familiar facetiousness.
The formal resemblance to Kandinsky’s headpieces in “Über
das Geistige in der Kunst,” is unmistakable. “In 1917, there is
a dramatic shift in Arp’s work first seen in ten woodcuts he
made for Tzara’s ‘Ving-cinq poèmes.’ Moving away from the
systematic structure of the grid, the free-form shapes in these
images have a certain organic quality, suggesting indetermi-
nate natural forms fixed in a moment of flux. The change
seems to have occurred in Ascona, where Arp, Ball and
Janco all went frequently to visit Arthur Segal, Viking
Eggeling, Laban, and other colleagues, and was inspired by
Arp’s encounter with the natural environment there” (Leah
Dickerman, in the Washington catalogue). Cover panel slight-
ly rubbed; a very fine, fresh copy. 2
Zürich (Collection dada), 1918. $15,000.00 [Eugène] Mesplès is represented by perhaps the most radical
Rolandseck 6; Arntz 16-25; Hagenbach 46; Dada in Zürich work in the show, ‘L’honnête femme et l’autre’; in retrospect it
82; Almanacco Dada p. 593; Gershman p. 44; Sanouillet 193; is a tour de force of conceptual art worthy of Lawrence Wein-
Motherwell/Karpel 416; Dada Artifacts 19; Verkauf p. 105; er.” But mention must also be made of Amédée Marandet’s
Düsseldorf 108; Zürich 350; Pompidou: Dada 1310, illus. pp. astonishing “Portrait sans pieds d’un sociétaire de la Comédie-
270, 699, 963f.; Washington: Dada, p. 37, pl. 8; Berggruen Française,” a half-length likeness which depicts nothing above
Tzara-Bibliography 2;The Artist and the Book 2; Castleman p. the chin of the subject; and Caporal’s “Portrait de la belle Mme
177; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, X...,” a caricature of Whistler’s Mme. X, here shown as a
p. 128, illus. 135 human umbrella below the waist. A few signatures loosening; a
very fine, fresh copy.
2 Paris (E. Bernard et Cie., Imprimeurs-Éditeurs), 1884.
(ARTS INCOHÉRENTS) $2,500.00
Catalogue illustré de l’exposition des Arts Incohérents [1884]. Cf. Cate, Phillip Dennis & Shaw, Mary (eds.): The Spirit of
(10), 163, (1), xv, (1)pp. Prof. illus. with drawings by the artists Montmartre: Cabarets, Humor, and the Avant-Garde 1875-
reproducing their works in the exhibition. 2 hors-texte plates 1905 (New Brunswick, 1996), p. 40ff., figs. 58-61, 71-74
of Georges Lorin’s “Effet de lune” and “La comète,” printed in
collotype. Loosely inserted, proof sheet of the illustrated 3
wrapper for the edition. 4to. Stitched signatures, never bound, (BELLMER) Hugnet, Georges & Bellmer, Hans
enclosed within later marbled wrapper. Édition de tête, a Oeillades ciselées en branche. (48)pp. 25 illus. (of which 6
large paper copy printed on chine, designated “Exemplaire full-page) in color heliogravure facsimile from the original
no. 30/ J.L.” in the hand of Jules Lévy, opposite the title. drawings by Bellmer, integrated with the original manuscript
Founded in 1882 by the writer Jules Lévy, the satirical asso- text by Hugnet. Sm. 8vo. Pink wraps. mounted with lace-cut
ciation Les Arts Incohérents sponsored annual exhibits ridi- doilies and chromolithographic floral appliqués, as issued,
culing artistic and social proprieties with absurdist displays within a master binding by Mercher of plexiglass covers
that today appear direct forebears of dada, surrealism, art backed in pink morocco gilt; wood-veneered slipcase with
brut, and conceptual art, including sculptures made of bread pink morocco trim. “Exemplaire d’auteur” (as noted in red
and cheese, children’s drawings and found objects, all-black ink by Hugnet in the justification), on Rives paper, apart from
paintings, and in one case, an ‘augmented’ Mona Lisa. 200 numbered copies on Rives, from the limited edition of
Extremely popular (the 1882 show drew 2,000 people, Wag- 231 in all. It is inscribed by Hugnet in red ink on the half-title
ner and Manet among them), the Incohérents were an off- “à Rosie/ dont le domaine permanent/ est le charme et la
shoot of Montmartre cabaret culture, and held equally bizarre fraîcheur/ que voudrait incarner/ ce livre en dentelle/ très
masked balls as well. Lévy proclaimed the death of the move- affectueusement/ Georges Hugnet/ dec. 40.” A beautiful copy.
ment in 1887 (funeral cortège at the Folies Bergères) but it Paris (Éditions Jeanne Bucher), 1939. $10,000.00
wound on until 1896. Gershman p. 25; Ades 12.153; Manet to Hockney 107; Chapon
This catalogue of the 1884 exhibition was the first to contain p. 144; Biro/Passeron 1403; Reynolds p. 53f.; Winterthur 172
illustrations, and is wickedly designed to mimic the format of
the official salon publications. “In fact, with fumiste mimicry, [it] 4
was produced by the same printer, E. Bernard & Cie., in the BOMBERG, DAVID
same manner, with the same typography and format as for the Russian Ballet. (16)pp. 6 original color lithographs. Self-
illustrated catalogues of the annual Salon of La Société des wraps. Fitted cloth clamshell box. Edition estimated at about
Artistes Français.... In the 1884 Incohérent catalogue, 100 copies.
 6 ars libri

5
(BONNARD) Terrasse, Claude.
Petit solfège illustré. Illustrations de Pierre Bonnard. Deux-
ième mille. (2), 30, (2)pp. 30 compositions by Bonnard, most-
ly printed in colors, integrated with and surrounding the texts
and musical passages. Oblong 4to. Publisher’s dec. boards,
1/4 cloth, with full-cover illustrations by Bonnard on both front
and back.
One of Bonnard’s earliest and most charming publications, a
primer in musical notation for children, by his brother-in-law
Claude Terrasse. The layout and illustration reflect the influ-
ence of Boutet de Monvel, among other things. “I have to
think of the decorators of ancient missals, or of the art that the
Japanese put into the decoration of encyclopedic dictionaries
to give myself some courage,” he wrote to Vuillard in 1891,
during the creation of the book. In all, 2,000 copies were print-
ed, in two issues of 1,000 copies; this example from the sec-
ond. Covers a trifle worn; a nice copy.
Paris (Ancienne Maison Quantin/Librairies-Imprimeries Réu-
nies) [1893]. $6,000.00
Terrasse 6; Basel 27; Chapon p. 65; Söderberg p. 138; Turn
of a Century 56; Carteret IV.77

6
(BONNARD) Vollard, Ambroise
Sainte Monique. Illustrations de Pierre Bonnard. (2), ix, (1),
222, (6)pp. 29 lithographs and 17 etchings (including 3 tables)
hors texte. 178 wood-engravings (including 37 ‘bois non util-
isés’ on 15 plates hors texte). Sm. folio. Dec. wrapper with
wood-engraved vignette, loose, as issued (small tears at
head of backstrip). Glassine d.j. Uncut. All contents loose, as
issued. One of 257 copies on vélin d’Arches, from the limited
edition of 390 (including 50 copies hors commerce).
“Bonnard, whom one might associate with a more pagan
inspiration, interpreted this story of a saint—though treated by
Vollard in a contemporary style—with touching solemnity,
never lapsing into jejune sentimental piety. His lines vibrate

3
“Bomberg’s work was in his ‘constructive-geometric’ style
which he had developed before 1914. The drawings were
apparently done before the war and lithographed at the time
of Digahilev’s visit to London with his ballet. The dealer Jacob
Mendelsen brought Diaghilev, Bomberg and Henderson, the
owner of the Bomb Shop, together to plan the publication,
and financed it himself. Bomberg stated that he printed the
lithographs himself with his own blank verse poems in seven
printings, and that the abstract drawings had been done on
the inspiration of the ballet itself. Diaghilev objected to
Bomberg’s efforts to sell the publication like a programme at
2s.6d. a time” (Manet to Hockney).
The book is arranged as a sequence of double-page compo-
sitions of text and image. “Methodic discord startles/ Insistent
snatchings drag fancy from space/ Fluttering white hands
beat—compel. Reason concedes/ Impressions crowding col-
lide with movement round us/ the curtain falls—the created
illusion escapes/ The mind clamped fast captures only a frag-
ment, for new illusion”. This copy without the original wrap-
pers, and with two of the four folded folios that make up the
book cleanly cut at the fold into separate leaves; clean and
crisp throughout.
London (Hendersons), 1919. $8,500.00
Castleman p. 143; Manet to Hockney 46; Andel, Jaroslav:
Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, pp. 90, 94 illus. 87

6
 avant-garde 7

4
with life. It was, in fact, the last book he illustrated and saw into the demimonde he knew so intimately. The prostitutes,
published in his lifetime” (Strachan). Slightest intermittent fox- the rag pickers, the showgirls, the homeless—Brassaï juxta-
ing; a very fine and crisp copy. posed them with pictures of Paris’s leisure class, with the Eif-
Paris (Ambroise Vollard), 1930. $5,500.00 fel Tower strung with lights, and the Place de la Concorde
Roger-Marx 96; Rauch 27; Skira 28; Stern 11; Erving 5; Wheeler ablaze” (Vince Aletti, in Roth). “Amongst the best produced
p. 98; Basel 25; Chapon p. 281; Johnson 170; Strachan p. 56 and [most] influential photobooks ever. It demonstrates that
the urban flâneur was a crucial figure in 1930s photography,
7 perhaps as important as the social reformer. The book took a
(BRASSAI) Morand, Paul definitive step into new territories, which would be colonized
Paris de nuit. 60 photos inédites de Brassaï, publiées dans la by the likes of Weegee, Bill Brandt and others, and not least
Collection “Réalités” sous la direction de J. Bernier. (12)pp., by Brassaï himself, when his ‘secret’ night work from Paris
62 fine photogravure plates. Photogravure endpapers. 4to. would eventually be widely published” (Parr/Badger). An
Photo-illus. wraps., printed in red and black, spiral-bound. exceptionally fine copy.
“Published in 1933 by Charles Peignot’s Arts et Métiers Paris (Édition Arts et Métiers Graphiques) [1933]. $4,500.00
Graphiques, which also produced the influential graphic arts Roth p. 76f.; Parr/Badger I, p. 134; The Open Book p. 110f.
magazine of the same name and the smart ‘Photographie’
annuals, ‘Paris de nuit’ combines the luxe and louche. The 8
book, like many of Peignot’s publications, is spiral-bound and BRASSAI
the size of a child’s school composition book, but its graphic Voluptés de Paris. [Photographies de Brassaï.] (44)pp. 38
design is sophisticated and its photogravure reproductions so halftone photographic plates, of which 37 full-page. 4to. Self-
rich that the sooty blacks still look like they’ll rub off the wraps., secured with 5 plasticine rings, as issued.
page….Working at night, sometimes in the company of Ray- We quote at length from Martin Parr and Gerry Badger:
mond Queneau or Henry Miller (who gave the photographer a “Brassaï’s nocturnal vision of Paris is so well known, and his
cameo role in his ‘Tropic of Cancer’) but often alone, Brassaï book ‘Paris de nuit’... has been so influential—the first in a
became a master at drawing luminosity from the darkness. long line of noctambulations by photographers—that some-
The swaths of wet paving stones featured on the covers and one coming to [‘Paris de nuit’] for the first time may entertain
endpapers of ‘Paris de nuit’ gleam like pale beacons in the conceptions that are not matched by the original. For exam-
streetlight. Inside, Brassaï explores the city, beginning with its ple, much of the work seen in a later manifestation of his noc-
broad vistas and grand public spaces and gradually moving turnal work, ‘The Secret Paris of the Thirties’ (1976)—his
 8 ars libri

images of prostitutes, brothels, gangsters and homosexual

clubs, pictures that have become synonymous with his
name—are conspicuous by their absence. Some of this more
edgy work was published in 1932 in a book titled ‘Voluptés de
Paris’ (‘Pleasures of Paris’), but contractual disagreements
meant that Brassaï never acknowledged it.” Elsewhere Parr
and Badger note that “Brassaï had contracted with an under-
wear manufacturer called Vidal to publish a book called ‘Inti-
mate Paris,’ with a text by Pierre MacOrlan, as a companion
volume to ‘Paris by Night.’ But Vidal apparently prevaricated,
then brought out the 48-page ‘Voluptés de Paris’ in 1932, of
which Brassaï never acknowledged authorship.” Sources dis-
agree about its original appearance; most state the publica-
tion date as 1934, and the bibliography of the Houston cata-
logue state that there were two editions in 1934, “identical
except that one has 38 and the other 46 halftones.” Some
light abrasion of plates at lower right corner, from adhesions;
one ring split; small abrasion at foot of back cover; in most
respects a fine copy of a notoriously fragile book. Rare.
Paris (Paris-Publications), n.d. $3,000.00
Cf. Parr, Martin & Badger, Gerry: The Photobook: A History. Vol.
I, pp. 134, 315; cf. Roth p. 65 (“1934”); Houston. Museum of
Fine Arts: Brassaï: The Eye of Paris (1998), p. 332

9
(BRASSAI) Miller, Henry
Quiet Days in Clichy. Photographs by Brassaï. 171, (3)pp., 29
laminated gravure plates. 4to. Dec. wraps., designed by T.
Tajiri. “First and original edition” (as stated on title-page).
Miller had originally intended to use Brassaï’s photographs for
“Tropic of Cancer,” in 1933. Slightly shaken, as usual; small
tear in rear flyleaf, a trifle rubbed; for this book, a fine copy.
Paris (Olympia Press), 1956. $2,500.00
8
10
BRETON, ANDRÉ
Cho genjitsu shugi to kaiga./ Le surréalisme et la peinture.
Translation by Takiguchi Shuzo. (Gendai no Geijutsu to
Hihyo Sosho. 17.) (4), 100, 6, (16)pp., 41 plates. Wraps.
D.j., in parallel Japanese and English. Illustrations of work
by Picasso, de Chirico, Miró, Arp, Man Ray, Masson, Tan-
guy et al.
Takiguchi Shuzo (1903-1979) is recognized as the prime
mover of the Japanese Surrealist milieu. In 1937, together
with Tiroux Yamanaka, he organized the seminal exhibition
of Surrealism in Tokyo and Kyoto, in collaboration with Elu-
ard, Hugnet and Penrose. So significant was Takiguchi as a
liaison between Japan and the international Surrealist com-
munity that he was mentioned by 1932 in “Cahiers d’Art,”
and in Breton and Eluard’s “Dictionnaire abrégé du Surréal-
isme” (1938). Indeed, an entire chapter of the catalogue
“Japon des avant-gardes, 1910/1970” (Centre Georges
Pompidou, 1986) is devoted to Takiguchi and his influence.
In her essay on him there, Vera Linhartová writes “S’il est
inconcevable d’aborder l’étude du surréalisme sans le nom-
mer en tant que poète et théoricien de première grandeur,
et qu’il est difficile d’imaginer tout un pan de l’art japonais de
l’après-guerre sans tenir compte de ses activités critiques, il
se révèle plus malaisé de rendre visible l’importance de son
rôle dans le parcours d’une exposition.” List of illustrations
neatly annotated in ink with French translations; otherwise a
fine copy.
Tokyo (Koseikaku-shoten), 1930. $1,750.00
Centre Georges Pompidou: Japon des avant-gardes
1910/1970 (Paris, 1986), pp. 190 (illus.), 516
9
 avant-garde 9

11 artists were asked to submit work that would be reproduced.

BRETON, ANDRÉ From New York, Duchamp sent a cable that read ‘Je purule tu
Ode à Charles Fourier. (Collection “L’Age d’Or.”) 41, (7)pp. purules la chaise purule grace a un rable/ De venerien qui n’a
Illustrations and typographical ornaments throughout, printed rien de venerable/ rrose’ [‘Everything is pustulating in the con-
in black (some after ink drawings in pen or brush). 4to. Dec. jugation exercise because of an affliction which is more vene-
wraps. All contents loose, as issued. Édition de tête: one of real than venerable’], a sentence that was reproduced in fac-
25 roman-numeralled copies on vergé de Hollande, of 30 simile on the same pink paper as the original” (Naumann).
accompanied by an original lithograph by Frederick Alyce Mahon, in the catalogue of “Surrealism: Desire
Kiesler, hand-colored by Kiesler in chartreuse watercolor Unbound,” points out that while the design of the box itself is
and calligraphically completed in turquoise ink by Bre- usually credited to Duchamp, the idea of the post box, was
ton, signed by both (all as issued), from the limited edition of later claimed by Mimi Parent was her own invention, and that
1025 in all, “dessiné à New-York par Frederick J. Kiesler.” 320 Duchamp only added the subtitle, “Missives lascives.” Split at
x 477 mm. (13 5/8 x 18 3/4 inches), folded as issued. foot of box expertly mended; a fine copy.
One of the most innovative and important publications of the Paris, 1959. $10,000.00
postwar Paris/New York surrealist axis. In the course of its Naumann 7.41 (deluxe edition); Gershman p. 10; Rubin 437;
design, Breton himself, writing to Kiesler, suggested the value Jean Autobiography 175; Milano p. 659; Surrealism: Desire
of adding the lithograph/manuscript to the deluxe edition. Unbound (London, Tate Gallery, 2001), p. 325 n. 22
“Comme je persiste à croire que le poème est appelé à un
grand retentissement et que la présentation que vous en 13
avez assurée en fera en outre une grande curiosité bibli- CAHUN, CLAUDE
ographique, je souhaite ardemment que l’on puisse joindre à Aveux non avenus. Illustré d’héliogravures composées par
chacun des ces exemplaires en Hollande, au nombre de 25, Moore d’après les projets de l’auteur. Préface de Pierre Mac
un document hors-texte qui les fasse passionnément Orlan. (2), iii, (1), 237, (5)pp. 10 full-page collotype pho-
rechercher” (December 1946). tomontage/photo-collage plates. 1 collotype photographic
In the lithograph for this copy, the hand-written Breton text, a illustration at the conclusion. 4to. Printed wraps. Glassine d.j.
passage from the text calligraphed in curves and lines within One of 370 numbered copies on uncut vélin pur fil Lafuma,
the image, reads: “Filtrant la soif de mieux-être et la main- from the edition of 500 in all.
tenant/ à l’abri/ de ce qui pourrait la rendre/ moins pure/ André “‘Aveux non avenus’ (‘Avowals Not Admitted’) is Claude
Breton.” When folded, a pencilled inscription is revealed on Cahun’s first book, produced in collaboration with her lover
the verso: “Entre le mirage atomique et l’image de Fourier.” A
fine copy. Very rare.
Paris (Éditions de la Revue Fontaine), 1947. $6,500.00
Sheringham Aa381; Pompidou: Breton p. 395; Gershman p.
9; Ades 17.47; Biro/Passeron 455, p. 171; Jean: Autobiogra-
phy p. 403ff.; Reynolds p. 18; Johnson, Robert Flynn: Artists’
Books in the Modern Era 126

12
BRETON, ANDRÉ & DUCHAMP, MARCEL (editors)
Boîte alerte. Missives lascives. L’Exposition Internationale du
Surréalisme, 1959-1960, s’ouvre le 15 décembre à la Galerie
Daniel Cordier, Paris. One of 200 copies, from the limited edi-
tion of 320 in all. Multiple, housed in green card “mailbox” with
lid (285 x 18 mm.) containing: illustrated catalogue of the
exhibition (141pp.), with texts by Breton, Bellmer, Ray, Arp,
Paz, Carrington, Péret, Lebel, et al; 4 original color litho-
graphs, each signed in pencil, by Miró, Toyen, Max Walter
Svanberg and Adrien Dax; signed original etching by
Maréchal; double-sided 45rpm record by Benjamin Péret and
Joyce Mansour; a cable from Duchamp; 6 color postcards
(Bellmer, Dalí, Gorky, Miró, Svanberg and Clovis Trouille);
and 9 “missives lascives” (booklets, statements, prints, a
stocking), each in varying envelope, from Robert Benayoun,
Micheline Bounoure, Alain Joubert, Joyce Mansour, Mimi
Parent, Octavio Paz, André Pieyre de Mandiargues and
“XXX.” Lrg. 4to.
“On December 15, 1959, the eighth International Surrealist
exhibition opened at the Galerie Daniel Cordier in Paris. Like
others that had preceded it, this show was organized by
André Breton with Duchamp’s assistance. The theme chosen
for this show was something close to the mind and heart of its
two organizers: EROS, as was emphasized in the typography
of the title: ‘Exposition inteRnatiOnale du Surréalisme.’ For
the catalogue, which was to be a green cardboard container
shaped like a mail box and labeled ‘Boîte Alerte,’ various
13
 10 ars libri

Salaris p. 27; Falqui p. 62; Hultén p. 440; Tisdall/Bozzolla p.

103; Jentsch, Ralph: The Artist and the Book in Twentieth-
Century Italy (Turin/New York, 1992), p. 322; Andel, Jaroslav:
Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950 (New York, 2002), p.
111, illus. 114

15
CANGIULLO, FRANCESCO
Caffeconcerto. Alfabeto a sorpresa. (46)pp. Prof. illus.
throughout with typographic and pen-and-ink (and wash)
compositions. Sm. 4to. Dec. wraps., designed by Cangiullo.
Cangiullo’s best-known work and one of the most important
books in the Futurist canon, printed on colored stocks with
wonderful parole in libertà and other typographic experiments,
often with elaborate freehand elements. “Cangiullo reinvented
the typography of the printed page in the form of narrative fire-
works, borrowing from advertising in a manner typical of the
‘collage’ mentality, as for example in ‘Piedigrotta.’ Later he
began a fantastic deformation of writing, reducing it to an
image of its alphabetic origin, visually theatricalized, as in the
‘surprise alphabet’ in ‘Caffeconcerto’” (Enrico Crispolti, in
Hultén). “This short book stages each of the turns of a music-
hall show through graphic illustrations produced typographi-
cally. Sometimes the page becomes a theater of signs, but
the poetry is always supported by play and an inventive
cheerfulness that have no peer in the Italian avant-garde. As
such, ‘Caffeconcerto’ is the very best example of futurist
materialist writing” (Luciano Caruso, in Jentsch). Wraps.
archivally mended at split at backstrip, with innocuous small
loss at front cover; an attractive copy.
12 Milano (Edizione Futuriste di “Poesia”), 1919. $2,250.00
and stepsister Suzanne Malherbe (who signed herself ‘Marcel Salaris p. 27; Falqui p. 62; Hultén p. 440; Lista, Giovanni: Le
Moore’).... Following an elegant preface by Pierre Mac Orlan, livre futuriste de la libération du mot au poème tactile (Mode-
Cahun’s text consists of disjunctive mediations [sic] and philo- na/Paris, 1984) pp. 87, 118f., 145; Jentsch, Ralph: The Artist
sophical aphorisms on love and self-knowledge in writing and the Book in Twentieth-Century Italy (Turin/New York,
influenced by the Symbolists.... A photomontage appears 1992), p. 322; Poésure et peintrie, p. 61; Andel, Jaroslav:
before the introduction and each chapter with titles corre- Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, p. 111, illus. 113
sponding to nine ‘deadly elements’ (éléments capitaux
instead of deadly sins, péchés capitaux)” (Roth). A very fine,
crisp copy.
Paris (Editions du Carrefour), 1930. $8,500.00
Roth p. 62f.; Surrealism: Desire Unbound (London, Tate
Gallery, 2001), p. p. 186ff.; Andel Avant-Garde Page Design
1900-1950, p. 338, no. 445

14
CANGIULLO, FRANCESCO
Piedigrotta. Parole in libertà. Col manifesto sulla declamazi
ove dinamica sinottica di Marinetti. (28)pp. 1 halftone illus.;
parole in libertà throughout. 4to. Dec. plum-colored wraps.,
with cover typography by Cangiullo.
Marinetti, in his prefatory manifesto (‘Dynamic and Synoptic
Declamation’) describes the uproarious cabaret performance
of the work in 1914, featuring himself and Cangiullo, Balla,
Folgore and others tormenting the audience with cacapho-
nous musical performances on a cowbell, an out-of-tune
piano, saws, drums, and violins; a mock funeral for a passéist
critic, ridiculous black costumes in mockery of the ecclesiasti-
cal Neapolitan festival from which “Piedigrotta” took its name;
a troup of dwarfs; exhortations for the audience to light up cig-
arettes to counteract the ‘putrid stench’ of the corpse, and so
forth; in all, chaos worthy of a full-fledged Dada soirée. Of
Cangiullo’s books of parole in libertà, this is the earliest, the
most important, and the rarest. A fine copy.
Milano (Edizioni Futuriste di “Poesia”), 1916. $6,000.00
16
 avant-garde 11

14
16 poster-styled design, this very important composition may
CANGIULLO, FRANCESCO well have been (as we would not be the first to point out) a
Poesia pentagrammata. 44, (4)pp. Sm. 4to. Dec. wraps. pivotal source of El Lissitzky’s famous “Beat the Whites with
Cangiullo’s charming excursions into parole in libertà are here the Red Wedge.” A few almost indetectible repairs at edges.
paired with unperformable harmonic and rhythmic notations. Very rare.
The underlying temperament and esthetic is closer to Apolli- Milano (Direzione del Movimento Futurista), 1914. $3,500.00
naire than Marinetti, and resembles some of Satie’s scores of Salaris p. 84f. (illus.); Caruso, Luciano (ed.): Manifesti, procla-
the same period. The vibrant cover design, printed in red and mi, interventi e documenti teorici del Futurismo, 1909-1944
black, is by Enrico Prampolini. A fine, fresh copy. (Firenze, 1990), no. 69; Hultén, p. 489 (full-page illus.); Scri-
Napoli (Gaspare Cesella), 1923. $1,500.00 vo, Luigi: Sintesi del Futurismo: Storia e documenti (Roma,
Salaris p. 27; Falqui p. 73; Hultén p. 440; Lista p. 81, fig. 186; 1968), no. 40 (illus.); Tisdall/Bozzola p. 187f. (illus.); Salaris,
Tisdall/Bozzolla p. 103; Franklin Furnace 49; Andel, Jaroslav: Claudia: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (Firenze, 1988), pp.
Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, no. 111-112 139f., 146 (illus.); Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design
1900-1950, p. 108, illus. 109
17
CARRA, CARLO 18
Sintesi futurista della guerra. [Signed:] Marinetti, Boccioni, COLIN, PAUL
Carrà, Russolo, Piatti. Dal cellulare di Milano, 20 settembre Le tumulte noir. Préce de RIP. Introductory text, “The Topic of
1914. (4)pp. (single sheet, folding, partly in broadside format). the Day,” by Josephine Baker, reproduced in facsimile from
292 x 464 mm. (11 1/2 x 18 1/4 inches). “Prima tiratura: her original manuscript. (5)pp., 44 original lithographs (1 dou-
preghiera di affiggerla nelle case e nei luoghi pubblici.” ble-page folding), of which 41 colored in pochoir. Folio. Port-
“In September [1914], Carrà produced ‘The Futurist Synthe- folio (wraps., printed in red and black). Glassine d.j. Fitted
sis of War,’signed together with Marinetti, Boccioni, Russolo quarter-leather chemise and slipcase. All contents loose, as
and Piatti. This was a patriotic and witty line-up of the eight issued. One of 500 copies on papier vélin teinté des Papeter-
‘poet-peoples’ against their pedantic critics, the Austrians and ies Aussedat, from the limited edition of 520 in all. Pochoir by
Germans. All the enemy can offer is brutality, heaviness, the J. Saudé.
constipation of industrial cheapjacks, bigotry, papalism and We quote at length from the catalogue of the 1997 exhibition
spying—no match for Italy with ‘all the strength and all the at the National Portrait Gallery, “Le Tumulte Noir: Paul Colin’s
weakness of genius,’ or England and her ‘practical spirit, Jazz Age Portfolio:” “In 1925, Josephine Baker (1906-1975)
sense of duty, commercial honesty and respect of the individ- and the musicians and performers of her troupe, ‘La Revue
ual’” (Tisdall/Bozzola). Unique among Futurist manifesti in its Nègre,’ exploded on the stage at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-
 12 ars libri

18
Élysées with a wild new dance called the Charleston. The 19
Jazz Age was at its height, and Baker was destined to DADA. No. 7: Dadaphone
become its high priestess. Inspired by the popularity of these Editor: Tristan Tzara. (8)pp. 10 illus. (halftone photographs).
performers, the French poster artist Paul Colin (1892-1985) 4to. Self-wraps., stapled as issued, with front cover design
created a portfolio entitled ‘Le Tumulte Noir,’ which gave a by Picabia. Contributions by Tzara, Picabia (“Manifeste
name to the Parisian craze for African-American music and Cannibale Dada”), Breton, Éluard, Ribemont-Dessaignes,
dance that Josephine Baker epitomized. Soupault, Cocteau, Dermée, Aragon, Arnauld, Evola and
“After a brief love affair, Paul Colin and Josephine Baker others.
maintained a long-lasting friendship, which resulted in numer- The penultimate issue of “Dada,” brought out by Tzara in
ous commissions for posters, program covers, and other March 1920, at a moment of inspired Dada activity in Paris,
designs documenting her remarkable career. Colin introduced just before the Manifestation Dada at the Maison de l’Oeuvre
her to the haute société and the artistic elite of Paris. Baker (March 27), the first appearance of “Cannibale” (April), the
enchanted a host of writers and artists, including Georges Festival Dada at the Salle Gaveau (May). Reminiscent of
Simenon, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, “391” and with a strong Parisian bias along “Littérature” lines
Georges Rouault, Alexander Calder, and architect Adolf Loos, (like “Dada” 6), “Dadaphone”‘s visual interest is mostly in its
to name a few. insistent typographic density, rather than its illustration—
“Baker is specifically portrayed twice in Colin’s portfolio: in though it does include a beautiful abstract Schadograph, pur-
one print she wears a skirt of palm leaves, and in another, she porting to show Arp and Serner in the Royal Crocodarium in
wears the famous skirt of yellow bananas introduced at the London, as well as the spiralingly zany Picabia drawing on the
Folies-Bergères music hall in 1926. Other prints feature vari- front cover.
ous performers from the Revue, including a double-sheet ren- A remarkable copy including an example of the broad-
dering of the orchestra performing against an Art Deco side “Manifestation Dada,” designed by Tristan Tzara,
cityscape, and Parisians ecstatically dancing the Charleston” originally stapled in the middle of the issue, as is
(Lulen Walker). One plate slightly creased, a few innocuous sometimes found. A great succès de scandale, the Mani-
tiny tears at edges; a very fine, fresh copy. festation Dada was the third, and most elaborate, of three
Paris (Henri Chachon), 1927. $35,000.00 Dada demonstrations after the arrival of Tzara in Paris,
Washington. National Portrait Gallery: Le Tumulte Noir: Paul precipitating plans for the Festival Dada. This broadside
Colin’s Jazz Age Portfolio (1997), introduction by Lulen Walker. handbill, printed on pink stock, with red mechanomorphic
avant-garde 13

18
 14 ars libri

full-cover reproduction of Dalí’s “Debris of an Automobile

Giving Birth to a Blind Horse Biting a Telephone” and
montage composition showing the compositional layers of
“The Endless Enigma,” including six glassine overlays
printed in red, 2 halftones and 6 line drawings. Folio. Self-
wraps., secured with red cloth tape at fold. Catalogue of
21 paintings and 5 drawings. “The ‘paranoiac phenome-
non’ (delirium of systematic interpretation) is consubstantial
with the human phenomenon of sight. The hypnagogic
image, is it not actually a paranoiac interpretation of the
phosphene of the retina?” Covers a bit worn at extremities.
New York, 1939. $950.00
Reynolds p. 32

21
DAMPF UND ELEKTRICITÄT
Die Technik im Anfang des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. 12 zer-
legbare, zum teil bewegliche Modelle. Mit Zeichen-Erklärun-
gen und erläuterndem Text. 2 vols. [Plates:] (4)pp., 10 color
plates, including reproductive frontispiece, 1 color chart, and
8 elaborate color plates with overlays, within hinged heavy
card passepartouts. Publisher’s elaborate illus. cloth, with
allegorical composition in silver relief, of a maiden delivering
Electricity to a rough-hewn man with a hammer. Text: (2), 26,
(2)pp. 15 illus. and diagrams. Oblong folio. Dec. self-wraps.
Oblong folio.
A tour-de-force of mechanical illustration, containing 8 fine
22 colored lithographic plates with multiple overlays, of locomo-
tives, steam condensers, motors, electrical generators, pul-
line drawings by Picabia superimposed over the text, is
someters, an Automobilwagen, a telephone, a phonograph
one of the best ephemera of Paris Dada, and among the
and an electric light. The die-cut flaps and folding panels, all
rarest. In addition to providing a complete program of the
printed in color on both sides, and identified by number, range
performances (works by Dermée, Ribemont-Dessaignes,
in size from an eighth of an inch, to nearly the full width of the
Picabia, Aragon, Breton and Soupault, Éluard, Tzara and
plates, most of them intricately cut to extremely complicated
others), it carries advertisements for the forthcoming
contours. Six of the eight plates still sealed with their original
“Dadaphone,” “391” no. 12, and “Proverbe,” printed side-
glassine protectors, never opened; text booklet partly
ways at the right edge, printed in red.Oblong sm. folio.
unopened.
266 x 373 mm. (10 7/16 x 14 11/16 inches).
Berlin, n.d. [1910?] $650.00
Both the issue and the broadside show a horizontal foldline
at the center from mailing, indicated by the remnant of a
22
cancelled postage stamp on the front cover of the review,
(DENIS) Gide, André & Denis, Maurice
above the title. The issue itself is soiled, particularly on the
Le voyage d’Urien. (4), 105, (5)pp. 30 original lithographs,
cover, with some intermittent staining; the broadside bears
printed in celadon green, tan and black, integrated with text.
two small rust stains and little losses at the site of the sta-
Sm. sq. 4to. Orig. dec. wraps, with woodcut illus. after Denis.
ples (now lacking), but is otherwise well preserved, the pink
One of 300 copies on wove paper, from the limited edition of
tone of the paper fairly strong.
302.
Paris (Au Sans Pareil), 1920. $13,500.00
“A masterpiece of Art Nouveau” (The Artist and the Book), ‘Le
Dada Global 174; Ades p. 65; Almanacco Dada 32; Gershman
voyage d’Urien’ is generally considered the first livre d’artiste
p. 49; Admussen 70; Chevrefils Desbiolles p. 284; Sanouillet
illustrated with color lithographs. Gide, who had seen Denis’
226; Motherwell/Karpel 66; Rubin 462; Verkauf p. 178;
unpublished drawings for ‘Sagesse’ in 1891, was himself
Reynolds p. 110; Dada Artifacts 118; Zürich 374; Pompidou:
Dada 1363, illus. p. 315; Washington: Dada pl. 363. Cf., re
“Manifestation Dada”: Documents Dada 14; Dada Global 226;
Ades 8.42; Almanacco Dada p. 607 (illus.); Sanouillet 318;
Dada Artifacts 115; Motherwell/Karpel pp. 176f., 191 (illus.);
Chapon p. 132; Rubin p. 458; Andel: Avant-Garde Page
Design 1900-1950, no. 141; Düsseldorf 258; Zürich 441; Pom-
pidou: Dada 1472, illus. pp. 738, 770

20
(DALI) New York. Julien Levy Gallery
Salvador Dali 1939. Text by Dalí (“Dali, Dali!”), and state-
ments by Picasso, Breton, Francesc Pujol, Julien Levy,
Stefan Zweig, James Thrall Soby, M. Pazkiewichz, and
the artist. (4)pp. (single panel folding), illustrated with a
21
 avant-garde 15

23
responsible for Denis’ participation, and warmly acknowl- 23
edged his contribution by crediting him as a full collaborator DEPERO, FORTUNATO
on the title-page. “In this book text and picture developed by Depero futurista. (236)pp., printed on various paper stocks,
stages in a process of mutual inspiration. The soporific har- of which some colored; most versos blank. 28 halftone
monies of Gide’s poetry, almost a lullaby, are captured by plates in text (2 color). Line-block illus. and typographic
Denis in the chaste purism of Art Nouveau....The book is a designs throughout (many printed in red and black). Oblong
tripartite dream journey in the Maeterlinck idiom, and the lrg. 4to. Flexible blue boards, printed in black and white,
unexpected and the unreal are captured in a fluid, sugges- secured with massive metal bolts, as issued. Fitted cloth
tive style... His pictures have a gentle, undulating rhythm as and calf box. Stated limitation of 1000 numbered copies
if ruffled by a slight breeze” (Söderberg). Gide was equally (never completed), boldly signed and dated Milano 1927 by
involved from the start in the typography and mise-en-page Depero in turquoise and black inks on the verso of the title-
of the book, striving for a simplicity of design which would page. Design by Depero.
release the full effect of the revery in a characteristically Depero’s famous ‘bolted book,’ an anthology of his own the-
modern style. atrical and commercial designs from 1913 to 1927, “one of
Presentation copy, inscribed “cordialement/ André Gide” on the avant-garde masterpieces in the history of the book-
the half-title. The beginning of his inscription has, unfortu- object. It exemplifies all the Futurist innovations: witty typo-
nately, been clipped from the page, as has the lower half of graphical effects, the use of colored inks and decorated
the justification (with copy number), which must also have paper, and the brilliant idea of dynamo binding, making the
been inscribed. In all other respects, a fine copy. Loosely book seem like a machine” (Jentsch). “[This] book is Mechan-
inserted, a leaflet from the Librairie de l’Art Indépendant, ical, bolted like a motor, Dangerous, can constitute a projec-
advertising forthcoming publications. tile weapon. Unclassifiable, cannot fit into a library with the
Paris (Librairie de l’Art Indépendant), 1893. $10,000.00 other volumes. And therefore it is in its exterior form Original,
Cailler 37-67; The Artist and the Book 76; Manet to Hockney Invasive, and Assaulting, like Depero and his art” (from the
5; Chapon pp. 39ff., 278; Peyré: Peinture et poésie 4; Splen- preface to the work). A very fine copy.
did Pages p. 176f., fig. 73; Skira 61; Strachan p. 33f; Rauch Milano/ New York/ Paris/ Berlin (Edizione Italiana Dinamo
11; Stern 29; Turn of a Century 53; Söderberg p. 124f. Azari), 1927. $30,000.00
 16 ars libri

numerous illus., and 24 original prints hors texte, as follows: 5

original color lithographs by Brauner, Ernst, Hérold, Lam and
Miró; 5 original etchings (1 color) by Bellmer, Jean, Maria,
Tanguy and Tanning; 2 original woodcuts by Arp; and 12 lith-
ographs in black by Brignoni, Calder, Capacci, van Damme,
de Diego, Donati, Hare, Lamba, Matta, Sage, Tanguy and
Toyen. Lrg. 4to. Wraps. Chemise: pink boards, mounted with
a tinted foam-rubber Readymade breast construction by
Duchamp, encircled by black velvet cut-out; the back cover
with mounted label “Prière de toucher.” Later fitted cloth
clamshell box. One of 950 numbered copies from the limited
edition of 999 on vélin supérieur, constituting the deluxe tirage
of the catalogue, the etchings printed by Lacourière, the litho-
graphs by Mourlot frères. Apart from this was also a regular
edition, unnumbered, issued in paper wrappers without the
25
original lithographs, and without the Duchamp multiple that
Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950 (New houses the deluxe catalogue.
York, 2002), p. 112; Franklin Furnace 50; Jentsch: The Artist “Back in New York, Duchamp came up with an idea for the
and the Book in Twentieth-Century Italy, no. 177; Lista p. 108; cover, which to a certain measure was derived from the col-
Hultén p. 467; Salaris p. 35 lage he had made for the catalogue of the First Papers of Sur-
realism exhibition in 1942: a woman’s bare breast encircled
24 by a swath of black velvet fabric entitled ‘Prière de toucher’
(DUCHAMP, MARCEL) (‘Please touch’). For the regular edition, a black-and-white
Cahiers d’Art. Directeur: Christian Zervos. Vol. XI, Nos. 1/2. photograph of this subject was prepared in accordance with
“L’objet. Objets mathématiques. Objets naturelles. Objets Duchamp’s instructions by Rémy Duval, a photographer from
sauvages. Objets trouvés. Objets irrationnels. Objets ready Rouen best known for a book of nudes published in Paris in
made. Objets interprétéa. Objets incorporés. Objets mobiles.” 1936. For the deluxe edition, actual form rubber falsies were
68pp. Prof. illus. (4 plates by Duchamp on heavy paper, of painted and glued to a pink cardboard cover by Duchamp with
which 2 in colors). Sm. folio. Wraps. (slight darkening at spine the assistance of the American painter Enrico Donati. ‘By the
and at edge of back cover). Texts by Zervos, André Breton end we were fed up but we got the job done,’ Donati later
(“Crise de l’objet”) Georges Hugnet (“L’oeil de l’aiguille”), Paul recalled. ‘I remarked that I never thought I would get tired of
Éluard (“L’habitude des tropiques”), Gabrielle Buffet (“Coeurs handling so many breasts, and Marcel said, ‘Maybe that’s the
volants”), Claude Cahun (“Prenez garde aux objets domes- whole idea’” (Naumann). Label very slightly rubbed. Though
tiques”), Salvador Dalí (“Honneur a l’objet!”), Marcel Jean, lacking the accompanying outer box, a very fine copy, the
and Hans Bellmer. fragile breast in excellent condition.
The superb special issue devoted to the Surrealism and the Paris (Pierre à Feu/ Maeght), 1947. $35,000.00
Object, with cover (“Coeurs volants,” printed in dayglo red and
blue) designed by Duchamp. The topic was inspired by an
exhibition held at the gallery of Charles Ratton, a distin-
guished Parisian expert and dealer in primitive art; though on
view for only a week, it was one of the most important shows
of the Surrealist epoch. “For this particular issue of the maga-
zine, Duchamp was asked by the editor, Christian Zervos, to
provide a design for the cover, and he submitted a paper col-
lage of blue and red hearts to be superimposed over one
another, their sharply contrasting colors intended to create the
illusion of vibration—thus the title ‘Fluttering Hearts”—a
poignant image from someone who had suffered from a heart
murmur in his youth. Moreover, as Duchamp himself later
explained: ‘In French, it is a society expression to express flirt-
ing.’ The idea came from similar optical experiments
Duchamp had seen reproduced in text books. ‘It is a very well
known experiment in optics,’ he explained. ‘I think they call
them flying hearts....they use that [term] to indicate the idea of
playing...the optical play on the retina’” (Naumann). An excep-
tionally fine copy, very clean and crisp, especially rare thus.
Paris, 1936. $8,500.00
Schwarz 446; Naumann, Francis M.: Marcel Duchamp: The
Art of Making Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (New
York, 1999), p. 128, illus. 5.7; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde
Page Design 1900-1950, no. 458; Reynolds p. 108

25
(DUCHAMP) Breton, André & Duchamp, Marcel (editors)
Le surréalisme en 1947. Exposition du Surréalisme, présen-
tée par André Breton. 139, (3)pp., 44 collotype plates with
24
 avant-garde 17

This was Ernst’s first exhibition in Paris, and the collages

were a revelation to Breton, who praised them eloquently in
the catalogue. (This catalogue also represents Breton’s very
first venture in the field of art criticism.) Almost all of the pic-
tures had been sent from Cologne by Ernst, who was unable
to get a visa to enter France; they included paintings, draw-
ings and collages, primarily dating from 1919, either entirely
by Ernst or by him in collaboration with Arp and Bargeld—-in
which case they were credited to ‘fatagaga,’ for ‘Fabrication
de tableaux garantis gazométriques.’ The vernissage was a
high-water mark of Dada happenings: Aragon, in the cellar
impersonated a kangaroo; Soupault played hide-and-seek
with Tzara; Péret and Charchoune shook hands with one
another for an hour and a half; and all the Dadaists wore white
gloves, and no ties. In the buffoonery, “it seemed unlikely that
more than a very few people took in the implications of what
was on the wall. This was, none the less, considerable. The
show did not consist only, for one thing, of collages. Less than
a quarter of the exhibits were a matter of scissors and paste:
29 more common by far was an erudite mixture of painting, draw-
Schwarz 523; Naumann 6.23, p. 164f.; Lebel 191; d’Harnon- ing, photomontage, altered photography, altered advertising-
court/McShine 164; Sheringham Aa383; Gershman p. 9; matter, and pure collage.... If it were possible to reassemble
Ades 15.61; Rubin 425; Reynolds p. 20; Milano p. 656; the exhibition, it would probably be found to constitute a
Mundy, Jennifer (ed.): Surrealism: Desire Unbound (Lon- small-scale dictionary of ideas and motifs, some of them
don/New York, 2001), p. 282 illus. 271; Castleman p. 232; recurrent throughout Max Ernst’s career, others precipitated
Manet to Hockney 115; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page for the occasion and never taken up again” (Russell). Graph-
Design 1900-1950, p. 344 illus. 448 ically, one of the most electrifying examples of Paris Dada,
SEE FRONTISPIECE and very rare. Central fold; a fine copy.
Paris, 1921. $3,800.00
DUCHAMP: see also item 12 Documents Dada 31; Dada Global 238; Almanacco Dada p.
619; Sanouillet 285; Motherwell/Karpel 269, p. 176 (illus.);
26 Zürich 444; Pompidou: Dada 1332, illus pp. 427.4/6; 714;
EPSTEIN, JEAN Russell: Ernst p. 60f.
Bonjour cinéma. (Collection des Tracts. 6.) (122)pp. Prof.
illus. throughout with Cubist-influenced illustrations, cinema 28
ads, and typographic compositions. Dec. wraps. (ERNST) Paris. Galerie Van Leer
A book of poems and prose pieces on the cinema, admired for Exposition Max Ernst. 15 mars au 5 avril 1927. (12)pp. 4 full-
its hybrid of Léger-styled stencil typography, Hollywood film page plates. 4to. Self-wraps., stapled as issued. Catalogue of
posters (Chaplin, Fairbanks, Nazimova), and jazz-age 36 items, including “La carmagnole de l’amour,” “Forêt et
design. Here, the elaborate layout and graphic design is by soleil,” and “La mariée du vent.” The second of two shows by
Claude Dalbanne. “By the 1920s, cinema had become one of Ernst at the Galerie van Leer, 1926-1927, held at a moment
the main sources of inspiration for avant-garde artists, some of great productivity in Ernst’s career.
of whom, including Picabia, Man Ray, Duchamp and Moholy- Paris, 1927. $600.00
Nagy, also made films. Many artists saw the motion-picture
screen as a model for page design and appropriated various 29
cinematic themes and forms in order to update their design ERNST, MAX
language. Jean Epstein’s book ‘Cinéma’...whose first and last Rêve d’une petite fille qui voulut entrer au Carmel. (182)pp. 69
pages consist of a filmstrip image with the captions ‘Bonjour’ captioned full-page illustrations after collages of steel-engrav-
and ‘Bon soir,’ effectively suggested the transformation of the ings. 4to. Boards, 1/4 black morocco gilt. Orig. dec. wraps.
printed page into a projection screen. Almost immediately, the (with Ernst illustration) bound in. One of 40 numbered copies
filmstrip became an obsessively quoted image appearing in
many different variations on the covers and pages of books,
magazines, and other printed matter” (Andel). A very fine
copy.
Paris (Editions de la Sirène), 1921. $650.00
Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, p.
292, illus. 374, 385

27
(ERNST) Paris. Au Sans Pareil
Exposition Dada MAX ERNST. Du 3 mai au 3 juin [1921].
Text by André Breton. (6)pp. Single sheet, folded twice as
issued, opening to reveal an interior text printed on a bril-
liant teal blue ground. 220 x 400 mm. (ca. 8 1/2 x 15 3/4
in.). 1 illus. (serving as a frontispiece to the text).
27
 18 ars libri

30 30
on Hollande Pannekoek, with large margins of irregular for- awakened the book, physically, from its centuries-long slum-
mat, from the limited edition of 1100 in all. The second of ber: the pages which he has enchanted, rather than merely
Ernst’s three collage novels, and the least known, though, ‘decorated’ are so many eyelids that have started to flutter. It
Evan Maurer has noted, “this work comprises some of Ernst’s is the ‘verdant paradise’ of the child’s first picture-book, as
most powerful statements on the complexity of human nature, well as the herbarium in which every plant consents to flower
sexuality and desire.” Original wrappers a little worn; a superb a second time’” (Evan M. Maurer). Light wear to spines and
copy, in very fresh condition, of this rare tirage. slipcase; a fine copy.
Paris (Editions du Carrefour), 1930. $6,500.00 This copy is accompanied by a complete set of unbound
Spies/Metken 1587-1666 (after); Hugues/Poupard-Lieussou printer’s sheets of the plates for the dernier cahier: 12
8; Rainwater 22, p. 70 (Maurer); Gershman p. 20; Ades 11.49; leaves with a total of 48 compositions, printed two on each
Biro/Passeron 1056; Manet to Hockney 86; Villa Stuck 37; side, on the same stock as the book. Never trimmed or fold-
Franklin Furnace 133 ed, these sheets (measuring 280 x 435 mm., 11 x 17 5/8 inch-
es) are part of a group found bundled in brown paper, report-
30 edly from the Roland Penrose estate, and the Mayor Gallery.
ERNST, MAX Paris (Jeanne Bucher), 1934. $6,500.00
Une semaine de bonté, ou les sept éléments capitaux. Roman. Spies/Metken 1904-2085; Hugues/Poupard-Lieussou 11;
5 vols. (10)pp., 182 full-page plates of collages of steel engrav- Beyond Painting 51; Rainwater 33a and pp. 78-91; Ades
ings. 4to. Publisher’s dec. carton slipcase, the front cover with 12.150; Hubert pp. 269-286; Franklin Furnace 134; Reynolds
mounted illustration by Ernst on green stock. One of 800 copies p. 44; Stuttgart 76; Villa Stuck 36; Milano p. 651; Castleman
on papier de Navarre, from the limited edition of 816 in all, num- p. 161; Logan Collection 107; Andel Avant-Garde Page
bered in separate justifications in each volume. Design 1910-1950, illus. 430-431
Ernst’s third and final collage novel, assembled in a great
burst of energy in just three weeks, and much the longest and 31
most complex, serially issued in five separate cahiers from (ERNST) Carrington, Leonora
April through December 1934. The work is orchestrated in La dame ovale. Avec sept collages par Max Ernst. (34)pp., 7
seven sections, corresponding to the days of the week, and plates. Wraps. One of 500 numbered copies on vélin blanc,
correlated also with the alchemical elements. “In the five from the edition of 535 in all. A fine copy.
books of ‘Une semaine de bonté,’ Ernst developed a set of Paris (G.L.M.), 1939. $1,350.00
iconographical forms based on a wide variety of sources, GLM 208; Rainwater 39; Hugues/Poupard-Lieussou 16; Ger-
including Freudian dream theory, alchemy, and his personal shman 12; Biro/Passeron 609
life experiences. Taken together, his three collage novels
exhibit a poetic and pictorial genius that establishes them as 32
some of the most extraordinary monuments of twentieth-cen- (ERNST) Ernst, Max & Éluard, Paul
tury art. Their unique character was recognized by Breton, Misfortunes of the Immortals. Translated by Hugh Chisholm.
who proclaimed that ‘it is Max Ernst’s magic passes that have 44, (10)pp. 22 full-page illus. 4to. Dec. boards. Edition limited
 avant-garde 19

to 610 copies. “This edition is further augmented by Three replaced the yearboxes as a faster means of propagandizing
drawings Twenty Years After. The Misfortunes of the Immor- the movement and distributing new works; resulted in 9 issues,
tals was first published in Paris in 1920, originally revealed in plus 2 after Maciunas’s death. Each issue is different in content
French by Paul Eluard and Max Ernst, and now translated and intent, variously including scores, pieces and ads for
into English by Hugh Chisholm. This edition has been Fluxus works, posters for Fluxus concerts, and photo-reportage
designed and published by Caresse Crosby, handset in Spar- of past performances” (Phillpot/Hendricks). “George Maciunas
tan type twelve point and printed at the Gemor Press in the clearly designed the newspaper and had a big say in its con-
city of New York, March 1943.” Though not noted internally, tents. George Brecht contributed a major essay on Fluxus,
this copy derives from the library of Julien Levy. which could be considered an editorial. An important innovation
New York (Black Sun Press), 1943. $750.00 of this issue was printing the poster for ‘Fluxus Symphony
Hugues/Poupard-Lieussou 18; Spies 555-557 Orchestra In Fluxus Concert’ which served as an ad for the
concert and, by tearing the sheet apart from the first pages,
33 was used as a wall poster. The one printing served two pur-
(ERNST) Ernst, Max & Char, René poses” (Hendricks). Other contributions by and after Allen
Dent Prompte. (56)pp. 10 full-page original color lithographs. Kaprow, Nam June Paik, Robert Watts (a full-page collage, fac-
Folio. Portfolio (boards with 1 additional color lithograph by ing the poster) and Peter Moore (an irregular grid of twenty
Ernst). Chemise. Slipcase (somewhat worn). All contents photographs “From Fluxus Concert in Fluxhall—April & May,
loose, as issued. One of 240 numbered copies on vélin part 1”). A rolled copy, never folded and in extremely fine, fresh
d’Arches, signed in the justification by Char and Ernst, from condition.
the limited edition of 290 in all. Reprising 10 poems from New York, 1964. $1,800.00
Char’s “Dehors la nuit est gouvernée” (1938) where they Silverman 552; Fluxus Codex p. 95f.; Phillpot/Hendricks 19
appeared under the title “Versions”; they were later revised in
1949 omitting (as here) all punctuation. 36
Paris (Galerie Lucie Weill ), 1969. $4,500.00 FLUXUS. No. 5
Spies/Leppien A19; Quinn p. 434; Lilly 60; Splendid Pages p. Fluxus Vacuum TRapEzoid. Fluxus No. 5. March, 1965.
179, fig. 120 (4)pp. (single sheet, folding), printed in on brown wove stock.
560 x 430 mm. (22 x 17 inches). Prof. illus. Tabloid folio.
34 The fifth issue of the Fluxus newspaper, edited and
(ERNST) Arnim, Achim von, et al. designed by George Maciunas, with a page given to George
Caspar David Friedrich: Seelandschaft mit Kapuziner./ Brecht. This issue, dramatically illustrated with mid-
Paysage marin avec un Capucin. [Von] Achim von Arnim, nineenth-century wood-engravings and woodblock type-
Clemens Brentano, & Heinrich Kleist. Illustriert und ins Franzö- faces, includes a full-page poster for the Perpetual Fluxfest
sische übertragen. 33, (5)pp. 1 original lithograph, printed in on Sundays that summer at the Cinemathèque (Yoko Ono,
grey (frontispiece). 6 illus. of collages by Ernst. Folio. Wraps. Eric Andersen, Ben Vautier, et al.), full-page mail order
One of 500 hand-numbered copies, from the limited edition of advertisements for the Fluxshop (Fluxus Yearboxes, Fluxkit,
610 in all, printed on uncut vélin de Rives. Discreet stamp of Fluxchess, Fluxorgan, and other pieces by Chieko Shiomi,
the Sammlung Aebli-Streiff, Zürich. Robert Watts, Joe Jones, Ayo, Vautier, Alison Knowles,
Zürich (Hans Bolliger), 1972. $1,250.00 George Brecht, and others); and, last, a “River Wax” Sci-
Spies/Leppien 219; Rainwater 114; Stuttgart: Institut für Aus- ence page: “a special report by the Yam Festival Research
landsbeziehungen: Max Ernst Books and Graphic Work Laboratories,” with strange technical arcana (“Initial Uptake
(1977), no. 64 of Silica by Excised Barley Roots,” “Friction between Feet
and Ground”) intermingled with faux-commercial come-ons
35 and remarks (“Are You as Smooth in Hoboken as You Are in
FLUXUS. No. 4 Louisville?,” “You may be the first scientist whose informa-
Fluxus cc fiVe ThReE. Fluxus No. 4. June, 1964. Edited by tion problemns can’t be helped”) and peculiar photographic
Fluxus Editorial Council. (4)pp. (single sheet, folding), printed and wood-engraved figures. A rolled copy, never folded and
on newsprint. 585 x 458 mm. (23 x 18 inches). Prof. illus. in extremely fine, fresh condition.
Tabloid folio. New York, 1966. $1,800.00
The fourth issue of the Fluxus newspaper. “These temporarily Silverman 557; Fluxus Codex p. 96f.; Phillpot/Hendricks 21

35 36 37 38
 20 ars libri

37
FLUXUS. No. 6
Fluxus Vaudeville TouRnamEnt. Fluxus No. 6. July, 1964.
(4)pp. (single sheet, folding), printed in black on tan stock.
560 x 430 mm. (22 x 17 inches). Tabloid folio.
The sixth issue of the Fluxus newspaper. “‘Fluxus Vaudeville
TouRnamEnt,’” published in New York, July 1965, was...by
now entirely edited by George Maciunas—anonymously. A
propaganda vehicle for Fluxus performance, it contains many
photographs of past events and two posters for events later
that year” (Fluxus Codex). The posters promote “Perpetual
Fluxfest at New Cinematheque” (Sept.-Dec. 1965) and “Flux
Orchestra at Carnegie Recital Hall” (September 25, 1965),”
the latter a handsome Benday dot composition. A rolled copy,
never folded and in extremely fine, fresh condition.
New York, 1964. $1,800.00
Silverman 561; Fluxus Codex p. 97; Phillpot/Hendricks 22

38
FLUXUS. No. 8
Fluxus Vaseline sTREet. Fluxus No. 8. May, 1966. (4)pp. (sin-
gle sheet, folding), printed in black on scarlet stock. 560 x 430
mm. (22 x 17 inches). Tabloid folio.
The eighth issue of the Fluxus newspaper. This glamorously
beautiful one promotes on page 1 (all but illegibly, on a Ben
Day screened photograph of stones) a street cleaning event
in front of the Plaza Hotel on June 11th; and on page 2, a
hotel event at the Waldorf (“inquire for room booked by
Fluxus, bring your own towel”), advertised in an elaborate,
Ernst-inspired full-page collage design from steel engravings;
“Yellow Pages, or an action page by Wolf Vostell,” on page 3;
and on page 4 a “Flux Shop” with photo illustrations of superb
Fluxus publications, multiples, games, kits, instruments, furni-
ture, multiples, and other items. A rolled copy, never folded
and in extremely fine, fresh condition.
New York, 1966. $1,800.00
Silverman 569; Fluxus Codex p. 98f.; Phillpot/Hendricks 28

39
FLUXUS. No. 11
a V TRE EXTRA. [Fluxus] No. 11. Saturday, March 24, 1979.
“MACIUNAS DIES. Hart attack kills him at summer palace.”
15, (1)pp. 375 x 290 mm. (ca. 11/12 x 14 3/4 inches). 2 insert
texts (key to illustrations, and errata slip), printed on brown
stock in tall narrow formats. 4to. Wraps.
The eleventh issue of the Fluxus newspaper. “‘A VTRE
EXTRA was edited by the ‘Fluxus Editorial Council,’ in this
case, it was Geoffrey Hendricks who initated the project and
actually edited it. Sara Seagull was its designer. The news-
paper is a posthumous tribute to George Maciunas. Num-
bered 11, it can be considered the final Fluxus newspaper”
(Fluxus Codex). Contributions by Peter Moore, Robert
Watts, Henry Flynt, Wolf Vostell, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier,
Milan Knízák, Geoffrey Hendricks, George Brecht, Alison
Knowles, Bici Forbes, Daniel Spoerri, Ken Friedman, and
others. The rare errata slip (a sizable printed sheet) con-
tains corrections to Robert Watts’s list of George Maciunas’s
vital statistics, which had inadvertantly lost its numerical
superscripts: “Words spoken: 3.07 x 108...Characters
Typed: 2.53 x 107 (stretched-out length: 47.8 miles)...Total
Observed Distance: 8.88 x 1010 ft. (16,830,000
miles)....Total Sounds Heard: 3.14 x 107.”
New York, 1979. $650.00
Silverman 608; Fluxus Codex p. 100f.; Phillpot/Hendricks 61
40
 avant-garde 21

40
DIE FORM
Monatsschrift für gestaltende Arbeit [Zeitschrift für gestal-
tende Arbeit]. Verantwortlicher Schriftleiter: Dr. Walter Riezler,
Stettin, Städtisches Museum. Vol. I (1922), Nos. 1-4 (of 5);
continued as: [Neue Folge] Vols. I-VIII, 1925/1926—1933;
Vol. IX, No. 4. Prof. illus. (occasionally in color). Vols. III-VII
are fully indexed. Lrg. 4to. Vol. I (1922) unbound, in the origi-
nal publisher’s wraps.; Vols. I (1925/26) - VI in contemporary
boards, 1/4 cloth; Vol. VII in publisher’s stamped orange cloth;
Vol. VIII unbound in the original photo-illus. wraps. Texts by
Peter Behrens, Hans Poelzig, Lewis Mumford, Wilhelm Lotz,
Max Burchartz, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Hilbersheimer, W.C.
Behrendt, P.R. Henning, Alfred Gellhorn, Johannes Molzahn,
Willy Baumeister, J.J.P. Oud, Werner Gräff, Adolf Behne, Otto
Bartning, Ernst May, Fritz Block, Alfred Dorner, Ludwig Mies
van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Theo van Doesburg, Siegfreid
Kracauer, László Moholy-Nagy, Marcel Breuer, Johannes
Itten, L.W. Rochowanski, P. Morton Shand, Paul Westheim,
Richard Neutra, Jan Tschichold, Frank Lloyd Wright, Paul
Tillich, Willard D. Morgan, Hans Richter, Sasha Stone, and
many others.
A substantially complete run of this very important Werkbund
journal, a major organ of modernist architecture, “which, after
a short run in 1922, achieved great influence between 1925
and 1930 and survived until 1934” (Dictionary of Art). “[In]
1926 the Werkbund decided to turn its Berlin headquarters
into a clearing house for everyone interested in the new archi-
tecture, and to this end solicited plans, photographs, and
models from its members. Its sympathy for the ‘Neue Bauen’ 41
found further expression in its journal, ‘Die Form,’ which cov- the next” (Luciano Caruso, in Jentsch). Small trace of foxing
ered all aspects of creative design but gave increasing space at left edge of cover; an unusually fine and fresh copy.
to architecture and urban planning. Despite a limited circula- Milano (Edizione Futuriste di “Poesia”), 1915. $2,500.00
tion of around 5,000 copies, ‘Die Form’ acquired a consider- Salaris p. 41; Falqui p. 68; Lista, Giovanni: Le livre futuriste de la
able reputation in Germany and abroad as the mouthpiece of libération du mot au poème tactile (Modena/Paris, 1984) p. 19;
the progressive architects, rivalled only by Ernst May’s ‘Das Jentsch, Ralph: The Artist and the Book in Twentieth-Century Italy
neue Frankfurt.’ After October 1928 it changed over from (Turin/New York, 1992), p. 321
monthly to biweekly publication, and its status as an architec-
tural journal was enhanced by inclusion of a regular section 42
devoted to the economics of building” (Campbell). Ultimately LE GRAND JEU
overpowered by National Socialism, “Die Form” appeared Direction: Roger Gilbert-Lecomte, René Daumal, Josef Síma,
only intermittently in 1934, and was transmogrified by the time Roger Vailland. Nos. 1-3, été 1928 - automne 1930 (all pub-
of its last issue in 1935. Sets so nearly complete as this are lished). 64-96pp. per issue. Prof. illus. (including hors texte
very rare. plates). 4to. Dec. wraps. Glassine d.j. Uncut. Texts and illus-
Berlin, 1922-1934. $15,000.00 trations by Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, Robert Desnos,
Jaeger 1074; Prause p. 208; Campbell, Joan: The German Saint-Pol Roux, Jaroslav Seifert, René Daumal, Ramón
Werkbund: The Politics of Reform in the Applied Arts (Prince- Gómez de la Serna, Hendrik Cramer, Roger Vailland, Roger
ton, 1978), p. 183f., bibliography B.4-5 Gilbert-Lecomte, Víteslav Nezval, A. Rolland de Renéville, et
al.; illustrations by Man Ray, Josef Sima, Maurice Henry,
41 André Masson, Arthur Harfaux, Mayo, Jean Arp, et al.
GOVONI, CORRADO A complete run of the review, which gave its name to a group
Rarefazioni e parole in libertà. 4º migliaio. 49, (7)pp. Line within (and adjacent to) the Surrealist movement, excommu-
drawings and typographic compositions throughout. Sm. folio. nicated in the course of one of Breton’s characteristic purges
Printed wraps. (a specialty of the house, __ tartly observed). “This parasur-
One of the most enchanting books in the literature of parole in realist journal (the title was borrowed from a book of poems
libertà, filled with lyrical freehand drawings and typographic by Péret published in 1928) first appeared at the end of 1928,
compositions enhanced by the spaciousness of the unusual edited and illustrated by René Daumal, Roger Gilbert-
large format. “Govoni’s poetry is punctuated with flashes of Lecomte, Arthur Harfaux, Maurice Henry, Joseph Sima, and
humor that strongly recall Rimbaud. Elsewhere it swings Roger Vaillant. Of those, several like Maurice Henry and
between lines, handwritten in a deliberately simple and child- Arthur Harfaux, were later to collaborate on ‘Le Surréalisme
like style, and quite extraordinary typographical fantasies au Service de la Révolution’.... Given the Surrealists’ desire
which forecast the techniques of concrete and minimalist for communal political action, particularly on the part of
poetry. Govoni’s literary background is stressed by bold page Aragon, Breton, Thirion, ‘Le Grand Jeu’ was seen to be clos-
designs which set up a contrapuntal theme throughout the er in spirit to the early numbers of ‘La Révolution Surréaliste’
typographical experimentation that changes from one page to and the inclination to purely literary and artistic activity which
 22 ars libri

as well. “Manultiefdruck” printing, devised in 1913, is

explained by Dückers as a non-photographic reproductive
chromate process. Portfolio a little worn.
Berlin (Der Malik-Verlag), 1928. $850.00
Dückers M VI; Lang 51; Bülow 83; Hermann 165; Malik-Biblo-
graphie 233

45
GUTAÏ 8
L’aventure informelle. [Par] Michel Tapié. Numéro spécial sur
l’art informel, publié le 29 septembre 1957. Gérant: Michel
Tapié, Jiro Yoshihara. Mise en page: Le groupe de Gutaï. Édi-
teur: Shozo Shimamoto. (88)pp. Prof. illus. (partly in color).
Sq. 4to. Wraps. Publisher’s white cardboard case, printed in
red. A special issue of “Gutaï” dating from the moment when
Tapié visited in Tokyo for an exhibition of the work of Georges
Mathieu, and drew the Gutaï movement into the sphere of
Western art informel. The issue is devoted primarily to Euro-
pean and American painters (Burri, Saura, Paolozzi, Pollock,
Krasner, Mitchell, Gottlieb, Guston, Tobey, et al), but also
includes a number of Gutaï counterparts.
Nishinomiya, 1957. $1,750.00
45
had already led to the expulsions of Artaud, Vitrac and 46
Soupault” (Ades). A little light wear to the wrappers; a fine set, GUTAÏ 14
complete with the blue papillon tipped into the first issue, 15th Gutaï Art Exhibition. (16)pp. 34 halftone illus. Lrg. oblong
asserting that the editors had already chosen the title ‘Le 4to. Self-wraps. Published in conjunction with the group’s
grand jeu’ before learning that Péret had already taken it as 15th exhibition, held at the Gutaï Pinacotheca, Osaka,
the title of his forthcoming book. Rare. notable for the inclusion of a large group of artists as new
Paris, 1928-1930. $5,000.00 members. Also covered in this issue is the Zero exhibition in
Gershman p. 49; Admussen 103; Ades 9.74, p. 203; 1965 (“Ekspositie Nul 1965.”) Loosely inserted, checklist fly-
Biro/Passeron p. 190f.; Nadeau pp. 143f., 155ff., 331 ers for the 16th Gutaï Art Exhibition (8-13 October 1965, at
the Keio Department Store, Tokyo) and 19th Gutaï Art Exhibi-
43 tion (1-14 October 1967), the latter with brief entries and pho-
(GROSZ, GEORGE) tographs of 31 members of Gutaï.
“Gegen die Ausbeuter! Tödliche Wirkung gegen die bürger- [Nishinomiya City?] 1965. $1,500.00
lichen ideologien! ‘Der blutige Ernst.’” Promotional broadside
for “Der blutige Ernst.” Single sheet (machine-made green 47
wove stock), printed on both sides with texts (printed in red HI RED CENTER
and black) and line-drawn illustrations by George Grosz. 398 Edited by Shigeko Kubota. Single sheet of wove stock,
x 275 mm. (ca. 15 5/8 x 10 7/8 inches). Folio. The mention printed on both sides in black 558 x 428 mm. (22 x 16 7/8
here of Carl Einstein and Grosz as co-editors indicates a date inches).
between November 1919, when, with the third issue, they “‘Hi Red Center,’ a newspaper-like Fluxus publication, was
assumed editorial control of the magazine, and February edited by Shigeko Kubota. Its proper title is ‘Bundle of
1920, when it ceased publication with its sixth issue. Grosz Events’.... In 1953 Marcel Duchamp designed a poster-cat-
and Einstein prepared the text of the flyer; credit for the mon- alogue for the exhibition ‘Dada 1916-1923’ at the Sidney
tage layout is given at bottom jointly to Grosz and John Heart- Janis Gallery in New York City; the posters were crumpled
field. Paper stock faded to brown, as usual; chips at extremi- into balls and placed in trash baskets for people to retrieve.
ties, with small losses. Hi Red Center’s ‘Bundle of Events’ is a sheet printed on both
Berlin [1919]. $2,200.00 sides, of events and photo-documentation, published by
Dada Global 40; Almanacco Dada p. 595 (illus.); Bergius p. 218 Fluxus.... George Maciunas distributed ‘Bundle of Events’
(illus.); Dachy p. 100 (illus.); Dachy: Archives dada/ chronique, crumpled up into a ball and sometimes tied in a rope net
p. 124 (illus.); Richter p. 111 (illus.); Düsseldorf 451 similar to Akasegawa’s tied counterfeit 1000 Yen note
pieces in the early 1960s, Duchamp’s trashed posters, and
44 Christo’s ‘Package’” (Hendricks). The front is a rather dense
GROSZ, GEORGE collage of texts describing performance pieces and other
Hintergrund. 17 Zeichnungen von George Grosz zur Auf- memorable events in Tokyo, 1962-1964, the whole over-
führung des “Schweijk” in der Piscatorbühne. (18)ff., including printed on maps of Tokyo districts. On the back is a grid of
title and 17 “Manultiefdruck” plates. Oblong sm. 4to. (170 x 32 photographs of the pieces, keyed by number to locations
260 mm.). Publisher’s yellow paper portfolio, with dramatic on the front. A fine copy.
cover drawing and design by Grosz. All contents loose, as Tokyo, 1965. $1,800.00
issued. A selection of 17 drawings from some 300 that Grosz Fluxus Codex pp. 267, 307 (illus.); Silverman 168.IIff.; Mere-
made for Erwin Piscator’s production of ‘The Good Soldier wether, Charles & Hiro, Rika Iezumi, editors): Art Anti-Art Non-Art:
Schweik” in Berlin in November 1928; published on the day of Experimentations in the Public Sphere in Postwar Japan 1950-
its première, the portfolio may have been sold at the theatre 1970 (Getty Research Institute, 2007), p. 80f., pl. 15
 avant-garde 23

48

48 nude images cut out of ‘Paris Magazine’ rehearse typical

HUGNET, GEORGES Surrealist themes…. The cover by Marcel Duchamp spells
La septième face du dé. Poëmes - découpages. Couverture out the title in letters containing the names of a whole Sur-
de Marcel Duchamp. (88)pp. 20 full-page collotype plates of realist pantheon…and also a Man Ray photograph of
photomontages (15 color). Numerous ornamental designs in Duchamp’s assisted readymade ‘Why Not Sneeze Rrose
text. 4to. Dec. wraps., embossed on the front cover with a Sélavy’“ (Roth).
halftone reproduction of Duchamp’s “Why Not Sneeze Rrose An extremely fine copy, the fragile covers in very fresh condition.
Sélavy,” stitched as issued, with red silk cord, in Japanese Paris (Editions Jeanne Bucher), 1936. $17,500.00
fashion. New fitted cloth clamshell box. One of 250 numbered Pérégrinations 35-38; Biro/Passeron 1408; Ades 12.152;
copies on vélin, from the limited edition of 294 in all. Gershman p. 25; Jean p. 256; Reynolds p. 53; Franklin Furnace
One of the greatest of all Surrealist books, distinguished 154; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, p.
particularly for its brilliant photocollage compositions, the 326, illus. 442-444; Splendid Pages p. 184; Roth p. 92f.
restrained but pungent use of colored overlays, and the
incorporation of tabloid typography and fragments of steel- 49
engraved illustration. “This is Georges Hugnet’s first volume ICHIUJI GIRYO
of ‘poèmes-découpages.’ The title echoes Mallarmé’s ‘Un Rittaiha miraiha hyogenha [Cubism, Futurism, Expression-
coup de dés n’abolira jamais le hasard’…and Hugnet’s ism]. (378)pp., 51 plates (6 color). Sm. 4to. Dec. boards, 1/4
poems, printed on the left-hand pages of the book, mirror cloth. Cardboard slipcase, with mounted illustration after
the unusual spacing and various typefaces and sizes of ‘Un Archipenko. Extensively illustrated, including several plates of
coup de dés.’ Hugnet had joined the Surrealists by 1932, comparable new Japanese paintings.
and the collages on the right-hand pages, centered around The leftist critic Ichiuji Giryo was an influential figure in the
 24 ars libri

avant-garde Sanka group, when, in 1925 it began to be of distinguished Japanese artists and critics. Loosely
rocked by ideological schisms—Marxist, anarchist, and inserted in one volume, a contemporary Japanese
aesthetic. “In 1924 Ichiuji published two books on modern mimeograph recreation of the famous chart Alfred Barr of
art and in both discussed Dada to some extent (‘Rittai-ha, modern art that appeared on the dust jacket of the Muse-
Mirai-ha, Hyogen-ha’...; [and] ‘Kindai Bijutsu 16-kou [16 um of Modern Art’s “Cubism and Abstract Art” in 1936.
Lectures on Modern Art].... In the earlier work he accepted Tokyo (Atelier-sha), 1937. $5,000.00
Dada’s decadence as the purity of the modern conscious-
ness....” (Omuka). Following this, in 1925, Ichiuji became an 51
advocate of a new Marxist art movement, Zokei, which had (KANBARA) Capek, Karel
come out of Sanka. “While at the time of its formation Zokei Robotto [Robot]. (Senku Geijutsu Sosho. 2.) (2), 172, (2)pp.
artists were still continuing their experimentation in abstract Frontis. photograph of a theatrical production of “Robot,” with
painting and expressionism, their rhetoric was strongly actors posed at a French window, one with a gun. Dec. title-
indebted to Ichiuji’s forceful proletarian convictions” page, printed in red and black with a futuristic agit-prop
(Weisenfeld). design of tilted skyscrapers and brawny arms raised in fists.
Tokyo (Arusu), 1924. $1,250.00 Dec. wraps., with line-drawn composition by Kanbara Tai on
Omuka, Toshiharu: “Tada=Dada (Devotedly Dada) for the the front cover, printed in red and black. Translation by Suzu-
Stage: The Japanese Dada Movement 1920-1925,” in: ki Zentaro. Book design by Kanbara.
Janecek, Gerald & Omuka, Toshiharu: The Eastern Dada First Japanese edition, designed by Kanbara Tai, of Capek’s
Orbit... (Crisis and the Arts: The History of Dada, Vol. 4; New 1920 drama “R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots),” which
York, 1998), pp. 291 n. 46, 333; Weisenfeld p. 118f. introduced the term, and concept of, ‘robot’ to the world. Kan-
bara’s cover composition—-an elegant freehand architectural
50 abstraction, with mysterious birds or clouds—was also used
L’IDÉE ET L’ESPRIT DE L’ART MODERNE in the same year on his edition of Marinetti’s “Poupées élec-
/Kindai Bijutsu Schicho Koza. 6 vols. 4to. Cloth. Publisher’s triques” (“Denki ningyo”). Covers lightly soiled.
slipcases for all volumes, printed in orange and black. Con- Tokyo (Kinseido), 1924. $1,200.00
tents as follows: 1. Sagara Tokuzo. Réalisme. 205, (3)pp. A Cf. Centre Georges Pompidou: Japon des avant-gardes
little light pencilling. 2. Araki Sueo. Fauvisme. 205, (3)pp. 3. 1910/1970 (Paris, 1986), p. 187 (illustrating the identical
Ihara Usaburo. Cubisme. 211, (3)pp. 4. Fukuzawa Itiro. Sur- cover design)
réalisme. 218, (2)pp. 5. Kanbara Tai. Futurisme, Expression-
isme, Dadaisme. 223, (1)pp. 6. Hasegawa Saburo. Abstract 52
Art. 190, (2)pp. Prof. illus. throughout. KANBARA TAI
A complete set of this impressive and sophisticated Shinko geijutsu no noroshi [New Art’s Flare]. 144, (6)pp. 1
series on movements of modern art, written by a number color plate. Sm. 4to. Wraps., the front cover printed in red with
a composition by Léger (light wear).
A major figure in the early Japanese avant-garde, the
painter, poet and theoretician Kanbara Tai (b. 1898) was the
leading spirit of the group Action in 1922, and was one of the
founders in 1924 of the Sanka. A prodigy, he was already
publishing Cubist poetry and exhibiting abstract paintings at
the age of 19. From the time of his first one-man show and
simultaneous first manifesto, in 1920, “Kanbara began to act
as the theoretical leader of the new artistic movements of
the Taisho period (1912-26), forming the avant-garde group
Action in 1922, and, in their first exhibition, showing the
series of ten works, ‘Notes of a Pessimist’” (Toru Asano, in
the Grove Dictionary of Art).
Tokyo (Chuo Bijutsusha), 1926. $1,250.00
Centre Georges Pompidou: Japon des avant-gardes
1910/1970 (Paris, 1986), p. 516

53
KIESLER, FREDERICK (editor)
Internationale Ausstellung neuer Theatertechnik. Unter
Mitwirkung der Gesellschaft zur Förderung moderner Kunst in
Wien. Im Rahmen des Musik- u. Theaterfestes der Stadt
Wien. Katalog, Programm, Almanach. 80, (32)pp. Sm. 4to.
Dec. wraps., printed in red and black, designed by Kiesler.
Texts by Kiesler, Léger, Walden, Marinetti, Schwitters, Blüm-
ner, Russolo, Schreyer, Goll, Mehring, Prampolini, Fülop
Müller; illustrations of work by Léger, Man Ray, Kiesler,
Grosz, Schreyer, Prampolini, Schlemmer, Exter, Vesnin, et
al., designs for the Russian stage, the Yiddish theatre. Bril-
liant layout and design throughout by Kiesler, particularly the
marvelous fold-out cover. A very fine copy of a work found
usually in damaged condition.
50
 avant-garde 25

lished the book ‘Mirai-ha towa? Kotaeru’ (What Is Futurism?

Answer) which he co-authored with David Burliuk. In the
book the authors give an outline of the development of mod-
ern art with a curious explanation of Dada which says that,
like the improvisations of Kandinsky, Dada is similar to the
drawings of children. They are innocent, pure creations
which indulge in painting itself without specific purpose.
Kinoshita himself apologizes in the preface for incorrect
descriptions because the text was hastily written in one
month” (Omuka).
“La rédaction définitive, ainsi que certains passages—dont
celui présenté ici—sont sans nul doute à la seule plume de
l’auteur japonais. Malgré d’inévitables partis pris, le chapitre
consacré au ‘Mouvement futuriste au Japon’ est une pré-
cieux témoignage qui saisit les événements dans leur actu-
alité. Il montre aussi à l’évidence cette volonté constante
dont firent preuve les artistes japonais, de comprendre dans
sa vérité même cet art venu de l’étranger, de la décourvrir
dans ses manifestations les plus authentiques” (Vera Lin-
hartova, in “Japon des avant-gardes 1910/1970”). A hand-
some copy.
Tokyo (Chuobijutsusha), 1923. $3,500.00
Urawa Art Museum: Books as Art: From Taisyo Period Book
Design to Contemporary Art Objects (2001), p. 32 pl. 20; Cen-
tre Georges Pompidou: Japon des avant-gardes 1910/1970,
pp. 147ff. (two illus.), 516; Weisenfeld, Gennifer: Mavo:
Japanese Artists and the Avant-Garde, 1905-1931 (2002), p.
49; Omuka, Toshiharu: “Tada=Dada (Devotedly Dada) for the
Stage: The Japanese Dada Movement 1920-1925,” in:
Janecek, Gerald & Omuka, Toshiharu: The Eastern Dada
Orbit... (Crisis and the Arts: The History of Dada, Vol. 4; New
York, 1998), p. 238, 250
51
Wien (Kunsthandlung Wührle & Sohn Nfg.), 1924. $3,500.00
Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, p.
192, ill. 241
SEE COVER

KIESLER: See item 11

54
KINOSHITA SHUICHIRO & BURLIUK, DAVID
Miraiha to wa? Kotaeru? [What Is Futurism? A Response.] /
Was ist der Futurismus? Antwort. Verfasst von russischer
Futirist David. Burluk und japanischer Futirist Shiu. Kinoshita
[sic]. I. Auflage. (4), 266, (6)pp. 6 frontispiece plates (2 color),
including work by the collaborators. Prof. illus. Dec. wraps.,
printed in green, plum and black, with a figurative abstraction,
overprinted with text.
A major publication from one of the most interesting
episodes of the international avant-garde in the early 1920s.
“David Burliuk, known as the father of Russian futurism,
came from Vladivostok to Tsuruga, Japan, in October 1920,
He left Yokohama for the United States in August 1922. In
the interim, he managed to instigate Japanese modernists
and to leave a clear footprint on the development of the
modern art movement in the mid-nineteen-twenties. His
artistic style, which stimulated and inspired younger Japan-
ese artists, appeared futuristic and similar to that of Dada or
proto-Dada artists. One artist who was greatly influenced
was Shuichiro Kinoshita (1896-1991), a leading figure of the
Futurist movement in Japan.... Just after...the publication of
the ‘Poems of Dadaisuto Shinkichi’ in 1923, Kinoshita pub-

54
 26 ars libri

55

55 Book 141; Bareiss 34; Splendid Pages p. 185; Villa Stuck 53;
(KIRCHNER) Döblin, Alfred München p. 29;; Franklin Furnace 21; Andel Avant-Garde
Das Stiftsfräulein und der Tod. Eine Novelle. [Schnitte von Page Design, p. 52 illus. 32
E.L. Kirchner.] (Lyrische Flugblätter.) (16)pp. 5 full-page
woodcuts by Kirchner, including title on front cover (Dube 199- 56
203). Printed on buff-colored Simili-Japan. Sm. 4to. Orig. self- (KIRCHNER) Grohmann, Will
wraps., stitched as issued, with woodcut on front cover. Das Werk Ernst Ludwig Kirchners. 58, (2)pp. (text fascicle,
“Alfred Döblin’s story ‘Das Stiftsfräulein und der Tod’ (The bound in wrappers), 100 collotype plates (loose, as issued). 5
Canoness and Death) appeared as part of the same series full-page original woodcuts by Kirchner in text, printed in blue
[‘Lyrische Flugblätter’] in 1913, accompanied by a title wood- (the title in blue and black). 26 illus. Lrg. oblong 4to. Publish-
cut and four full-page woodcuts by Kirchner, who manifested er’s original portfolio (clamshell box, of blue cloth, titled in
a special sensitivity to the book and modern texts. This was blue, with red casing at the sides). Contents loose, as issued.
the initial, and highly successful, experiment in book illustra- One of 800 hand-numbered copies, from the limited edition of
tion by a representative of the Brücke. Modest yet penetrat- 850 in all. “The essay, which includes the later intentions of
ing, Kirchner’s woodcuts attest to a new unity of typography the artist, takes us beyond the Expressionism of the German
and illustration, the woodcut being an ideal complement to a periods. The late woodcuts included those in the style of a
forceful typeface. The unity of text and image in the same synthetic Cubism, which Kirchner developed. There is a new
printing process and the unity of literary and graphic configu- humor, a meandering of form, a study of motion in figure and
ration reflected the harmony in the thinking and feeling of surrounding lines. There is still a sense of alienation in the iso-
poets and painters” (Paul Raabe, in Rifkind 1989). A superb lation of the figures in open areas, but the effect is more lyri-
copy, very fresh. cal than the earlier subjects” (Rifkind). Light wear to the port-
Berlin-Wilmersdorf (A.R. Meyer), 1913. $6,500.00 folio (splits at corners), otherwise fresh.
Dube 199-203; Rifkind 1989 I.1453.1-5, II.118; Rifkind 1977 München (Kurt Wolff), 1926. $4,500.00
no. 85; Lang 171, p. 41; Jentsch 12; Marbach 88.2; Wilpert- Dube 852A-853, 855-857; Schauer II.120 (illus. 121); Jentsch
Gühring 3; Raabe/Hannich-Bode 58.4; The Artist and the 160; Rifkind 108; Rifkind/Davis 1482; Manet to Hockney 75
 avant-garde 27

57 intention from the first was to draw images to the text, not to
KÖLN. BRAUHAUS WINTER interpret the music. And here again, Kokoschka allowed
Dada-Ausstellung. Dadavorfrühling. Gemälde, Skulpturen, himself to be guided more by the underlying states of
Zeichnungen, Fluidoskeptrik, Vulgärdilettantismus. [April-May mind—despair, fear, hope—than by individual passages in
1919.] (4)pp. Single sheet, folding, opening to reveal an inte- the text. ‘O heavy path to the final struggle and conflict’—
rior text printed on a spectacular bright scarlet ground. Dada such was Kokoschka’s theme in a double sense: the bewil-
typographic designs on the exterior (attributable to Johannes dering, disconcerting and deeply affecting experience of
Baargeld), including a hand with occult symbols, and a text in womankind in the person of Alma Mahler and—again—the
Hebrew. Sm. 4to. Self-wraps. Texts by Johannes Baargeld presentiment of a danger, erotic as well as social. So it is
and Max Ernst. small wonder that the figure of the man continually assumes
One of the most brilliant ephemera of German Dada. “This Kokoschka’s features, while that of the woman often calls
dada exhibition has spawned more anecdotes than any other, Alma Mahler’s appearance to mind” (Lang). Covers slightly
some of them contradictory. Certainly it opened, and ended, bowed; a very fine, fresh copy.
turbulently, and was equally eventful while it was running.... Berlin (Fritz Gurlitt), 1918. $7,500.00
[It] was organized hurriedly, as a separate manifestation after Wingler/Welz 58-68; cf (citing various issues): Artist and the
the montages and sculptures by Ernst and Baargeld had Book 150 ; Lang 189, p. 34f.; Jentsch 28; Rifkind 190;
been removed from a juryless exhibition organised by the Rifkind/Davis 1564
Artists’ Union of Cologne in the Museum of Decorative Arts.
They hired a glass-roofed court partly exposed to the rain at 59
the rear of the Brasserie Winter, reached through the gentle- LE CORBUSIER [Charles-Édouard Jeanneret]
men’s lavatory. Visitors were challenged to destroy what they Des canons, des munitions! Merci, des logis... s.v.p. Mono-
didn’t like, and everything stolen and destroyed was con- graphie du “Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux” à l’Exposition
stantly replaced. Several of the works which disappeared Internationale “Art et Technique” de Paris, 1937. (Collection
were reproduced in “Die Schammade”: Baargeld’s ‘Antropofil- de l’Équipement de la Civilisation Machiniste.) 147, (1)pp.
er Bandwurm,’ a relief construction of odds and ends like a Prof. illus. Oblong lrg. 4to. Orig. boards, 1/4 cloth, with color
frying pan, cog, springs and a bell, and Ernst’s wire sculpture, photomontage by Le Corbusier on the front cover.
which has certain similarities with Janco’s ‘Construction,’ Le Corbusier’s polemical argument for the adaptation of
reproduced in the Zürich ‘Dada’ 1. The critics tended to be armaments technology to architectural purposes, particularly
bemused” (Ades). The public, however, appears more than for urban projects as exemplified in his own “Pavillon des
anything else to have been disoriented. It seems that the Temps Nouveaux” at the Paris exposition of 1937 (which is
manifestation which most scandalized the audience was not documented here in depth, both in its planning and construc-
the spectacle of a young girl in first communion dress reciting tion, and in its exhibitions). The famous cover, printed in red,
obscene poetry, but a “pornographic” image reported to the yellow blue and green with a photomontage of cannons, air-
police which, on investigation, proved to be a reproduction of craft, bombs and an aerial view, is one of the strongest
Dürer’s ‘Adam and Eve’ incorporated in an Ernst collage. A designs of the period. A very fine copy.
very fine, fresh copy. Boulogne (Éditions de l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui), 1938.
Köln, 1919. $7,500.00 $3,000.00
Dada Global 133; Ades p. 105f.; Motherwell/Karpel 152; Brady, Darlene: Le Corbusier: An Annotated Bibliography
Dada Artifacts 57; Düsseldorf 338; Zürich 433; Pompidou: (New York, 1985), no. 9; Sharp p. 70; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-
Dada 1325, illus. p. 273 Garde Page Design 1900-1950, p. 244, illus. 327

58
KOKOSCHKA, OSKAR
O Ewigkeit - Du Donnerwort. So spanne meine Glieder aus.
Lithographien von Oskar Kokoschka. Worte der Kantate nach
Joh. Seb. Bach. (13)ff., 11 lithographic plates, including self-
portrait by Kokoschka at the outset. Title-page illustration by
Kokoschka. Lrg. folio. Full vellum over boards, with gilt
leather label. T.e.g. First bound edition, following portfolio edi-
tions of 1916-1918. One of 100 hand-numbered copies on
Bütten, signed in the colophon by Kokoschka, from the limit-
ed edition of 125 in all.
“Another important series of lithographs [by Kokoschka]
appeared in 1914, before the outbreak of war. These were
the eleven lithographs to the words of one of Johann Sebas-
tian Bach’s cantatas, ‘O Ewigkeit—Du Donnerwort, so
spanne meine Glieder aus (Eternity, thou fearful word...).’
They were published by Fritz Gurlitt in portfolio, and by the
same press in 1918 in the series ‘Die neuen Bilderbücher.’
The musicologist Paul Bekker pointed out as early as 1917
in Westheim’s ‘Das Kunstblatt’ that the lithographs had little
more than the title in common with Bach’s cantata. Although
Kokoschka had become acquainted with this cantata
through a piano recital by his friend Leo Kestenberg, his
59
28 ars libri

60
(LÉGER) Cendrars, Blaise
J’ai tué. Prose par Monsieur Blaise Cendrars et 5 dessins de
Monsieur Fernand Léger. (34)pp. 5 compositions by Léger
(2 hors texte, in blue and yellow). Text printed in red, on
uncut sheets of varying sizes. Sm. sq. 4to. Later marbled
boards, 1/4 red morocco. Orig. wraps. bound in. One of 24
numbered copies on japon, with an extra suite of the
Léger compositions, from the limited edition of 353 in all.
Contrary to the statement in the justification, the suite is
printed in black, not blue; it is bound in, within the original
back wrapper. Typography and printing by François
Bernouard.
We quote at length from Donna Stein’s discussion of the
book in “Cubist Prints/Cubist Books”: “In August 1914, Fer-
nand Léger was mobilized as a sapper in the Engineers
Corps. After being gassed at Verdun on the Aisne front, he
was hospitalized until his discharge in January 1918. With
the war experience lingering in his mind as a source of
imagery, Léger’s first project upon recovery was the creation
of illustrations for “J’ai tué” (‘I have killed”). This small anti-
war book was written by Cendrars who, as a corporal on the
Somme, had lost an arm in the Champagne offensive of
September 1915. Cendrars laments the stupidity of war,
describing how the world’s resources are mobilized to sup-
port all men, and ends the work with a ruthless confrontation
between two men: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. It’s up to us
two, now. To blows with fist, to blows with knife. No mercy. I
leap on my antagonist. I give him a terrible blow. His head is
almost cut off. I have killed the Boche. I was more lively and
rapid than he. More direct. I struck first. I have the sense of
reality, I poet. I have acted killed. Like him who would live.’
Boldly printed in blue and red, evoking the French tricolor,
the book reproduces, photomechanically, five drawings exe-
cuted by Léger at Verdun in 1918. Though not specifically
drawn as companions to the prose-poem, these dehuman-
ized war images match the brutal action and are visually
equivalent to Cendrars’ powerful, machine-gun writing. The
use of inexpensive stenciling to superimpose the title in yel-
low on the blue cover plate was probably Cendrars’ sugges-
tion since Sonia Delaunay had used this technique in 1913
for their successful collaboration, ‘La prose du Transsibérien
et de la Petite Jehanne de France.’”
“Just how important Cendrars was as a contact between
pre-war simultaneity and the Léger of 1918-19 is demon-
strated by the fact that Léger’s friendship with the poet was
articulated by experiments in book illustration which are in
some ways complementary to the first ‘simultaneous book,’
that among his first attempts to combine ‘poetic’ images
without regard for the unities of time and place were the
illustrations for ‘J’ai tué’...” (Christopher Green, in “Léger
and Purist Paris”).
Both text and illustrations were published in “Der Sturm”
(No. 7, 1919), and, in an English translation, in “The Plow-
share” (May/June 1919). Some intermittent foxing, mostly in
the text; wrappers lightly worn. An epochal book. Rare,
especially in this tirage.
Paris (A La Belle Edition), 1918. $12,500.00
Cubist Prints/Cubist Books 62, p. 64, and back cover illustra-
tion; Siena 51, and front cover illustration; The Cubist Print
122, p. 55; Skira 197; Peyré: Peinture et poésie 14; Andel,
Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, p. 98, figs.
94-95; Winterthur 112; Paris/Berlin 206; Franklin Furnace 35;
London. Tate Gallery: Léger and Purist Paris (1970) p. 43
60
 avant-garde 29

62

61 Saphire p. 299; Castleman p. 170; Manet to Hockney 54;

(LÉGER) Cendrars, Blaise Stein, Donna: Cubist Prints/Cubist Books no. 64, p. 64; Siena
La fin du monde, filmée par l’ange N.-D. Roman. Composi- 52; The Cubist Print 77; Skira 197; Johnson, Robert Flynn:
tions en couleurs par Fernand Léger. (58)pp. 22 colored Artists’ Books in the Modern Era 26; Splendid Pages p. 187,
pochoir compositions and ornaments by Léger. Lrg. 4to. fig. 80; Peyré: Peinture et poésie 18; Reynolds p. 24; Lilly 10;
Orig. dec. wraps. One of 1200 copies on vélin Lafuma, of a Villa Stuck 65; Wheeler p. 105; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde
limited edition of 1225 copies (many of which are thought to Page Design 1900-1950, p. 96, illus. 94-99
have been lost or destroyed due to difficulties with the
pochoir printing). 62
Léger’s most brilliant venture in book illustration, inspired by (LÉGER) Malraux, André
the anarchic, Americanized cosmology of Cendrars’ sce- Lunes en papier. Petit livre que l’on trouve la relation de
nario. A fine copy. Tipped onto the title-page, an interesting quelques luttes peu connues des hommes, ainsi que celle
autograph note from Cendrars to Le Corbusier (dated d’un voyageur parmi des objets familiers mais étranges. Le
November 1928 in another hand). Written in ink on both tout selon la vérité, et orné de gravures sur bois également
sides of the business card of the Chilean architect Sergio très véridiques par Fernand Léger. (34)pp. 6 original wood-
Larrain, it reads “Mon cher Jeanneret—Monsieur Larrain cuts, printed in black (3 full-page), as well as 1 original
désire voir—il connaît tout ce que vous avez projeté et avez woodcut on the front cover. Sm. folio. Orig. wraps., printed
envie de fondre. Faites-lui voir./ Ma main amie/ Blaise Cen- in black with an additional woodcut by Léger, One of 10
drars/ 35 rue de Sèvres.” Larrain (1905-1999), an important copies de Chapelle on Hollande van Gelder, designated with
figure in Chilean modernist architecture (and in fact much roman numerals, from the edition of 112 in all, signed in ink
influenced by Le Corbusier), also had a major career as a and purple pencil by Malraux and Léger respectively, in the
Magnum photographer. justification.
Paris (Editions de la Sirène), 1919. $8,500.00 “‘Lunes en papier,’ Léger’s first book with original woodcut
 30 ars libri

abstracted forms” (Robert Flynn Johnson). Small abrasion on

front cover, slightly touching woodcut; a fine copy. Rare.
Paris (Éditions de la Galerie Simon), 1921. $15,000.00
Saphire 3-9; Hugues: Kahnweiler p. 7; Pompidou: Kahnweil-
er p. 180; Stein, Donna: Cubist Prints/Cubist Books no. 71, p.
65; Siena 53; The Cubist Print 78; Chapon p. 283f.; Skira 198;
The Artist and the Book 163; Manet to Hockney 64; Johnson,
Robert Flynn: Artists’ Books in the Modern Era 34; Splendid
Pages p. 187; Peyré: Peinture et poésie 21; Wheeler p. 105;
Winterthur 115; Bareiss 3

63
LEWIS, WYNDHAM
Timon of Athens. 16 plates, of which 11 are printed in black
intaglio and 5 are halftone reproductions of drawings (4
color). Folio. Original heavy wove paper portfolio with cloth
ties, the front cover with elaborate black intaglio composition
by Lewis. Fine fitted clamshell box (cloth, 1/2 calf gilt with calf
supralibros).
The first of three portfolios issued by Lewis of his work, this
one privately published by him under the imprint of The Cube
Press (the name of which appears only in Lewis’s design on
the back cover of the portfolio). The drawings in it had been
shown at the Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition at the
Grafton Galleries in London, from October to December,
1912, and the portfolio published in December 1913, to satis-
fy demand. No limitation is stated, but evidently the edition,
however small, was larger than its audience. “In May, 1917,
Ezra Pound wrote to Lewis offering to buy up some remain-
dered copies of ‘Timon’ at 2s. 6d. with slight reduction per
dozen. On 8 August 1917, Pound again wrote to Lewis say-
ing had bought ‘19 clean copies and 1 dusty one for £2,’
Pound’s copy, lacking the outer envelope, was presented to
the Victoria and Albert Museum, and accepted on behalf of
the Museum by Martin Hardie, who noted (5 April 1919) ‘a vol-
61
ume of reproductions—very vorticist: but one, I think, that
should be accepted’” (Pound/Grover).
illustrations and the first volume published by André Malraux, “Although stylistically clearly indebted to Umberto Boccioni’s
was dedicated to Max Jacob and published by Kahnweiler in drawings of 1912, Lewis takes his source and transforms it in
1921. Once again the impresario art dealer had united an the interest of an entirely different set of meanings. This can
emerging writer with a gallery artist to produce an historic livre be seen most dramatically in his magnificent suite of draw-
d’artiste. The heroes of Malraux’s prose fantasy are the seven ings for an edition of Shakespeare’s ‘Timon of Athens,’ made
deadly sins, modern day descendants of Adam and Eve, who
live in a world abandoned by God and ruled by Satan. These
heroes mistakenly destroy Death instead of the Devil, sever-
ing the cycle of life and all hope for resurrection. Léger adapt-
ed the woodcut process with great skill, simplifying areas of
solids and voids to create flat, abstract patterns. The circular
motifs in his woodcuts, repeating elements of mechanical and
urban subjects found in the artist’s postwar work, do not cor-
respond to any specific paintings, but could refer to the clas-
sic visual metaphor for creation’s continuous cycle—a con-
stant theme in Malraux’s oeuvre” (Donna Stein).
“The art dealer Kahnweiler became interested in publishing
artists’ books early in his career, producing four books by
Derain and Picasso between 1909 and 1914. In the years
after World War I, after establishing the Galerie André Simon
with André Simon, Kahnweiler stepped up his publishing
activities. ‘Lunes en papier’ is just one of six volumes pub-
lished in 1921 (the others contained illustrations by Gris,
Léger, Laurens, Braque, and Manolo). A surprising and
prophetic choice for the author was the very young André
Malraux, for whom this was his first published text.... The
illustrations by Léger for this publication convey the inherent
power of the woodcut medium in their bold yet simplified
64
 avant-garde 31

on a trip to France in 1912. (Typically of Lewis’s accident-

prone career, the new edition of the play was not published
and he had the drawings produced as a separate portfolio.)
The subject, one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, is in
itself significant. A narrative from classical Greece is hardly
the stuff of Futurist fantasy, and it is as if Lewis was deliber-
ately pointing up the futility of obsessive contemporaneity....
The main colour plates of the portfolio are works of enormous
energy and formal vigor and, while suggesting a world of
dynamism and interaction similar to that of Futurist art,
remain tight and sharp with their arcs and cutting lines.... The
‘Timon’ drawings are the first of a number of attempts by
Lewis to reinvent the academic category of history painting
and to use it to deny that there is truth in action” (Richard
Humphreys). Small splits and losses at folds of the paper
portfolio (which is overall in fine condition); a very fine copy.
Very rare.
[London (The Cube Press), 1913] $7,500.00
Pound, Omar S. & Grover, Philip: Wyndham Lewis: A
Descriptive Bibliography (Folkestone, 1978), B1; Michel, Wal-
ter: Wyndham Lewis: Paintings and Drawings (Berkeley/Los
Angeles, 1971), p. 448, cf. nos. 91-108; Humphreys, Richard:
Wyndham Lewis (London, 2004), p. 21f.

64
LEWIS, WYNDHAM
Fifteen Drawings. 15 plates (7 color) mounted on heavy grey
wove mounts, each titled (in French as well as English) and
stamped with a vignette design by Edward Wadsworth, the
emblem of the Ovid Press. Folio. Portfolio (boards, with
mounted color illustration by Lewis on front cover). Colophon
statement on the interior of the front cover, written in ink in
John Rodker’s hand: “250 Copies/ This is No. 16.”
The second of Lewis’s three portfolios (the last was published
63
in 1932), “Fifteen Drawings’ is the rarest, no more than 50
copies having actually been issued (as confirmed by Rodker
himself by 1929). Their assembly seems to have been a hap-
hazard process. Copies vary in the selection of the plate used
for the cover (this one has “Nude I,” a more effective choice
than the more common selection, “Group”), and, as noted by
Pound and Grover, plates in the portfolios are sometimes
matched with the wrong mounts (here two different composi-
tions are tipped onto mounts for “Nude III”). The subjects
include a famous portrait of Ezra Pound, and two other
Heads, four nude studies, two drawings for ‘Timon of Athens,’
“Blue Nudes,” “Group,” “Pole-Jump,” “Post-Jazz,” “Reading
Room, British Museum,” and “Seraglio.” Portfolio slightly
soiled, slightly chipped at extremities.
London (The Ovid Press), n.d. [1919]. $7,500.00
Pound, Omar S. & Grover, Philip: Wyndham Lewis: A
Descriptive Bibliography (Folkestone, 1978), B2; Michel, Wal-
ter: Wyndham Lewis: Paintings and Drawings (Berkeley/Los
Angeles, 1971), p. 448

65
LONDON BULLETIN
Editor: E.L.T. Mesens. Nos. 2—18/20 in 14 issues, May 1938-
June 1940. 20-62pp. per issue. Prof. illus. Sm. 4to. Wraps.
An almost complete run (lacking only the first issue) of the
important English surrealist monthly, directed by Mesens with
the help of Roland Penrose and Herbert Read, among others.
Unrivalled in its field by any other British review, and preceded
in England only by the 4th issue of the “International Surrealist
65
 32 ars libri

Bulletin” (the rest were published elsewhere), the “London Bul- woodcut editions he designed and privately printed at his own
letin” contains texts by and about Eluard, Breton, Hugnet, Ray, Turmpresse, between 1925 and 1933. Characteristically, this
Ernst, Picasso, Kandinsky, Magritte, Miró, Péret, Djuna Barnes, book combines stylized images of faces (and a Madonna and
Henry Miller, Duchamp, Bill Brandt, Mondrian, Moore, Nichol- Child), delineated in brilliant colors against a deep black
son, Beckett, Nash and a great many others, as well as a ground, with a large-scale text set in the same deep black.
wealth of illustrations from all corners of surrealist realm. In Simple and casual in style, the graphic and coloristic effect is
point of fact, however, it was only with the last issue that the almost of a children’s book realized in glowing stained glass.
journal officially designated itself as surrealist, and throughout [Malente-Gremsmühlen] (Turmpresse), 1931. $3,000.00
its publication, it paid serious attention to various other tenden-
cies in abstract art. It is notable for the inclusion of whole cata- 67
logues of significant exhibitions at the London Gallery and (MAN RAY) Eluard, Paul & Man Ray
Guggenheim Jeune: among them, important shows of Picasso Facile. Poèmes de Paul Eluard. Photographies de Man Ray.
and Ernst, and the famous “Impact of Machines” exhibit of (24)pp. Heliogravure illustrations interspersed and integrated
1938. No. 6 contains the celebrated Breton/’Rivera’ (=Trotsky) with text throughout. Sm. 4to. Photo-illus. wraps. (a few small
manifesto, “Pour un art révolutionnaire indépendent.” Very fine creases at spine). One of 1200 numbered copies on vélin,
condition throughout. from the limited edition of 1225 in all.
London, 1938-1940. $8,000.00 “Although Man Ray participated in and produced hundreds of
Ades chapter 14 (pp. 437-457); Gershman p. 50; Biro/Passeron fruitful collaborative works in his life, ‘Facile’ must be ranked
p. 249; Rubin 467; Nadeau p. 331; Reynolds p. 113 among the most successful. The book combines Paul Élu-
ard’s love poems to his wife Nusch with Man Ray’s photo-
66 graphs of her in an extremely elegant design, integrating Man
LORENZ, KARL Ray’s solarized, superimposed, double-exposed, and nega-
Friedrich Nietzsche. [Nietzsche. Holzschnitte von Karl tive images into the page spreads in a way that makes image
Lorenz. Aus: Das Nachtlied. Weihnachtspaket 1931.] (Achter and text appear to intimately embrace. It is a fluent but not at
Druck.) (28)pp. 14 full-page original woodcuts, each finished all facile collaboration between the poet, the photographer,
by hand in watercolor (6 boldly signed and dated by the artist the model and muse, the publisher Guy Levis-Mano” (Roth).
in pencil). 480 x 320 mm. (19 x 12 3/4 inches). Folio. Self- Contents loosened from wraps.; a crisp and clean copy.
wraps. Copy no. 16, numbered in pencil by Lorenz in the Paris (Éditions G.L.M.), 1935. $6,500.00
colophon; edition unstated, but rarely over 25 copies for GLM 73; Gershman p. 19; Biro/Passeron 1037; Hubert pp.
Turmpresse publications. Privately printed by Lorenz as a 73-83, illus. 23-27; Reynolds p. 41; Castleman p. 183; John-
Christmas greeting, the book is designed as a sequence of son, Robert Flynn: Artists’ Books in the Modern Era 1870-
texts and images arranged in facing pairs. 2000, no. 108; Splendid Pages p. 188, fig. 88; Franklin Fur-
The writer and artist Karl Lorenz (1888-1961), editor of “Die nace 151; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-
Rote Erde” and “Das neue Hamburg” and an influential figure 1950, p. 334f., illus. 439-441; Roth, Andrew: The Book of 101
of the Expressionist movement in Hamburg, is also important Books, p. 86f.; The Open Book p. 118f.; Parr, Martin & Bad-
in the history of modern German artists’ books for the small ger, Gerry: The Photobook: A History. Vol. I, p. 104f.

67
 avant-garde 33

69
68 each stamped “Épreuve originale/ Atelier Man Ray/ Paris” on
MAN RAY the back and tipped onto hinged heavy board. Sm. folio. Pub-
La photographie n’est pas l’art. 12 photographies. Avant-pro- lisher’s laminated gold foil photo-illus. boards, 1/4 calf gilt.
pos de André Breton. (10)pp., 12 fine halftone plates on yel- One of 30 numbered copies, from the limited edition of 37 in
low coated stock. Sm. 4to. Publisher’s printed blue folder, all, signed in pen by Man Ray in the justification. Binding
within die-cut black outer folder. “This remarkable little book, designed by Man Ray, executed by Mercher; mise-en-page
a return to Man Ray’s dada roots, presages the postmodern and printing by Guy Lévis Mano.
artist’s photobook in terms of its self-reflexive attitude and A small edition of these photographs, printed in 1966 by Man
complex referential twists and turns. It can be taken as a sum- Ray. Taken at the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme at
mation of his experiments in photography, and might be said the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris in January-February 1938,
to be his photographic swansong. The year the book was organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard—Man Ray was
published (1937), he decided to give up photography alto- in charge of lighting—they show the bevy of dressmakers’
gether, and rented a studio in Antibes in order to devote him- dummies which were decorated to adorn the installation by
self to painting” (Parr). Blue wrapper very slightly lightstruck participating artists, including Dalí, Domínguez, Duchamp,
on cover; a fine copy. Malet, Masson, Miró, Paalen, Seligmann, Tanguy, Jean, and
Paris (G.L.M.), 1937. $4,500.00 Man Ray himself. Marcel Jean recalls that “Once through the
GLM 148; Parr:/Badger Photobook I, p. 108f.; Ades 12.156; lobby, the visitor entered ‘Surrealist Street,’ a long broad pas-
Gershman p. 37; Reynolds p. 70 sageway peopled by twenty or so delectable wax models cos-
tumed in various unique styles that would certainly enchant-
69 ed Guillaume Apollinaire: a tearful one, with fat, crystalline
MAN RAY tears rolling down her cheeks and her bare shoulders, wear-
Résurrection des mannequins. Mannequins présentés à l’Ex- ing clay pipes in her hair from which irridescent bubbles
position Surréaliste de 1938. Texte et photographies de Man emerged (Man Ray); one simply a widow, draped in black
Ray. (12)pp., 15 original silver-print photographs by Man Ray, veils and trampling upon a male figure sprawled on the
 34 ars libri

ground (Max Ernst); one wearing nothing but a man’s jacket

with a red electric light-bulb in the breast pocket
(Duchamp)”—and so on.
Presentation copy, inscribed “Pour Bill Copley -(Cply)/
affectueusement/ Man Ray/ Paris 1968” in black ink on
the preliminary blank leaf. Lightly rubbed at spine; a very
fine copy.
Paris (Jean Petithory), 1966. $12,000.00
Ades 12.157; Biro/Passeron 2433; Jean p. 281; Milano p.
661; Schwarz p. 356

70
MARIE
Journal bimensuel pour la belle jeunesse. Directeur: E.L.T.
Mesens. Nos 1-[4] (all published). Contents as follows: Nos.
1-2/3, juin-juillet 1926. (4), (8)pp. 7 illus. [No. 4] Dernier
numéro [1926]. 8pp. 2 full-page photographic illus. (E.L.T.
Mesens). 4to. Self-wraps. (No. 2/3 unopened folding sheet).
Texts by E.L.T. Mesens, Paul van Ostayen, René Magritte,
Gaston Burssens, G. Ribemont-Dessaignes, Pierre de Mas-
sot, Hans Arp, Tristan Tzara, Paul Nougé, André Souris,
Camille Goemans and others. Illus. of work by Man Ray,
Picabia, Klee, Magritte, et al.
“Of those who came together to form the core of Surrealism
in Brussels, there were two distinct groups, whose history
should be traced from 1924. In that year, a prospectus for a
review to be called ‘Période’ was published by Magritte, Goe-
mans, Mesens and Lecomte. Mesens said mysteriously that
‘something rather obscure happened: the group split in two.
Magritte and Mesens published “Oesophage,” then “Marie”;
Goemans, Lecomte and Nougé published “Correspondance”
together. The end of these publications corresponds to the
formation of a new group which, in Belgium, undertakes a
new activity parallel to the French surrealists....’ ‘Marie, jour- 72
nal bimensuel pour la belle jeunesse’—the title is a reference
poem, and Picabia’s ‘Optophone’ reproduced on the front of
to Picabia’s ‘Sainte vièrge” in ‘391’—is still biased in the direc-
the second issue” (Ades). Sets complete with the final issue
tion of ‘391,’ with aphorisms, lists of names lined up to form a
are very rare.
Bruxelles, 1926. $3,000.00
Ades 13.25, illus. p. 330; Almanacco Dada 87; Biro/Passeron
p. 361; Jean p. 178; Bruxelles, Bibliothèque Royale Albert I.:
Cinquante ans d’avant- garde 1917-1967 (1983), 206-207

71
MARINETTI, F.T.
Futuristische Dichtungen. Autorisierte Übertragungen von
Else Hadwiger, mit einführenden Worten von Rudolf Kurtz
und einem Titelporträt vom Futuristen Carrà. 15, (1)pp. Cover
drawing by Carrà. Self-wraps., stitched, as issued. Printed on
oat-colored wove paper. Uncut. An early manifestation of the
arrival of Futurism in Berlin. 1912 also saw the publication of
several Futurist manifestos by Der Sturm, and the opening
there of the landmark travelling exhibition of Futurism, which
had been launched earlier in the year in Paris, at Bernheim-
Jeune. A fine copy.
Berlin-Wilmersdorf (A.R. Meyer), n.d. [1912]. $950.00
Hultén, Pontus (ed.): Futurism & Futurisms (New York, 1998),
p. 427; Salaris p. 46

72
MARINETTI, F.T.
Zang tumb tuuum. Adrianopoli ottobre 1912. Parole in libertà.
(6), 225, (3)pp., 1 folding plate (parole in libertà). Photo-
graphic frontis. portrait. Lrg. 8vo. Publisher’s brilliant yellow
wraps., with dynamic typography by Marinetti. (“11º migliaio”).

70
 avant-garde 35

Presentation copy, boldly inscribed by Marinetti to the hand architectural abstraction, with mysterious birds or
great Russian avant-garde theatre director Vsevolod clouds—is very possibly by Kanbara, as is a quite similar
Meyerhold on the front flyleaf (“à Wsevolode Meyerhold”), design for an edition of poems by Hirato Renkichi, which
with a full-page diagram of a wedge labelled “FuturisMarinet- Kanbara edited in 1931. This version also reproduces the
ti” penetrating an amorphous “Passeisme.” This rather sexu- handwritten inscription Mainetti added to a copy of the
alized design must have pleased Marinetti, whose use of it is revised 1920 Italian edition of the book (“Elettricità sessuale”)
recorded in other presentation copies. that he sent to Kanbara. The play itself (“Drame en trois
“[The] masterpiece of Words-in-freedom and of Marinetti’s lit- actes,” originally published in Paris in 1909, with a preface on
erary career was the novel ‘Zang Tumb Tuuum’.... the story of Futurism) was staged in Tokyo in May 1925. A fine copy.
the siege by the Bulgarians of Turkish Adrianople in the Tokyo (Kinseido), 1924. $1,800.00
Balkan War, which Marinetti had witnessed as a war reporter. Centre Georges Pompidou: Japon des avant-gardes
The dynamic rhythms and onomatopoetic possibilities that the 1910/1970 (Paris, 1986), pp. 187 (illus.), 516; Salaris p. 42
new form offered were made even more effective through the
revolutionary use of different typefaces, forms and graphic 75
arrangements and sizes that became a distinctive part of (MAZUR) Mazur, Michael & Pinsky, Robert
Futurism. In ‘Zang Tumb Tuuum; they are used to express an The Inferno of Dante. Etchings by Michael Mazur. With selec-
extraordinary range of different moods and speeds, quite tions from the Italian, translated in an English version by
apart from the noise and chaos of battle.... Audiences in Lon- Robert Pinsky. [Michael Mazur Etchings: L’inferno/ Dante.] 2
don, Berlin and Rome alike were bowled over by the tongue- vols. (43)ff., 41 original etchings (1 printed in color), plus 1
twisting vitality with which Marinetti declaimed ‘Zang Tumb additional etching which is signed and numbered in pencil by
Tuuum.’ As an extended sound poem it stands as one of the the artist, loosely inserted, as issued. Large folio. The bound
monuments of experimental literature, its telegraphic barrage edition, limited to 25 copies on Frankfurt White paper, signed
of nouns, colours, exclamations and directions pouring out in and numbered by Mazur in the colophon (apart from 50
the screeching of trains, the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire, and the copies in a portfolio edition and 25 sets of the etchings with-
clatter of telegraphic messages” (Tisdall/Bozzola). A very fine out text). The etchings were printed by Robert Townsend at
copy. Very rare. R.E. Townsend Editions. Parallel texts in Italian and English.
Milano (Edizioni futuriste di “Poesia”), 1914. $6,500.00 Red silk boards, 3/4 black leather. Red silk slipcase.
Salaris p. 47; Lista p. 106; Tisdall/Bozzola p. 95f.; Hultén, Georgetown, Mass. (Printed by Robert Townsend at R.E.
Pontus (ed.): Futurism and Futurisms (New York, 1986), p. Townsend Editions) [2001]. $8,000.00
517 (full-page plate); Jentsch, Ralph: The Artist and the Book
in Twentieth-Century Italy, p. 318; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant- 76
Garde Page Design 1900-1950, illus. 100; Poésure et peintrie (MAZUR) Mazur, Michael & Pinsky, Robert
(Marseille, 1993), p. 73 I’ll Tell What I Saw. From Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” Broad-
sides by Michael Mazur, with translations from the Italian by
73 Robert Pinsky. (2)ff., 13 broadsides, each with an original dig-
MARINETTI, F.T. ital image in color, and text. Sheet size: 460 x 305 mm. (18 x
Les mots en liberté futuristes. 107, (9)pp., including 4 folding 12 inches). Folio. Publisher’s clamshell portfolio (red cloth,
plates. Wraps., printed in red and black. The great master- embossed in black). Édition de tête: one of 10 copies signed
piece of Futurist typographic expression; the folding plates
present the most famous of all parole in libertà. The folding
plates have here neatly loosened from fhe binding. A fine
copy, very fresh.
Milano (Edizioni Futuriste di “Poesia”), 1919. $3,750.00
Salaris p. 48; Falqui p. 45; Jentsch, Ralph: The Artist and the
Book in Twentieth-Century Italy, p. 328; Pompidou: Dada 1261;
Franklin Furnace 44; Spencer p. 24f.; The Avant-Garde in Print
1.3, 1.4, 4.1; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-
1950, p. 104f., illus. 101, 104; Johnson, Robert Flynn: Artists’
Books in the Modern Era, 31; Splendid Pages p. 189, fig. 56

74
MARINETTI, F.T.
Denki ningyo [Poupées électriques]. Translation and introduc-
tion by Kanbara Tai. (Senku Geijutsu Sosho. 3.) (4), 120,
(6)pp. Frontispiece photograph of Marinetti. Dec. wraps., with
line-drawn abstraction.
Futurism arrived early in Japan, translations of fundamental
texts and indeed indigenous Japanese Futurist art appearing
by 1915, and it was extremely important to the formation of
avant-garde into the 1920s and after. The artist Kanbara Tai,
who prepared this edition, was already in correspondence
with Marinetti by 1916, while still in his teens. This is the
second Japanese edition; the first, with a different cover
and a different frontispiece photograph of Marinetti, was
issued in 1921. Here, the cover design—an elegant free-

76
 36 ars libri

77
on every broadside by Mazur and Pinsky, as well as in the mediums: cinematic montage and photographic multiple
colophon, from the limited edition of 55 hand-numbered exposure find common ground in ‘Paris,’ which seems less a
copies in all, printed on Hahnemuhle coated stock at William book than a film within covers. Published by the art-book
Morse Editions, Boston. press Éditions Jeanne Walter and featuring an introduction by
A remarkable new series of Dante images from Michael Fernand Léger, the book that introduced Moï Ver to the world
Mazur, drawn from all three books of the “Divine Comedy,” is exhileratingly eccentric, definitively avant-garde.... Moï
together with Robert Pinsky’s admired translations, some of Ver’s Paris is a city in motion, hurtling almost out of control.
which are published here for the first time. Cobblestone streets, bustling crowds, façades, railway tracks,
Cambridge (The Artist), 2008. $2,000.00 bridges, the glittering river, and countless monuments shift
and shatter here. Nearly every photograph is sandwiched
77 with at least one and sometimes several others for an effect
MOI VER that sends image fragments ricocheting within the frame like
Paris. 80 photographies. Introduction de Fernand Léger. (4), reflections in several mirrors at once. It’s as if each picture
(4)pp., 80 collotype plates of photomontages. Sm. folio. Orig. embodied both a memory and a premonition—history com-
wraps. Edition limited to 1000 numbered copies. pressed like energy, and just as explosive” (Vince Aletti, in
One of the legendary rarities of modern photographic books, Roth). Slightest rubbing at extreme edges of front cover, with
and one of the masterpieces of photomontage, by the very small expert mend at foot of spine; indetectible short split
Lithuanian-born Moï Ver (Moshé Raviv-Vorobeichic. “Born in at one hinge of jacket; contents slightly shaken; an extremely
1904, Raviv-Vorobeichic had studied painting in Vilnius fine copy, very fresh and crisp.
before his 1927 arrival at Dessau, where he took courses with Paris (Éditions Jeanne Walter), 1931. $22,500.00
Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Joseph Albers. But his Roth, Andrew (ed.): The Book of 101 Books (New York,
experiments with photography, and the heady influence of 2001), p. 70ff.; The Open Book p. 100f.; Parr, Martin & Bad-
Laszló Moholy-Nagy, diverted him to Paris and the École ger, Gerry: The Photobook: A History Volume 1 (London,
Technique de Photographie et de Cinématographie. His work, 2004), p. 128f.; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design
particularly in book form, is a sophisticated blend of the two 1900-1950, p. 302-303, illus. 401-403
 avant-garde 37

78 sflogliando le pagine, se ne rende visibile solamente una

MUNARI, BRUNO parte” (from the text). A fine copy. Rare,
Le macchine di Munari. (32)pp. Prof. illus. with drawings print- Roma (Galleria dell’Obelisco), 1966. $2,750.00
ed in black and 4 colors. 4to. Dec. boards, 1/4 cloth, with col- Maffei, Giorgio: Munari: I libri (Milano, 2002), p. 119; Splendid
lage design by the artist printed on the front cover. Munari’s rare Pages p. 192
first book, with descriptions of absurdist, Dada-influenced con-
traptions related to the ‘useless machines’ which he began to 80
produce in 1933. Included are such devices as an apparatus to MUNARI, BRUNO.
pull the tails of lazy dogs, and a rainshower mechanism to Libro illeggibile N.Y. 1. (38)ff.. Assembled of leaves of heavy
make hiccups more musical. Each is elaborated on a page of stock and translucent paper, with red thread connecting the
diagrammatically connected colored drawings, part Rube Gold- pages through random cut-outs. Sq. 4to. Wraps. D.j One of a
berg, part Picabia, facing a page of explanation. Two small limited, hand-numbered edition, designed especially for the
abrasions on back cover; a remarkably bright and fresh copy, Museum of Modern Art. “Questo libro... [fa] parte di un grup-
the best we have seen of this fragile book. po di libri definiti ‘illeggibili’ perchè non hanno parole da leg-
Torino (Einaudi), 1942. $2,750.00 gere, ma hanno una storia visiva che si può capire seguendo
Maffei, Giorgio: Munari: I libri (Milano, 2002), p. 56f.; Tanchis, il filo del discorso visivo” (colophon). One small chip; a fine
Aldo: Bruno Munari (Cambridge, 1987), p. [139] copy.
New York (The Museum of Modern Art), 1967. $950.00
79 Maffei, Giorgio: Munari: I libri (Milano, 2002), p. 123; Castle-
MUNARI, BRUNO man p. 224; Splendid Pages p. 192, fig. 113
Libro illeggibile. 1966. (16)ff., consisting of 14 leaves of plain
glassine, each with a single line in black, at various angles 81
and of varying lengths; and solid black squares on the inside MUNARI, BRUNO
covers. A brief text is concealed under a flap under a flap in I prelibri. [Dodici piccoli libri di carta, di cartoncino, di cartone,
the interior of the back cover. Oblong 4to. Blue self-wraps., di legno, di panno, di panno spugna, di friselina, di plastica
printed in black (very slightly sunned at edges). trasparente; ognuno rilegato in modo diverso. Età 3/6 anni.]
A particularly beautiful example of Munari’s “libri illeggibili,” 12 miniature books, housed in 2 fitted plastic trays within a
published on the occasion of the exhibition ‘Omaggio a photo-illustrated folder lined with an interrogatory text by the
Munari” at the Galleria dell’Obelisco in Rome, May 1966. The artist, in parallel Italian, English, French and German. Each
ethereally translucent overlay of the angled lines across the book (6)-(31)ff. and 98 x 98 mm. (3 7/8 inches square). Sm.
pages—recalling Gabo, anticipating Lewitt—is so compelling folio. Publisher’s carton. Intended for young children who
that it is hard to believe that each leaf is printed with only a have not yet learned to read, rhe books are fashioned of a
single line. “Se si sflogliano con attenzione le pagine di questo playful selection of colored paper, plastics, cloth, wood, and
libro illeggible, voltando le pagine trasparenti una per una e other synthetic materials, secured with yarn, rope, raffia, and
osservando quello che succede sia sulla pagina di destra che wire, and embellished with fur, buttons and other elements, as
in quella di sinistra, si vedrà come si trasforma un segno for- well as printed graphic designs and—sparingly—illustrations.
mato da 14 segmenti rettilinei, tutti collegati tra loro, come si A beautiful copy. Rare.
può vedere, a libro chiuso, per trasparenza. Lo spessore della Milano (Danese), 1980. $3,500.00
carta trasparente nasconde una parte del disegno per cui, Maffei, Giorgio: Munari: I libri (Milano, 2002), p. 154ff.

82
 38 ars libri

83 83
82 title composition, printed in red and black, is a work of haunt-
NEMOGUCE ing beauty. Soft crease at top left throughout; backstrip
/Nemogucé./ L’impossible. (2), 136, (4)pp. Prof. illus. Lrg. 4to. chipped; a little other light wear. Extremely rare.
Pink wraps., printed in black. Beograd (Nadrealistichka Izdanja/ Éditions surréalistes),
The most celebrated, and most comprehensive publication 1930. $8,500.00
of Serbian surrealism, edited by Marko Ristic. Texts by Jean p. 259; Biro/Passeron p. 299; Benson, Timothy O. (ed.):
Milan Dedinats, Mladen Dmitrijevic, Petar Popovic, Oskar Central European Avant-Gardes: Exchange and Transforma-
Davico, Vane Zivadinovic-Bor, and Aleksandar Bucno, as tion (Los Angeles, 2002), p. 291f.; La planète affolée: Sur-
well as Paul Éluard, Benjamin Péret, René Char, André réalisme, dispersion et influences, 1938-1947 (Marseille,
Breton, Louis Aragon, André Thirion and others. Illustra- 1986), p. 251; Milano p. 650
tions by Vane Bor, Djordje Jovanovic, Oskar Davico, Djord-
je Kostic, Vane Zivanovic-Noe, Rade Stojanovic, Marko 83
Ristic, Nikola Vuco. (OKADA TATSUO) Toller, Ernst
‘Outside France, apart from Belgium...the first countries to Tsubame no sho [The Swallow Book]. Translation by
organize official surrealist groups were those in Central Murayama Tomoyoshi. 106, (2)pp. 15 full-page original
Europe and the Balkans—the countries where French influ- linocut plates in text. Lrg. 8vo. Wraps., printed in red and
ence was strongest between the two World Wars, and which black on cream-colored paper, mounted on heavier brown
had the closest ties with Paris.... In Yugoslavia, a properly (as issued).
constituted surrealist group existed, and in 1930 published a This is one of three books illustrated with original Mavo
collection of texts and illustrations under the title of linocuts by Okada Tatsuo, together with Hagiwara Kyojiro’s
‘Nemogoutché’ (‘The Impossible’) at the ‘Surrealist Press’ in “Shikei senkoku [Death Sentence]” (1925) and Saito Hideo
Belgrade. This publication, which included articles by French ’s “Aozameta Douteikyo [The Pale-Faced Virgin’s Mad
surrealists with whom they were in correspondence... was the Thoughts]” (1926). Murayama, who did the translation, knew
‘first collective manifestation of Surrealism in Yugoslavia.’ Its and admired the Expressionist playwright Ernst Toller’s work
appearance was not dissimilar to that of ‘La révolution sur- (as he did Georg Kaiser’s) from his extended stay in Berlin
réaliste,’ and it featured a number of unusual photographs, in 1922. “The first of many plays that Murayama saw at the
some executed in Paris, and reproductions of pictures in trag- Berlin Volksbühne was Toller’s ‘Machine-Wreckers’ (Machi-
ic tones by Vane Bor, others by Zivanovitch-Noe very much nenstürmer); …after he returned to Japan, Murayama trans-
influenced by André Masson, and drawings by Stoyanovitch, lated Toller’s collection of poems, ‘Swallow Book’ (Das
Jovanovitch, and Davitcho” (Marcel Jean). The double-page Schwalbenbuch; published in Japanese as ‘Tsubame no
 avant-garde 39

sho’ in 1925). Murayama later credited Toller, along with the

artist George Grosz and the Volksbühne producer Max
Reinhardt, with inspiring him to become a socialist”
(Weisenfeld). Okada’s linocuts in the “Swallow Book” focus
less on the bizarre and macabre than those in “Death Sen-
tence” and “The Pale-Faced Virgin’s Mad Thoughts,” and
are, on the whole, more classical constructivist abstract
compositions.
One of the prime movers in Mavo and the Miraiha Bijutsu
Kyokai (Futurist Art Association, or FAA), Okada Tatsuo was
both an extremely visible, even violently prominent, artist
and performer, and also a figure of some mystery to later
scholarship; even his dates are unknown (“fl. ca. 1900-
1935”). “Okada was probably from Kyushu and is thought to
have died in Manchuria, or to have remained there after
arriving sometime in the late 1930s. Knowledge of his artis-
tic training and personal acquaintances is scant, but accord-
ing to his later reminiscences, he was an art student when
he participated in FAA-Mavo activities…. Okada’s few
extant works reveal a talented, innovative printmaker aes-
thetically and politically dedicated to anarchism. Okada rep-
resented a radicalizing force in the FAA-Mavo coterie, con-
sistently leveling harsh criticism at the group, prodding them
toward more violent and extreme actions. In many ways, he
was a divisive force in the group, eventually driving them
into opposing factions” (Weisenfeld).
Okada’s brilliance was multifaceted. In addition to being a
significant graphic artist, whose prints and assemblages
were major works of the movement, he was a performance
artist, starring in some of Mavo’s most famous events—in

84
June 1924, he was Murayama’s dance partner, in Muraya-
ma’s first documented performance (to the accompaniment
of a Russolo-like ‘Noise and Sound Constructor’); and
Okada’s near-naked appearances, with his “Gate and Mov-
ing Ticket-Selling Machine” at the second Sanka exhibition
in 1925 (to cite but one example) are recorded in some of
the most amazing photographs surviving from the early
Japanese avant-garde. He was a contributor to “Mavo,” the
review, in both of its two phases, and was one of its three
editors in its second period (issues 5-7). He was also a high-
ly original typographer, designing the layout, as well as most
of the linocut illustrations, for “Shikei senkoku [Death Sen-
tence],” the Mavo illustrated book par excellence. As
Weisenfeld notes about “Shikei senkoku,” “Without the artis-
tic constraints placed on many commercial publications,
Mavo artists were free to produce a strong visual response
to the tumultuous poems.” Intermittent very light foxing: an
extremely fine copy, clean and the wrappers in fresh state,
far superior to that at the Machida City Museum of Graphic
Arts. Of great rarity.
Tokyo (Choryusha Shoten), 1925. $9,500.00
Weisenfeld, Gennifer: Mavo: Japanese Artists and the Avant-
Garde, 1905-1931 (2002), pp. 37, 98; cf. Omuka, Toshiharu:
“Tada=Dada (Devotedly Dada) for the Stage: The Japanese
Dada Movement 1920-1925,” in: Janecek, Gerald & Omuka,
Toshiharu: The Eastern Dada Orbit... (Crisis and the Arts: The
History of Dada, Vol. 4; New York, 1998), p. 280; Machida City
Museum of Graphic Arts: Modernism in the Russian Far East
and Japan 1918-1928 (Machida, 2002), no. 270.1-2 (illus.)
84
 40 ars libri

85 85
84 imental, often incorporating symbols and shapes to substi-
(OKADA TATSUO, et al) Hagiwara, Kyojiro tute for characters and letters.”
Shikei senkoku [Death Sentence]. (28), 161, (1), 5, (3)pp., 8 As the Machida catalogue shows, Okada’s alteration in the
plates printed in yellow. Profusely illustrated throughout with cover design of the second edition, changing the lattice from
original linocuts by Okada Tatsuo, Yabashi Kimimaro, and black to blue, gives the composition a new coloristic bril-
Toda Tatsuo. Dec. wraps., designed by Okada. Slipcase (dec. liance. Backstrip somewhat worn, with loss at foot, a little
red boards, designed by Okada). Second edition; first pub- light wear to the covers; an exceptionally fine copy, very fresh
lished Tokyo, October 1925. and clean and with strong, clear impressions of the cuts. Of
We quote at length from Gennifer Weisenfeld’s discussion of great rarity.
the book: “[‘Shikei senkoku’] was one of Mavo’s best-known Tokyo (Choryusha Shoten), 1926. $14,500.00
projects and the group’s only collaborative book design. Weisenfeld, Gennifer: Mavo: Japanese Artists and the Avant-
Mavo executed the entire layout of Hagiwara’s anthology, Garde, 1905-1931 (2002), p. 197ff. ; cf. Omuka, Toshiharu:
deciding everything down to the pitch of the text. It is one of “Tada=Dada (Devotedly Dada) for the Stage: The Japanese
the finest examples of a successful integration of text, Dada Movement 1920-1925,” in: Janecek, Gerald & Omuka,
design, typography, and illustration. At the time, ‘Shikei Toshiharu: The Eastern Dada Orbit... (Crisis and the Arts: The
senkoku’ was considered extremely experimental, graphical- History of Dada, Vol. 4; New York, 1998), p. 283f.; Urawa Art
ly.... Without the artistic constraints placed on many com- Museum: Books as Art: From Taisyo Period Book Design to
mercial publications, Mavo artists were free to produce a Contemporary Art Objects (2001), p. 82f., pl. 26 (4 illus.), (cit-
strong visual response to the tumultuous poems. Okada did ing 2nd edition); Centre Georges Pompidou: Japon des
most of the illustrations for the volume, as well as designing avant-gardes 1910/1970 (Paris, 1986), pp. 177f., 516; Machi-
the cover. It consisted of two bold black lattices on both the da City Museum of Graphic Arts: Modernism in the Russian
left and right borders, a yellow band at the top with the Far East and Japan, 1918-1928 (Machida, 2002), illus. 272
author’s name, a thicker red band with the book title below (and cf. 271)
this, a bluish circle in the center, and a black-and-white grid
pattern at the bottom with boxes filled in to create an abstract 85
pattern.... Several of the illustrations inside ‘Shikei senkoku’ (OKADA TATSUO) Saito, Hideo
were photographic reproductions of Mavo work already pub- Aozameta Douteikyo [The Pale-Faced Virgin’s Mad
lished in the group’s magazine. The rest were abstract Thoughts]. (4), 4, 120, (4)pp. Prof. illus. with linocut prints by
linocuts. Line, dot, and arrow border patterns dynamically Okada Tatsuo , including 17 full-page compositions, and
frame the texts, which were interspersed with full-page illus- many half-page images, integrated with text. 4to. Dec.
trations, some featuring bold, black-and-white abstract pat- boards, designed by Okada Tatsuo , printed in yellow, red,
terns.... The typography used for the poems was also exper- blue and black with dramatic compositions on both covers.
 avant-garde 41

Okada’s linocuts and typographic design for the present book wraps.). Orig. cellophane d.j. (losses). Contents loose, as
(Weisenfeld translates the title as “The Mad [Male] Virgin Who issued. Fitted cloth case with clasps.
Went Pale”) are strikingly close to those in “Shikei senkoku,” A beautiful and sophisticated livre d’artiste, with surrealist-
which had been brought out the year before by the same pub- cum-purist compositions of figures and parts of the body, cogs
lisher (who was also responsible for “Mavo”). The cover and vegetal forms, pure geometric abstraction, and other ele-
design is an astonishingly strange high-colored composition, ments. “Onchi contrived to have published a number of
integrating a weird serpent-like humanoid head and flamelike albums of his prints, often accompanied by his own verses.
legs with a Purist and Constructivist shapes and symbols. It The 1934 ‘Umi no Dowa,’ ‘Nursery Tales of the Sea,’ for
prominently bears, in lurid red script at the base, the word instance, is a series of six designs ‘cut by the artist himself on
“Mavo,” next to Okada’s block-styled name. The linocuts with- fifteen blocks’ (though never more than three for any one
in are marked by the same mixture of the abstract, the unique- print), with verses by the artist. The designs are of a kind of
ly bizarre, and the macabre, which characterize “Shikei chance groupings of fragments of human figures or everyday
senkoku.” Spine chipped at head and foot (as almost always), objects, in conjunction with geometrical shapes, the block-
covers somewhat soiled; small loss at corner of flyleaf, mend- applied colour making its own quite illogical contribution. One
ed clean tear in index leaf; generally a fine copy, clean and is reminded more than anything else of the abstracts of cer-
with strong impressions of the plates. The most extravagant of tain Russian Constructivists of the 1920s, with their spare
the Mavo illustrated books, and of great rarity. designs partially helped out by machine drawing, and it is con-
Tokyo (Choryusha Shoten), 1926. $12,500.00 ceivable that Onchi had had the chance to study specimens
Urawa Art Museum: Books as Art: From Taisyo Period Book of their work” (Hillier). One of the leading Japanese graphic
Design to Contemporary Art Objects (2001), p. 84f., pl. 31 (4 artists of the century, Onchi (1891-1955) is thought to have
illus.); Weisenfeld, Gennifer: Mavo: Japanese Artists and the created the first pure abstraction in Japanese art, in 1915. The
Avant-Garde, 1905-1931 (2002), p. 290 n. 104; cf. Omuka, predominant mode of his work, which he termed lyricism,
Toshiharu: “Tada=Dada (Devotedly Dada) for the Stage: The exhibits “a dreamy poeticism created by the intermingling of
Japanese Dada Movement 1920-1925,” in: Janecek, Gerald & the abstract and the figurative” (Toru Asano, in the article on
Omuka, Toshiharu: The Eastern Dada Orbit... (Crisis and the Onchi in the Dictionary of Art). A fine, clean copy, with only a
Arts: The History of Dada, Vol. 4; New York, 1998); Machida few very faint traces of foxing, particularly rare thus.
City Museum of Graphic Arts: Modernism in the Russian Far Tokyo (Hangaso), 1934. $6,500.00
East and Japan 1918-1928 (Machida, 2002), no. 273.1-3 (illus.) Urawa Art Museum: Books as Art: From Taisyo Period Book
Design to Contemporary Art Objects (2001), p. 79 pl. 70; Cf:
OKADA TATSUO: See also item 131 Centre Georges Pompidou: Japon des avant-gardes
1910/1970 (Paris, 1986), pp. 27, 33; Hillier, Jack: The Art of
86 the Japanese Book (London, 1987), p. 1019
ONCHI KOSHIRO
Umi no dowa [Fairy Tales of the Sea]. July 1934. (16)pp., 87
including 6 full-page color woodcuts. Typography printed in ONCHI KOSHIRO
grey, with elements in colors. Sm. folio. Portfolio (printed Onchi Koshiro Shibun-shu Kisetsu-hyo [Poems from the Hand
of Koshiro Onchi: Signs of the Seasons]. 95, (3)pp., 1 original
color lithograph by Onchi. Print size: 360 x 290 mm. (ca. 15
1/4 x 11 1/2 inches). Borders and ornaments throughout,
printed in grey. Folio. Dec. wraps., with design by Onchi. Pub-
lisher’s cloth chitsu portfolio (linen with printed title panel);
ivory clasps. One of 150 numbered copies on fine uncut
kyokushi (Japanese vellum) paper, constituting the fukan edi-
tion of the work (with one print), from the limited edition of 200
in all, signed in pen by Onchi opposite the frontispiece por-
trait. A collection of poems by Onchi, designed by him in a
remarkable folio format, with highly refined and elaborate
modernist decoration, including seven elaborate border
designs that lend an almost architectural grandeur to the dou-
ble-page spreads. Stylistically, the work closely anticipates
Onchi’s “Saboten tou [Cactus Island]” of 1938. Bumps at two
corners; fine.
Tokyo (Aoi-shobo) [1935]. $4,500.00

88
ORLOFF, CHANA
Bois gravés. (2)pp., 11 full-page original woodcuts by Chana
Orloff, each signed in pencil by the artist. Sheet size: 565 x 385
mm (22 1/4 by 15 1/8 inches); image sizes range from 160 x
130 to 350 x 295 mm. (6 1/4 x 5 1/4 to 13 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches).
Folio. All sheets loose, as issued, within decorated wrapper
repeating one of the woodcuts. Edition limited to 100 copies in
all, numbered by hand. Printing by Frazier-Soye.
A portfolio by the Ukrainian-born sculptor and printmaker
Chana Orloff (1888-1968), active in the Parisian cubist milieu
86
 42 ars libri

89
(ORLOFF) Justman, Ary
Réflexions poétiques. Chana Orloff: Reproductions de sculp-
tures. (68)pp. 12 plates hors texte, including 3 original wood-
cuts, 3 illustrations of drawings, and 6 halftone plates of
sculpture. Lrg. 4to. Wraps. One of 300 copies on papier bouf-
fant, from the limited edition of 316 in all.
A rare livre d’artiste from the “SIC” milieu, with extraordinary
woodcuts by Chana Orloff and verse by her short-lived hus-
band Ary Justman. Cover lightly foxed. Presentation copy,
inscribed by Orloff on the title-page, in 1921.
Paris (Éditions SIC), 1917. $3,500.00
Stein, Donna (ed.): Cubist Prints, Cubist Books (New York,
1983), no. 57, p. 62; Siena. Palazzo Pubblico: Libri Cubisti
(1988), no. 71

90
PARIS
Excursions & visites dada. 1ère visite: Eglise Saint Julien le
Pauvre. Jeudi 14 avril à 3 h. [1921]. Single sheet of blue wove
stock, printed in blue and black on recto only. 315 x 267 mm.
(12 3/8 x 10 1/2 inches). Typography by Tristan Tzara.
The central text of the handbill, ascribable to Andé Breton,
explains that “The Dadaists passing through Paris, wishing to
remedy the incompetence of suspect guides and cicerones,
have decided to organize a series of visits to selected spots,
particularly those which really have no reason for existing.....”
this first excursion did in fact take place, but it rained, and
hardly anyone came. As George Hugnet recalled “In itself, this
demonstration, which took place at three o’clock on April 14,
almost exlusively under the influence of André Breton, who
was keenly sensitive to the outward effect of monuments and
localities, proved, more than anything, demoralizing. It con-
sisted of only a few individuals, almost improvised acts; one
of the ‘numbers,’ perhaps the most successful (which does
88 not mean much), was a tour conducted through the church-
yard, stopping here and there to read definitions taken at ran-
in the teens and twenties, who exhibited at the Salon d’Au- dom from a big dictionary.... The result was what followed
tomne beginning in 1913, and at the Salon des Indépendants. every Dada demonstration: collective nervous depression.”
“Although influenced to some extent by Cubism, Modigliani,
and the vogue for the primitive, she soon established a dis-
tinctive idiom: essentially naturalistic, but tending to a deco-
rative simplication of form and a love of smooth rounded sur-
faces. In the early 1920s, Orloff gained a considerable repu-
tation for her portrait sculptures of the Parisian cultural élite”
(M. Bohm-Duchen, in The Dictionary of Art).
Orloff’s distinctively grained woodcuts are instantly recogniz-
able. She published a number of them in “SIC,” and in a book
by her short-lived husband Ary Justman, ‘Réflexions poé-
tiques’ (1917). Of this last, Donna Stein remarks that “The
most fertile period of Cubist book publication occured after
World War I, when adherents of the style had achieved some
commercial success, but were no longer a coherent group.
Concurrently there was a widespread revival of the art of the
woodcut.... Wood was Orloff’s favorite sculptural material,
and she was able to transfer the organic sense of Cubist
deformation onto her woodblock in the creation of one partic-
ularly noble and psychologically penetrating portrait made for
this book” (‘Cubist Books, Cubist Prints,’ p. 62). In the present
large-format portfolio Orloff carries yet further the exploitation
of the grain of the block through eleven portraits of women,
utilizing the patterns of the wood to convey the folds of drap-
ery and lines of coiffure, as well as the psychological dimen-
sion, in an unusually effective way. Fine impressions of the
cuts. A few soft creases; light wear to the portfolio.
Paris (D’Alignan), 1919. $8,500.00
91
 avant-garde 43

92
“Par la variété des fontes, la réparition des volumes 92
encrés, le jeu des couleurs, ce document constitue une PARIS. SALLE GAVEAU
des plus heureuses réussites de la typographie dadaïste” Festival dada. Mercredi 26 mai 1920 à 3 h, après-midi. Pro-
(Sanouillet). gramme. Handbill poster, printed in black on pale green stock,
A quite exceptional copy, with extra-wide margins at left overprinted in orange with an elaborate dada mechanomor-
and bottom, measuring 315 x 267 mm. (Poupard-Lieussou phic drawing by Picabia (and additional text). On the verso:
and Sanouillet record 280 x 220 mm.); unobtrusive foldlines; catalogue of the Dada publishers and gallery Au Sans Pareil.
in fresh state, the fugitive blue background still quite bright. 350 x 250 mm. (13 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches). Design by Francis
Paris, 1921. $2,250.00 Picabia and Tristan Tzara.
Documents Dada 28; Dada Global 235; Almanacco Dada p. On the program (which is headlined in orange with the
624; Ades 8.46; Sanouillet 279, p. 244ff.; Motherwell-Karpel announcement “Tous les Dadas se feront tondre les cheveux
p. 114ff.; Richter p. 183f.; Rubin p. 459; Dada Artifacts 129; sur la scène!”) are featured “le sexe de dada,” “le célèbre illu-
Düsseldorf 253; Zürich 449; Pompidou: Dada 1524, illus. sioniste” by Philippe Soupault, “le nombril interlope, musique
pp.714, 858; Washington: Dada illus 6.2 de Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, interprété par Mlle. Mar-
guerite Buffet,” “festival manifeste presbyte, par Francis
91 Picabia, interprété par André Breton et Henri Houry,” “le ras-
PARIS. GALERIE PIERRE taquouère” by Breton, “la deuxième aventure de monsieur Aa
La peinture surréaliste. Exposition, 14-25 novembre 1925. l’antipyrine” by Tristan Tzara, “vous m’oublierez, sketch par
Preface by André Breton and Robert Desnos. (24)pp. 8 full- André Breton et Philippe Soupault,” “la nourrice américaine,
page plates in text, by Arp, De Chirico, Ernst, Klee, Masson, par Francis Picabia, musique sodomiste interprétée par Mar-
Miró, Picasso, and Man Ray. Self-wraps. The rare catalogue guerite Buffet,” “manifeste baccarat” by Ribemont-Des-
of the very first Surrealist group exhibition. A little light wear. saignes, enacted by Soupault, Breton and Berthe Tessier,
Paris, 1925. $1,500.00 “système DD” by Louis Aragon, “je suis des javanais” by
Biro/Passeron p. 158; Reynolds p. 137;; Rubin p. 461; Milano Picabia, “poids public” by Paul Éluard, and “vaseline sym-
pp. 592, 649; Sheringham Ac122; phonique,” by Tzara, among other things; foxtrots were
 44 ars libri

in 1929, intrigued by Fargue’s fantastical writing, Parry made

16 photographs based on his imaginings, which were pub-
lished in an illustrated version of the book in 1930 (there was
also a special edition with tipped-in prints). The ‘Banalité’
images are like a crash course in New Vision photography
over 16 lessons. Parry utilizes multiple exposure, photogram
(assisted by the artist and actor Fabian Loris), photomontage,
solarization and negative print, employing each technique
with such verve and imagination that the potential lack of unity
in the suite of photographs is never at issue.... Parry may
have begun ‘Banalité’ by investigating the various tropes of
modernism/formalism, but along the way, he discovered Sur-
realism, and made some of its most enduring and intriguing
photographs” (Parr and Badger). Slightly bumped at one cor-
ner, a few pale fox marks; generally a very fine, signed copy.
Paris (Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française/Gallimard),
1930. $8,500.00
Parr, Martin & Badger, Gerry: The Photobook: A History. Vol. I,
p. 100f.

94
PÁSMO. No. 13/14
[Zone]. Revue internationale moderne. Éd.: Devetsil (A.
Cernik). 10pp., printed on 2 sheets of lightweight pale green
stock. 23 halftone illus. Lrg. folio. Self-wraps.
A double issue of the international review, published by the
Brno chapter of Devetsil between 1924 and 1926. This issue
opens, remarkably, with texts by Jaroslav Seifert and Roman
Jacobson, juxtaposed with film stills of Chaplin, Harold Lloyd
and Douglas Fairbanks (as Zorro), continuing with Hans
Richter’s “Der neue Baumeister” (illustrated with projects by
93
Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier), Theo van Doesburg’s
played on the famous organ, accustomed to Bach; Ribemont- “Das Ende der Kunst,” and other contributions by Vitezslav
Dessaignes performed his “danse frontière,” wrapped in a large Nezval, Vilém Santholzer, Otto Nebel, et al., and reproduc-
cardboard funnel oscillating at its tip. The audience, pettishly tions of work by Matulka, Teige, van Doesburg & van
put out by the Dadas failing to have their heads shaved as Eesteren, Loos, Rössler (2 photographs), Pevsner and oth-
promised, pelted the participants with tomatoes, rotten eggs, ers. A little light wear and fading, one small clean tear; a very
bread rolls, and, from one corner, veal cutlets, a novel touch. nice copy, partly unopened, in a custom paper portfolio.
Tiny tears at edges, with a few small losses at bottom; an Brno [1925]. $2,750.00
extremely fine, bright copy, superior to those exhibited in the Oxford, Museum of Modern Art: Devetsil: Czech avant-garde
2005/2006 exhibitions, particularly rare with such strong color. art, architecture and design of the 1920s and 30s (1990), p. 71
Paris, 1920. $9,500.00 (full-page illus. of the front cover of this issue); Houston, Muse-
Documents Dada 20; Dada Global 229; Almanacco Dada p. um of Fine Arts: Czech Modernism 1900-1945 (1989), p. 258;
607; Sanouillet 306; Motherwell/Karpel 45, p. 111ff., illus. p. IVAM: The Art of the Avant-Garde in Czechoslovakia 1918-
179; Dachy p. 136 (illus. in color); Dachy: Archives 1938 (Valencia, 1993), p. 398; Verkauf p. 181; Almanacco
Dada/Chronique p. 422 (illus. in color); Düsseldorf 257; Zürich Dada 115
443; Tendenzen 3.112; Pompidou 1472, illus. p. 431; Wash-
ington: Dada pl. 360 95
PEREIRA, I. RICE
93 The Lapis. (40)pp. 11 color prints in text. 5 illus. (color).
(PARRY) Fargue, Léon-Paul Loosely inserted in pocket under front cover, as issued, as
Banalité. Illustré de réogrammes et recherches d’objets de issued, a suite of 5 original watercolors on cream wove
Loris et Parry. 79, (3)pp., 16 heliogravure plates. Folio. Print- paper. Dimensions of the suite: 328 x 385 mm. (ca. 13 x 15
ed wraps. One of 300 numbered copies on uncut Hollande inches). Title-page printed on uncut handmade wove paper.
Pannekoek, signed in pen by Loris and Parry in the justifica- Folio. Publisher’s boards, stamped in gold (lightly rubbed).
tion, from the limited edition of 367 in all, printed by Barry. Édition de tête: one of 53 copies signed and numbered in
“Many members of the Surrealist group not only wrote, paint- pen by the artist, and “specially bound with original water col-
ed and photographed, but also experimented freely with the ors:” 5 large-scale finished watercolor compositions, each
book form, including photobooks. Georges Hugnet and signed and dated in ink Christmas Eve 1954, and each with
Claude Cahun both made photocollages and experimented extensive calligraphed annotation and commentary by
with illustrated books, while Roger Parry, a student of the pho- Pereira in black and sepia inks. Preceded by a title sheet of
tographer Maurice Tabard, produced a series of beautiful pho- handmade wove paper (“The Lapis” brushed in blue paint),
tographs to illustrate a deluxe edition of Surrealist poems and the suite recapitulates completely the series of five composi-
prose pieces by Léon-Paul Fargue. The original version of tions and text which make up the “Second Version, Christ-
‘Banalité’ (Banality), published in 1928, was not illustrated, but mas, ‘54” illustrated in the book.
 avant-garde 45

“‘The Lapis’ is an interpretation of a dream of a Lapis Lazuli

stone monument with a figure incised in the stone. I was sur-
prised myself by it. I never knew what a philosopher’s stone
looked like, The diagrams, pictures and text show the contra-
dictions between the experience of an inner image and the
optical illusions of visual representation. The diagrams and
text are concerned with art, objects, and gravitational centers
of mind-energy in connection with world-views.... Geometric
systems of thought have avoided the infinite; whereas, visual
and intuitive perception involves the infinite” (preface by the
artist). Presentation copy, inscribed in pen by Rice Pereira at
the foot of the colophon, April 1963.
New York (I. Rice Pereira), 1957. $6,500.00

96
PICABIA, FRANCIS
Pensées sans langage. Poème. Précédé d’une préface par
Udnie. 119, (3)pp. Wraps., with fine full-page mechanical
drawing by Picabia on the front cover. Uncut. “1e. Édition” (as
noted on the front cover).
Picabia’s first Paris Dada publication, dedicated to Gabrielle
Buffet, Duchamp, Tzara, and Ribemont-Dessaignes. “The 100
title...undoubtedly reveals Picabia’s fundamental preoccupa- shortly before the first issue of his scurrilous “Cannibale.” One
tion in 1918: thought-poetry, a poetry freed from the servitude of a handful of classic texts issued in the Collection Dada
of language. In short, an idea-poetry that paralleled the idea- (Tzara’s ‘Cinéma calendrier du coeur abstrait,’ Breton and
art of works like ‘Music is Like Painting,’ or ‘American Woman’ Soupault’s ‘Les champs magnétiques,’ and Picabia’s own
(in which a magnetic field or bulb represented idea-art pro- ‘Jésus-Christ Rastaquouère’ were others) which Hans Richter
posals) the year before” (Borràs). “I am reading the ‘Pensées noted “constitute the high-water mark of literary production in
sans langage,” wrote Éluard to Tzara in November 1919, “and 1920.” A fine copy.
for me it is though the Marquis de Sade had become a poet I Paris (Au Sans Pareil), 1920. $1,800.00
love.” The first printing (as mentioned on the wrapper) is Ades 7.24; Dada Global 210; Almanacco Dada p. 436 (illus.);
especially scarce, copies almost always being designated Gershman p. 34; Sanouillet 142; Motherwell-Karpel 323;
“4e. Édition.” Little chips at backstrip; a very fine copy Verkauf p. 103; Richter p. 177; Pompidou: Dada 1281, illus.
Paris (Eugène Figuière, Éditeur), 1919. $2,500.00 pp. 271, 742, 671, 790
Dada Global 209; Ades 7.22, p. 145; Almanacco Dada p. 435;
Gershman p. 34; Sanouillet 141; Motherwell/Karpel 321; 98
Dada Artifacts 107; Verkauf p. 181; Düsseldorf 207; Zürich (PICABIA) Paris. Danthon
338; Pompidou: Dada 1277, illus. p. 741; Borràs p. 199; Andel Francis Picabia. Exposition. 14 mai 1923. 8pp. Dec. wraps.,
Avant-Garde Page Design 1910-1950, illus. 143 with self-portrait drawing by Picabia on the front cover. Intro-
duction by Germaine Everling (“G.E.”), Picabia’s companion
97
and common-law wife. Catalogue of 123 items, some of them
PICABIA, FRANCIS
loans (from Doucet, Cocteau, Breton, Desnos, Poincaré et
Unique eunuque. Avec un portrait de l’auteur par lui-même et
al.). Central fold line; a little light wear.
une préface par Tristan Tzara. (Collection Dada.) 38, (2)pp. 1
Paris, 1923. $650.00
line-drawn illus. Printed wraps. One of 1000 numbered copies
Sanouillet 298
on vergé bouffant, from the limited edition of 1025. Picabia’s
long and rather aggressively flip nonsense poem, published
99
(PICABIA) Cannes. Chez Fabre
Francis Picabia. Du 20 février au 25 février 1928. 16, (8)pp. 1
tipped-in color plate and 3 full-page drawings by Picabia in
text. 4to. Printed wraps. (small portions renewed at edges,
backstrip reinforced within). Prefatory texts by Emil Fabre
(“Picabia 1928”) and Emeran C. Du Maine (“Prolegomènes”).
This may be a proof copy, consisting as it does of three uncut
folded folio signatures, loosely inserted in the wrapper. A bit
worn. Rare.
Cannes, 1928. $750.00

100
PODHAJSKA, M.
Mesice. (4)pp., 18 original woodcuts, of which 12 printed in
colors, all tipped onto textured brown paper mounts. Woodcut
publisher’s device on title-page, printed in grey. Lrg. 4to. Port-
folio (publisher’s printed boards). Contents loose, as issued.
Preface by Bedr. Benes-Buchlovan. Edition limited to 200
95
46 ars libri

orchestra of these effects. The plate shows Russolo and Ugo

Piatti surrounded by an hilarious assemblage of 16 huge, fun-
nel-shaped amplifiers ‘nel laboratorio degli intonarumori a
Milano.’ A fine copy.
Milano (Edizioni Futuriste di “Poesia”), 1916. $1,200.00
Salaris p. 64; Hultén, Pontus (ed.): Futurism and Futurisms
(New York, 1986), p. 558ff.; Jentsch, Ralph: The Artist and
the Book in Twentieth-Century Italy (Turin/New York, 1992),
p. 323

103
SARTORIS, ALBERTO
Gli elementi dell’architettura funzionale. Sintesi panoramica
dell’architectura moderna. Terza edizione, interamente rifatta.
Collaudo di F.T. Marinetti. Introduzione di P.M. Bardi. Pre-
fazione di Le Corbusier. viii, 946, (2)pp. 1135 illus. Lrg. stout
4to. Dec. cloth, embossed in white. (lightly sunned at spine).
The greatly expanded and best edition. A fine copy.
Milano (Ulrico Hoepli), 1941. $1,650.00
107
Sharp 148; Placzek, III.664f.
hand-numbered copies, signed and dated by Podhajska in
the colophon; printed by Jos. Hladky in Buchlovicích, 104
Moravia. SCHWITTERS, KURT
“The Months,” a suite of 12 color woodcuts, followed by six Elementar. Die Blume Anna. Die neue Anna Blume. Eine
woodcuts in black with paired images of the signs of the zodi- Gedichtsammlung aus den Jahren 1918-1922. Einbecker
ac (printed two to a sheet). Minka Podhajská (1881-1963), Politurausgabe von Kurt Merz Schwitters. 32pp. Orig. dec.
born in Vienna and a student at the Kunstgewerbeschule, green wraps., designed by Schwitters. The new Anna Blume:
whose work appeared in “Ver Sacrum” (1902-1903), “Die poems and prose from 1918-1922. Slight fading at extremi-
Fläche” (1903-1904), and “Hohe Warte,” designed toys for ties of covers.
the Wiener Werkstätte, as well as a range of books, posters, Berlin (Verlag Der Sturm) [1922]. $1,250.00
books and ex-librises during the first World War. She moved Schmalenbach/Bolliger 4; “Typographie kann unter Umstän-
to Prague in 1919, the year in which this album was pub- den Kunst sein”: Kurt Schwitters Typographie und Wer-
lished, where she was one of the founding members of Artel, begestaltung (Wiesbaden, 1990), p. 15, illus. 3; Dada Global
a Czech artists’ consortium comparable to the Wiener Werk- 123; Almanacco Dada illus. p. 450; Motherwell/Karpel 367;
stätte. Contemporary Czech ex-libris. A very fine copy. Verkauf p. 104; Dada Artifacts 66; Reynolds p. 75; Andel 81;
Praha (Politika) [1919]. $7,500.00 Pompidou Dada 1294, illus. pp. 748, 883;

101 105
(RICHTER, HANS) SCHWITTERS, KURT
Dreams That Money Can Buy. Produced and directed by: Merz. Band 2, Nr. 7 [No. 7. Tapsheft.] Januar 1924. Redaktion
Hans Richter.... Story by Hans Richter, in cooperation with: des Merzverlages: Kurt Schwitters. (8)pp. 8 line-drawn and
David Vern, Hans Rehfisch, Joseph Freeman.... Objects and halftone illus. Lrg. 4to. Orig. pale green self-wraps. Texts by
ideas by: Alexander Calder (music by Paul Bowles, ballet; Schwitters, Spengemann, “Baaader,” and Tzara. Illus. by and
David Diamond, circus); Marcel Duchamp (music by John after Schwitters, Lissitzky, Braque, Dexel, Gropius, Arp,
Cage, discs); Max Ernst (music by Paul Bowles, “Desire”); Höch, and Charchoune. Horizontal fold with small breaks and
Fernand Léger (music by John Latouche, “The Girl with the old tape stain at one side of front cover; other small chips and
Prefabricated Heart”); Man Ray (music by Darius Milhaud, losses, as is usual with this especially fragile issue.
“Ruth, Roses and Revolvers”); Hans Richter (music by Louis Hannover (Merzverlag), 1924. $5,000.00
Appelbaum, “Narcissus”). Sets by Hans Richter for Art of this Schmalenbach/Bolliger 238; “Typographie kann unter
Century Films, Inc. (28)pp. 30 illus. Sm. 4to. Dec. self-wraps.,
with front cover after Max Ernst. Texts by Louis Appelbaum,
John Cage, Charles R. Hulbeck (Richard Huelsenbeck),
Siegfried Kracauer, James Johnson Sweeney, Man Ray and
others. Layout by Frederick Kiesler. The program for this
classic of Surrealist experimental film, with its extraordinary
galaxy of participants. A little light wear.
New York, 1947. $750.00
Gershman p. 39; Biro/Passeron p. 133; Jean p. 330

102
RUSSOLO, LUIGI
L’arte dei rumori. 92, (4)pp. Frontis. portrait and 1 plate hors
texte. Sm. 4to. Wraps. The rare 1916 edition of Russolo’s
classic “Art of Noises,” celebrating the random phonic events
of city life—trams, crowds, machinery— and proposing an

102
 avant-garde 47

106

Umständen Kunst sein”: Kurt Schwitters Typographie und 513; Pompidou Dada 1385, illus. pp. 691; Franklin Furnace
Werbegestaltung (Wiesbaden, 1990) 16; Dada Global 112; 82; Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950,
Ades p. 130; Almanacco Dada 91; Gershman p. 51; Mother- illus. 159; Spencer p. 41 (illus.)
well/Karpel 78; Verkauf p. 180; Rubin 469; Pompidou: Dada
1385, illus. p. 688.4 107
SCHWITTERS, KURT
106 “Sehr geehrter Herr! BISMARCK pflegte zu sagen: ‘Das Bier
SCHWITTERS, KURT verfehlt seines Zweck, wenn es nicht getrunken wird’....” Post-
[Merz 14/15.] Die Scheuche. Märchen. Typographisch gestal- card, printed in black, with text and graphic advertising lay-
tet von K. Schwitters, Käte Steinitz, Th. van Doesburg. (Aposs outs, on cream-colored stock; verso blank. 105 x 147 mm.
No. 3.) (16)pp., printed in blue (rectos) and red (versos). (ca. 4 1/8 x 5 3/4 inches).
Oblong sm. 4to. Dec. self-wraps., designed by the collabora- One of Schwitters’ most complex commercial designs, a mail-
tors. New fitted cloth clamshell box. er for his own Merz Werbe soliciting graphic design work of all
‘The Scarecrow,’ a fable for children collaboratively designed kinds: newspaper ads, brochures, stationery and packaging,
by Schwitters, Steinitz and van Doesburg. Set in woodblock window displays, and other jobs. At left are reproduced sam-
letters of greatly disparate size, the boldest of which being ple advertisements which Schwitters designed for two local
anthropomorphosed into stick figures which literally and figu- Hannover companies, Buchheister and J.C. Herhold. Beneath
ratively kick one another around the page, it remains, after these, the slogan “Good advertising is cheap,” and remarks
some eighty years, one of the freshest and most amusing that a little bit of high-quality advertising is far more effective
inventions in modern typography. This is the Apossverlag edi- than a whole program of awkward or inappropriate ads. At
tion, preceding the 300 copies which were designated “Merz lower right the triangular signet of Merz Werbezentrale. Verti-
14/15” on the cover. Even browning, as usual; expert mends cal foldline at center, small crease at corner.
and hinging of leaves throughout (reconsolidations of the first Hannover [circa 1926]. $4,500.00
leaf at spine); covers somewhat soiled, secured with new “Typographie kann unter Umständen Kunst sein”: Kurt
thread in place of staples; still, a clean and presentable copy, Schwitters Typographie und Werbegestaltung (Wiesbaden,
and not embrittled, as many copies are. 1990) 43
Hannover (Apossverlag), 1925. $7,500.00
Schmalenbach/Bolliger 243; “Typographie kann unter 108
Umständen Kunst sein”: Kurt Schwitters Typographie und (SOCIÉTÉ ANONYME)
Werbegestaltung (Wiesbaden, 1990) 27; Dada Global 115; Modern Art at the Sesqui-Centennial Exhibition. Foreword by
Ades p. 131; Almanacco Dada 91; Gershman p. 51; Dachy: Katherine S. Dreier, president, Société Anonyme, Inc., Muse-
Archives dada/ chronique p. 201 (illus.); Motherwell/Karpel um of Modern Art. Text by Christian Brinton, special deputy for
78; Verkauf p. 180; Rubin 469; Dada Artifacts 74; Düsseldorf foreign art, Sesqui-Centennial International Exhibition.
 48 ars libri

111
(22)pp. 22 illus. 4to. Dec. wraps., designed by Aladjalov. Illus- the female subject and frenetic patterns of waves and tropical
trated are works by Seiwert, Chagall, Marc, Burliuk, Vogeler, foliage” (“The Cubist Print”). Sousa-Cardoso, who in the
Campendonk, Kandinsky, Molzahn, Malevich, Klee, Vasiliev, course of his brief life was in contact with a fascinating inter-
Dickinson, Lauren Harris, Demuth, Archipenko, and others, national modernist network, exhibited at the Armory Show (no
including Dreier herself. Neat splits at the spine. fewer than seven paintings) and the Erster Deutscher Herbst-
New York, 1926. $950.00 salon. In Spain at the outbreak of the war, he returned to Por-
tugal and spent the following years there in close touch with
109 Robert and Sonia Delaunay—collaborating on their project
SOUSA-CARDOSO, AMADEO DE “Album”—as well as with Fernando Pessoa, the Futurist José
XX dessins. Foreword by Jérôme Doucet. (2)pp., 20 line-cut de Almada-Negreiros, and others. Presentation copy, calli-
plates printed in black, loose, as issued. Lrg. 4to. Portfolio graphically inscribed by the artist on the justification leaf “a
(dec. boards, designed by the artist; covers a little rubbed, Mademoiselle J. Pereira/ Amadeo de Souza Cardoso/ Paris
other light wear). One of 100 copies on papier impérial du mars 1914.”
Japon, from the limited edition of 530 copies. Paris (Société Général d’Impression), 1912. $8,500.00
“Among the more exotic examples of pre-war printmaking in Wallen, Burr & Stein, Donna (editors): The Cubist Print (Santa
Paris is a portfolio of twenty line-cuts published in 1912 by the Barbara, 1981), p. 79, nos. 113-114 (illus.); Stein, Donna (edi-
Portuguese Amadeu de Sousa-Cardoso (1887-1918), who tor): Libri cubisti (Siena, 1988), no. 78 (illus.)
spent several years in Paris and was friendly with many of the
Cubists. Like Beardsley, Sousa-Cardoso executed a suite of 110
drawings in India ink specifically for reproduction in line-cut, STEINER, GIUSEPPE
which was superbly executed for this little-known album. The Stati d’animo disegnati. 30, (2)pp. 20 line-drawn illus. Wraps.,
prints display a lively feeling for primitive abstraction of form, designed by the artist, printed in red and black. Schematic
drawing from Derain as well as from Modigliani, Picasso and abstractions of mental states, days of the week, and other
Braque [and] emphasizing the compulsive gesticulations of constructs, highly distilled into linear compositions (some of
 avant-garde 49

them wittily amusing). Having fallen into obscurity for many

years, Steiner’s work was rediscovered in the 1970s, and is
now admired as one of the culminating achievements of
parole in libertà. A very fine copy. Rare.
Milano (Edizioni Futuriste di “Poesia”), 1923. $3,000.00
Salaris p. 69; Falqui p. 73; Lista, Giovanni: Le livre futuriste de
la libération du mot au poème tactile (Modena/Paris, 1984, p.
157

111
STILE FUTURISTA
Estetica della macchina. Rivista mensile d’arte-vita. Consiglio
artistico: F.T. Marinetti. Direttori artistici: E. Prampolini, Fillìa.
Direttore responsabile: Fillia. Nos. 1-15/16 in 11 issues, luglio
1934 - dicembre 1935 (all published). 34-48pp. per issue.
Prof. illus., including numerous hors-texte plates. Lrg. 4to.
Dec. self-wraps., designed by Prampolini, Fortunato Depero
and others.
A major publication of second generation Futurism, with fea-
tures on all aspects of the movement, including fascist archi-
tecture, aeropittura, Futurist sacred art, murals, ceramics, and
theatre design. Texts by Marinetti, Prampolini, Fillìa, Alberto
Sartoris, Vittorio Orazi, Le Corbusier, Italo Lorio, Bruno G.
Sanzin, Arnaldo Ginna, Aldo Giuntini, Pippo Oriani, Tullio d’Al-
bisola, Attilio Podestà, Ugo Nebbia, Ettore Sotsass, Jean
Brzekowski, Luciano Folgore, Paolo Buzzi, Farfa, N. Diul- 110
gheroff, Tato and others. A very fine set. Very rare complete. Oblong sm. 4to. Boards. One of 200 hand-numbered copies
Torino, 1934-1935. $9,500.00 on vélin, from the limited edition of 250.
Salaris p. 102; Hultén p. 476 Zürich (Allianz-Verlag), 1943. $1,200.00

112 113
(TAEUBER-ARP, SOPHIE) TAKAHASHI SHINKICHI
Les derniers 9 dessins de Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Précédés Takahashi Shinkichi shishu [Poetical Works by Takahashi
d’une lettre de Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia. (10)pp., 9 plates. Shinkichi]. 101, (7)pp. (mispaginated). Dec. wraps., with sil-
houette of the author, marked 1928. “Like Mavo, dada was
elusive, and the two movements shared many ambivalences
and contradictions. From the 1920s, when newspaper articles
in ‘Yorozu choho’ introduced dadaism to Japan, it was
embraced predominantly by the literary community. The first
person to proclaim himself a dadaist was the poet Takahashi
Shinkichi, and it was he and Tsuji Jun who most strongly
championed dadaism. What appealed to Takahashi about
dada was its notion of nothingness, as well as its discrediting
of words and logic and its anticonventionalism” (Weisenfeld).
Rare; no copy located in OCLC.
Tokyo (Nanso Shoin), 1928. $1,250.00
Weisenfeld, Gennifer: Mavo: Japanese Artists and the Avant-
Garde, 1905-1931 (2002), p. 158f.

114
(TAMAYO) Péret, Benjamin
Air méxicain. (38)pp. 4 original color lithographs by Tamayo
hors texte, printed in red, black, yellow and blue. 2 large
Mesoamerican ornaments designed by Tamayo, printed in
pink, superimposed (29 times in all) on the leaves of text. Sm.
4to. Portfolio (dec. wraps.). Publisher’s slipcase (boards).
Contents loose, as issued. One of 229 copies on Rives, from
the limited edition of 274 in all.
“For Péret, all forces participate in a vast struggle in which their
potential metamorphosis, their fluctuating dynamism, may
prove to be beneficial. Tamayo selects stages in an epic move-
ment representing the rise and fall of the Aztec civilization, but
he omits the call to revolution, which extends to all continents
and people. Tamayo does not join Péret’s appeal linking sur-
realism and revolution, but chronicles in apocalyptic terms the
109
 50 ars libri

116
(TANGUY) Aragon, Louis
La grande gaîté. Avec 2 dessins d’Yves Tanguy. 122, (2)pp. 2
tipped-in facsimile plates of Tanguy drawings hors texte, print-
ed on textured brown stock. Sm. 4to. Wraps. One of 150 num-
bered copies on vergé d’Arches, from the limited edition of 275
in all, printed by Maurice Darantière. Though meticulously
drawn, Tanguy’s drawings here are astonishingly blunt and
primitivistic. A fine copy.
Paris (Librairie Gallimard), 1929. $1,500.00
Gershman p. 2; Skira 336

117
(TANGUY) Laude, Jean
Le grand passage. Hors-texte de Yves Tanguy. (Collection
Instance. II.) 56, (6)pp. 2 original etchings hors texte by Tan-
guy, each signed and numbered in pencil in the margin. 4 full-
page illustrations by Tanguy. 4to. Portfolio wrapper of blue
paper, collaged with paper appliqué in black and white. Slip-
case and chemise. All contents loose, as issued. One of 30
hand-numbered copies on Crève-Coeur du Marais, from the
limited edition of 41 in all.
Published under the auspices of Max-Clarac-Serou; the
etchings were printed at Atelier 17. “[In 1934,] at Atelier 17,
while developing the plate for his second print, an etching
with aquatint created to accompany ‘Primele poème’ by
116
Tzara, Tanguy established a relationship with Hayter which
myth that is embedded in the poem and surfaces in various was crucial for his serious involvement with the elaboration
ways in so many of his paintings. Tamayo’s illustrations offer of printmaking in Paris and later in New York. The seven
little promise for the future, but greatly enhance the present” remaining prints Tanguy made before emigrating to the
(Hubert). A very fine copy. United States in 1939, five of which were for books by sur-
[Paris] (Librairie Arcanes), 1952. $1,500.00 realist poets or collective portfolios of prints primarily by
Johnson, Robert Flynn: Artists’ Books in the Modern Era surrealist artists, were produced in collaboration with
1870-2000, no. 132; Gershman p. 33; Biro/Passeron 2265; Hayter at Atelier 17. The extreme technical refinement evi-
Hubert pp. 243-255; El Surrealismo entre Viejo y Nuevo dent in all of Tanguy’s prints and his use of innovative
Mundo (Las Palmas, 1989), p. 305; Milano p. 657 processes... went virtually unsurpassed in printmaking by

115
(TANGUY) Péret, Benjamin
Dormir dormir dans les pierres. Poème. Dessins d’Yves Tan-
guy. (30)pp. 4 full-page plates in text (including the dec. title),
all finished in gouaches by Tanguy. 10 line-drawn illus. 4to.
Dec. wraps., also hand-painted by Tanguy in gouaches. Glas-
sine d.j. Unopened. One of 20 numbered copies on Hol-
lande van Gelder, in which the 4 full-page plates and front
cover are hand-painted by Tanguy in red, white, pink and
green gouaches, from the limited edition of 205 in all (includ-
ing 10 on japon, and 175 on vergé), signed by Péret and Tan-
guy in the justification.
“Tanguy’s drawings were noticed in 1922 by Vlaminck but it
was after Jacques Prévert had introduced him to Surrealist
circles that his graphic work began to be used for illustrations.
By 1927, Tanguy had developed his distinctive manner in
which biomorphic abstract figures are scattered in a disorien-
tated dream-like narrative. Benjamin Péret was one of the
closest disciples of André Breton and never abandoned Sur-
realism or betrayed its early enthusiasm for automatic writing.
His early work was published in the review ‘Littérature’ (1919-
1924), the major vehicle for Surrealist ideas at the time of Bre-
ton’s break from the Dada circle around Tristan Tzara” (Manet
to Hockney). A very beautiful book, in pristine condition.
Paris (Éditions Surréalistes), 1927. $22,500.00
Gershman p. 32; Castleman p. 179; Manet to Hockney 80;
Skira 335; Peyré 28; Hubert p. 34ff.; Milano p. 650; Andel,
Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, p. 321 (full-
page illus. 421)
117
 avant-garde 51

115
surrealist artists” (Robert Rainwater, in “Surrealist Prints”). (“Lampshade”). Lower back cover slightly darkened, with
A fine copy. expert mend in hairline split; a fine copy.
Paris (Instance), 1954. $13,500.00 Paris, 1920. $4,000.00
Kaplan, Gilbert (editor): Surrealist Prints (New York, 1997), p. Dada Global 167; Ades pp. 146, 153; Gershman p. 54;
27ff.; Splendid Pages p. 203; Lilly 32 Chevrefils Desbiolles p. 316; Almanacco Dada 160; Mother-
well/Karpel 86; Sanouillet 257; Verkauf p. 183; Düsseldorf 248;
118 Zürich 396; Milano p. 648; Pompidou Dada 1340, illus. p. 69
391. No. 13
Paris. Juillet 1920. “Ce numéro est entouré d’une dentelle 119
rose.” (4)pp. Tabloid large folio. Self-wraps. Cover drawing TING, WALASSE
by Picabia (“Far-niente beau parti,” a poem-cum-mechanical 1¢ Life. Edited by Sam Francis. 163, (11)pp. 61 original litho-
drawing in the style of “Poèmes et dessins de la fille née graphs, nearly all color, by Alan Davie (2), Alfred Jensen (3),
sans mere”). Texts by Ribemont-Dessaignes (“Manifeste Sam Francis (6), Walasse Ting (6), James Rosenquist, Pierre
selon Saint-Jean-Clysopompe”), Tzara (“Monsieur Aa l’An- Alechinsky (5), Kimber Smith (6), Alfred Leslie (2), Antonio
tiphilosophe nous envoie ce manifeste”) and Picabia Saura, Kiki O.K. (2), Robert Indiana (2), Jean-Paul Riopelle
(“Extrait de Jesus-Christ Rastaquouère”). Illustrations after (2), Karel Appel (5), Tom Wesselmann (2), Bram van Velde,
Duchamp (his “A regarder d’un oeil, de près, pendant Joan Mitchell, Allan Kaprow, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschen-
presque une heure,” a painted glass construction study for berg, K.R.H. Sonderborg, Roy Lichtenstein, Oyvind
the lower right quadrant of the “Large Glass”) and Man Ray Fahlström, Reinhoud, Claes Oldenburg (2), Jim Dine, Mel
 52 ars libri

122

Ramos (2), Enrico Baj (2). 19 illus. Folio. Cloth portfolio, photomontages. Dec. boards, partly stamped in silver, 1/4
silkscreened in color, designed by Ting. D.j. Slipcase. Regu- cloth. Dec. slipcase. Binding very slightly rubbed; an excel-
lar edition, limited to 2000 copies, numbered in color stencil. lent copy of this classic extravaganza of mixed media
Lithography by Maurice Beaudet, typography by Georges graphic design.
Girard. A very fine copy. London (The Studio Ltd.), 1931. $1,750.00
Bern (E.W. Kornfeld), 1964. $5,500.00
Castleman p. 208f.; Manet to Hockney 135; Grolier Club 55; 121
Bibliothèque Nationale: 50 livres illustrés depuis 1947, no. 32 TORRES-GARCIA, JOAQUIN
Raison et nature. Théories. 45ff., reproduced from the
120 artist’s illustrated manuscript. Sm. 4to. Dec. boards
TOLMER, A. designed by Torres-Garcia, incorporating a cut-out collage
Mise en page. The theory and practice of lay-out. (150)pp. illustration on the front cover; colored silk ties. Dec. burlap
16 hinged color plates hors texte, in a variety of graphic bag, printed in red and black (also with appliquéd collage
media, on a wide range of supports, including pochoir, element by Torres-Garcia). All contents loose, as issued.
sheets of foil and transparent acetate, lamination, emboss- A major text by the artist, beautifully calligraphed and illus-
ing, additions in collage, etc. Most prof. illus. throughout in trated throughout. Though on the title-page of the manu-
heliogravure, with decorative additions in blue; numerous script Torres-García states simply that the work was pub-
 avant-garde 53

lished by Editions Imán in Paris in 1932, it did not, in fact,

come out until 1954, when it was issued posthumously in
Montevideo. The publisher’s failure to state the actual 1954
date (or place) in the book has understandably led to the
widespread impression that it dates from the year Torres-Gar-
cia wrote it, but it does not; there was no 1932 edition. Copies
with the original burlap sack, especially when complete with
its appliqué illustration by the artist, are quite rare.
[Montevideo, 1954] $4,000.00

122
TZARA, TRISTAN
La première aventure céléste [sic] de Mr. Antipyrine. Avec des
bois gravés et coloriés par Marcel Janco. (Collection Dada.)
(16)pp. 8 original color linocuts, of which 6 full-page in teal
blue and black, and 2 other in black (front cover and cul-de-
lampe illustration), printed on uncut fine laid paper. Image
size: 170 x 90 mm. (6 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches). Sm. 4to. Orig. grey
wraps., with handcut typography on front cover, reproduced
from a woodcut design by Janco.
Dated 28 July 1916 in the justification, this is the first publica-
tion of the Collection Dada and possibly the first Dada imprint;
it is also the first book of Tristan Tzara, then nineteen years
old. Mr. Antipyrine takes his name from a now forgotten patent
medicine which Tzara found helpful for his migraines (and
not, as is sometimes said, from a type of fire extinguisher). Its
contents contain a selection of his early verse, African chants,
and the first Dada manifesto, included by Tzara under his own
name rather than that of one of his characters (“Dada est
notre intensité.... Dada est l’art sans pantouffles ni paral-
lèle...”). An exceptionally fine and fresh copy, with strong
impressions of the cuts.
Zürich (Collection Dada), 1916. $15,000.00

118
Harwood 1; Berggruen 1; Ilk, Michael: Marcel Janco: Das
graphische Werk (Ludwigshafen, 2001), CR1-8, pp. 11ff, 77f.
; Gershman p.43; Dada in Zürich 81; Almanacco Dada illus. p.
461; Motherwell/Karpel 414; Verkauf p. 183; Dachy p. 38
(color illus. p. 37); Dada Spectrum p. 275; Dada Artifacts 9;
Düsseldorf 107; Zürich 348; Pompidou: Dada 1309, illus. pp.
270, 537; Washington: Dada pl. 6; Franklin Furnace 65;
Andel, Jaroslav: Avant-Garde Page Design 1900-1950, pl.
134; Tendenzen 3/45; The Artist and the Book 135; Castle-
man p. 176; Manet to Hockney 39

123
(UBAC) Bryen, Camille
L’aventure des objets. Avant-propos de J.-H. Levesque.
16pp., 8 photographic plates, by Raoul Ubac. Wraps., mount-
ed with 1 additional photographic plate on the back cover.
Edition limited to 300 numbered copies.
[Bryen] crée aussi des assemblages d’objets insolites qui
poursuivent leur ‘aventure.’ En 1937, dans sa conférence sur
‘l’aventure des objets,’ (texte qu’il publie la même année), il
décrit ses expériences plastiques en tenant de les interpréter
lucidement. Avec humour, il appelle certains de ses objets ses
‘bryoscopies’” (Biro/Passeron). Bryen had previously collabo-
rated with Ubac on a small book of poems and photographs
in 1934, “Actuation poétique.” Here Ubac participates under
the pseudonym Ubac Michelet. A fine copy.
Paris (Collection Orbes), 1937. $1,750.00
Biro/Passeron p. 70
121
 54 ars libri

volume. Stout sm. 8vo. Printed pink wraps. Edition of 1000

copies. Photographs (and layout) by Ute Klophaus.
Participants included Joseph Beuys, Bazon Brock, Charlotte
Moorman, Nam June Paik, Eckart Rahn, Tomas Schmit, Wolf
Vostell. One of the great encounters of the European Inter-
media avant-garde, the happening “24 Hours” began at mid-
night on June 5th 1965 at the Galerie Parnass in Wuppertal.
“Die Presse erzeichnete damals einen Rückgang der spek-
takulären Aspekte, die in der Bundesrepublik durch Paiks Zer-
störung von Musikinstrumenten und Vostells Zerquetschung
eines Autos von zwei Lokomotiven ihren Höhepunkt erreicht
hatten. Nun stellten die Akteure ihr Durchhaltevermögen
unter Beweis, und Schmit negierte das Partizipationsideal,
indem er eine Aktion ohne Publikum durchführte, die er immer
wieder unterbrach, sobald ein Zuschauer seinen Raum
betrat” (Thomas Kellein, in Sohm). Small in format it may be,
but this is a superb Fluxus and Happenings artists’ book, both
as an objet and as a fascinating compendium of extremely
good photographs. A fine copy.
Itzehoe-Vosskate (Hansen & Hansen), 1965. $1,200.00
Sohm p. 120 (illus.); Happening & Fluxus 05.06.65-06.06.65

126
VORDEMBERGE-GILDEWART, FRIEDRICH
Millimeter und Geraden. (24)pp., printed on white Holland
van Gelder and pink Pannekoek Renaissance papers. 3
tipped-in halftone plates; 1 line-drawn composition (reprint-
ed on front cover). Folio. Portfolio: all contents loose, as
issued, within dec. wrapper, designed by the artist. Origi-
120 nal glassine d.j. Édition de tête, signed and numbered in
124 the colophon by the artist, from limited edition of 75
UR. Nouvelle série, No. 4 copies in all, of which 1-65 were to be reserved for the
Automne 1964. Fondateur/Directeur: Maurice Lemaître. artist, and 10 further copies, designated a-j, were hors
Comité de rédaction: Roberto Altmann, Maurice Lemaître, commerce. This copy, which Vordemberge-Gildewart has
Jacques Spacagna. (4)pp., 15 original prints, photographs, designated “IV,” presumably comes from the first group, as
and lettriste compositions, each signed and numbered by the have other roman-numeralled copies we have seen.
artist in pencil. 4to. Publisher’s slipcase and chemise (black
boards, designed by Lemaître, with title composition in color
by Sabatier). All contents loose, as issued. Edition limited to
100 hand-numbered copies, the images hand-printed by the
Imprimerie Lacourière & Frélaut, and by the artists.
Contributions by Rosie Vronski (original color photograph of
a lettriste sculpture), Maurice Lemaître (“prose peinte” partly
on sheets of glassine and gold foil), Jac Adam (color litho-
graph), Aude Jessemin (lithograph heightened in watercolor),
Alain Satier (linocut heightened in watercolor), Francis
Naves (text, “annulé” in red crayon), Stelio Marz (linocut
heightened in watercolor), Viviane Brown (linocut heightened
in gold), Frédéric Studeny (two works: a paper collage and an
ink drawing), Jacques Spacagna (photocopy polyptych,
heightened in watercolor), Roberto Altmann (etching),
Roland Sabatier (20-page illustrated cahier, including a
tipped-in color linocut), Micheline Hachette (etching) and
Claude-Pierre Quémy (color linocut). A lavish Lettriste publi-
cation. A fine copy.
Paris (Éditions Brunidor), 1964. $3,000.00

125
24 STUNDEN
Happening am 5. Juni 1965 von 0-24 Uhr in der Galerie
Parnass, Wuppertal, Moltkestraase 67. (606)pp. Most prof.
illus. with hundreds of bleed halftone documentary photo-
graphs, including 3 double-sided fold-out plates of six pan-
els each, and a packet of flour sealed in plastic and housed
in an empty compartment die-cut in 254 blank pages of the
124
 avant-garde 55

“Typographie kann under Umständen Kunst sein.” Vordem-

berge-Gildewart Typographie und Werbegestaltung (Lan-
desmuseum Wiesbaden, 1990), p. 42, T444 (with 6 illus.)

128
(VOSTELL) Dufrêne, François & Vostell, Wolf
TPL. “Tombeau de Pierre Larousse.” Poésie von François
Dufrêne. “Décollagen” (Abrisse) (1956-1961) von Wolf
Vostell. “Oreille pour un tombeau” (Ohr für ein Grab): Ein-
führung von Alain Jouffroy. (60)pp., Japanese-bound. 23
full-page serigraphs by Vostell, printed in black, integrated
with concrete poetry, also of Vostell’s design. Sm. folio.
Wraps. (light wear to the front cover). Though not stated,
the edition was limited to 300 copies. “Die Décollagen wur-
den in den Jahren 1956 bis 1962 in den verschiedensten
Strassen einiger europäischer Grossstädte von Vostell
gefunden und ausgewählt.”
This very beautiful publication is a collaboration between
the Nouveau Réaliste artist and writer François Dufrêne
and Wolf Vostell—both leading exponents of décollage.
“Throughout the 1950s, [Raymond Hains] and other artists
associated with Nouveau Réalisme, notably Jacques Vil-
leglé (b. 1926), François Dufrêne (b. 1930) and Mimmo
Rotella, applied the technique consistently to printed
posters; they are sometimes referred to as ‘affichistes’ and
their pictures as ‘affiches lacérées.’ Wolf Vostell, who was
not a Nouveau Réaliste, also developed the process, hav-
ing noticed the word in ‘Le Figaro’ on 6 September 1954,
where it was used to describe the simultaneous take-off
and crash of an aeroplane. He appropriated the term to sig-
nify an aesthetic philosophy, applied also to the creation of
126 live performances, by which the destructive, violent and
The Dutch artist Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart (1899- erotic events of contemporary life were assembled and jux-
1962), a member of De Stijl, Abstraction-Création, and taposed” (Kristine Stiles, in The Dictionary of Art). A fine
Schwitters’ Ring Neue Werbegestalter, was a pioneer of presentation copy, boldly inscribed by Vostell in five dif-
modernist typography, as well as a painter. This beautifully ferent colors of marker on the back cover, “For/ Jim/ from/
designed volume of poems and Constructivist drawings and Wolf/ N.Y.C./ March 66.”
paintings—dedicated to ‘the white line in my yellow paint- Wuppertal (Verlag der Kalender), 1961. $2,250.00
ing—was privately published by Vordemberge-Gildewart
himself during the war, while working on a series of large 129
paintings in a new tonality which greatly excited him. VOSTELL, WOLF
According to the Wiesbaden catalogue, part of the edition 310 Ideen T.O.T [Technological Oak Tree]. / 310 Ideen aus-
was destroyed, and copies were already very scarce by the geloest durch die Natur von Vermont, fuer Dick Higgins
end of the war, such that in 1946 the artist wrote Kurt (1970-1972). Multiple, consisting of a cardboard card-file box
Schwitters saying that he hoped he could put together one containing 1 original drawing, signed, dated and inscribed by
for him from loose sheets, since the edition itself was Vostell, 2 original photographs (tipped onto the top of the lid,
entirely gone. A beautiful copy. and inside the lid), and 319 printed index cards (of which 310
Amsterdam (The Artist), 1940. $4,000.00 through-numbered). 137 x 95 x 82 mm. (ca. 5 3/8 x 3 3/4 x 3
“Typographie kann unter Umständen Kunst sein”: Vordem- 1/4 inches). Deluxe edition: one of 30 copies, signed and
berge-Gildewart Typographie und Werbegestaltung (Lan- numbered by Vostell in pencil, inside the lid. The drawing is
desmuseum Wiesbaden, 1990), no. T440 inscribed “Schatten eines Pferdes in Beton” (Shadow of a
Horse in Cement). The photograph on the top of the lid
127 depicts a row of three metal file boxes; that on the inside of
(VORDEMBERGE-GILDEWART, FRIEDRICH) the lid show the lids of the three boxes open, revealing the
Époque néerlandaise. Préface: Jean Arp. (Collection “Édi- first to be filled with dirt, the second with folders, and the third,
tions Duwaer.” 2.) (36)pp., 25 tipped-in plates (12 color; sev- perhaps, empty.
eral folding). 17 illus. hors texte. Sm. folio. Portfolio: signa- The T.O.T. ‘idea file’ coordinates 310 various performance
tures loose, as issued. Wraps. Orig. glassine d.j. (tears). One projects with seven different measurements of the natural
of 200 hand-numbered copies, from the limited edition of 300. world—wind, temperature, noise level, barometric pressure,
Letterpress typography by the artist. Texts by Friedrich light strength, humidity and time. A fine copy. Rare; OCLC
Vordemberge-Gildewart (including his significant “abstrakt- records only one copy, in the Netherlands.
konkret-absolut”), Ozenfant, Vantongerloo, Van Doesburg Hinwil (Galerie Howeg), [1972/] 1973. $3,000.00
and others, in German, French and English. A superbly Buchholz, Daniel & Magnani, Gregorio (eds.): International
designed volume, published in memory of Frans Duwaer. Index of Multiples from Duchamp to the Present (Tokyo/Köln,
Amsterdam (Éditions Duwaer), 1949. $1,650.00 1993), p. 205
 56 ars libri

131
(YABASHI KIMIMARO & OKADA TATSUO) Ono Tozaburo
Hanbun Aita Mado [Half-Opened Window]. Second edition,
revised. 11, (3), 142, (2)pp. 5 original linocuts (including one
on the title-page, printed in blue) by Yabashi Kimimaro (4) and
Okada Tatsuo (1). 1 additional linocut on front cover, printed
in blue and black. Dec. wraps. Edition of 300 copies.
As with the famous Mavo book of 1925 “Shikei senkoku
[Death Sentence]” (1925), and the 1927 “Yoru kara Asa e
[From Night to Morning],” this volume presents original
linocuts by Okada and Yabashi—alternating geometric
abstractions and generalized architectural and mechanical
forms, chevrons with comb or fringe edges, and hieratic geo-
metric structures with anthropomorphic elements, arrows and
scrolling arabesques; Okada’s cut (the last in the book) is a
Constructivist composition evocative of windows or targets.
The cover linocut is unmistakably close to that of their 1927
collaboration.
Yabashi Kimimaro (1902-1964), a central participant in Mavo
activities and publications, was a remarkable figure both as a
performance artist, whose radicalism extended beyond
Kropotkin to gender politics (he is memorably depicted in
white pancake make-up and a summer frock in the famous
group photograph of the Mavo “Dance of Death” performance
printed in “Mavo” No. 3), and as a graphic and assemblage
artist. Along with Okada, Yabashi was part of the radical anar-
chist fringe of Mavo which was excluded from Sanka. In April
1926, Yabashi and Okada collaborated in an attempt to restart
the Mavo alliance, calling for a new proletarian culture and
130 announcing plans for a new proletarian magazine, a theatre,
130 mobile research center, and other facilities, none of which
DIE WIENER WERKSTÄTTE 1903-1928 were ever realized. Even browning, tiny marginal tear in the
Modernes Kunstgewerbe und sein Weg. (144)pp. 173 illus. (9 title-page; an exceptionally fine copy, superior to the Machida
color), set against background panels of orange, black, silver copy, clean, crisp and with only a pale trace of foxing, espe-
and gold. Sq. 4to. Publisher’s binding designed by Vally cially rare thus.
Wieselthier and Gudrun Baudisch, of paper boards molded in Tokyo (Shiroto-sha Shoten), 1928. $9,500.00
extremely high relief in figurative designs, colored in orange Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts: Modernism in the
and black. Dec. endpapers, printed in orange. Publisher’s Russian Far East and Japan 1918-1928 (Machida, 2002), no.
slipcase and chemise (orange and black papers over boards). 274.1-2 (illus.); cf. Weisenfeld, Gennifer: Mavo: Japanese
Modern protective outer slipcase. Luxus-Ausgabe: special Artists and the Avant-Garde, 1905-1931 (2002)
edition, issued in a black and orange slipcase and che-
mise, matching the binding of the book, stamped with the
Werkstätte signet, and boldly signed on the first leaf by
Josef Hofmann and 8 other members of the Wiener Werk-
stätte: Mathilde Flögl (the book’s designer), Maria Likarz,
Erna Kopriva, Felicie Rix, Marianne Leisching, Gudrun Baud-
isch, Kitty Rix, and Max Snischek.
A commemorative album published on the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the Wiener Werkstätte, documenting all facets
of the Werkstätte’s production in the decorative arts: silver,
textiles, lighting, porcelain, glass, and all manner of incidental
objets d’art. Particular emphasis is given to the work of Josef
Hoffman, who is credited as the guiding genius behind the
book (some of Hoffmann’s architectural projects are illustrat-
ed as well), in addition to work by Dagobert Peche, Koloman
Moser, Vally Wieselthier and Kitty Rix, among others. Editori-
al/production credit for the volume is given to Mathilde Flögel.
The remarkable stylishness and originality of the mise-en-
page—and the sensational, bas-relief binding—mark this as
one of the landmarks of twenties book design. A little light fox-
ing on the title-page, front cover a trifle rubbed, a little soiling
on the back of the slipcase; in general, an outstanding copy,
the fragile binding in exceptionally fine condition. The Luxus-
Ausgabe is very rare.
Wien (Krystall-Verlag), 1929. $12,500.00
130
 avant-garde 57

134
ZÜLOW, FRANZ VON
Die zwölf Monate. 13 color lithographic plates, printed in
purple, green, yellow and blue, entirely from the artist’s
designs; no element is set in type. 4to. Portfolio (cloth, the
covers mounted with two further color lithographs; hand-
made pastepaper linings within). Contents loose, as
issued.
Printed and published by the Wiener Werkstätte, this
portfolio is one of the major productions of Franz von
Zülow (1883-1963), active as a designer of prints and
other graphic art sold by the Werkstätte, as well as tex-
tiles and decorative items. A member of the Werkbund
and Secession, Zülow exhibited widely through the teens
and twenties; relevant to the present portfolio, he also
published a periodic “Monatshefte” stencilled in small edi-
tions beginning in 1909, which was sent to the Werkstätte
and its collaborators.
The title-page of “Die zwölf Monate,” divided into four sec-
tions depicting the four seasons, is followed by a sequence
of twelve plates of the months, each densely filled with tra-
ditional imagery, including the signs of the zodiac, distrib-
uted in six compartments around a central scene, as though
on the cover of some folk art (or even art brut) Carolingian
binding: Epiphany and Fasching, ploughing and sowing,
Easter, spring courtship, swimming, threshing, the return to
school, harvest, All Saints Day and Christmas, and other
moments of the year. Slight fraying at the backstrip of the
portfolio; a fine copy.
131
Wien (Verlag der Wiener Werkstätte), n.d. [1912].
132 $6,500.00
(YANASE) Andreyev, Leonid Schweiger, Werner J.: Wiener Werkstätte: Design in Vienna
Kuroi kamen [Black Mask]. Translation by Masao Yonekawa. 1903-1932 (New York, 1984), pp. 77, 267, 185 (illus.); Pabst,
(Senku Geijutsu Sosho. 11.) 122, (4)pp. Frontis. portrait pho- Michael: Wiener Graphik um 1900 (München, 1984), p. 340
tograph. Dec. wraps. designed by Yanase Masamu, printed in
red, violet and black. Book design by Yanase, with fine, com-
plex abstract compositions by him on the front cover (printed
in red, violet and black) and on the title-page (in green and
black). In 1924-1925, Kinseido published a number of mod-
ernist Western writers in its “Senku Geijutsu Sosho” series,
including Marinetti’s “Denki ningyo” and Capek’s “Robotto”
(both designed by Kanbara Tai), and other works by Pirandel-
lo, Hasenclever, Toller, and O’Neill. Pale trace of staining,
generally very fresh and crisp.
Tokyo (Kinseido), 1924. $1,200.00

133
YOUNG, LA MONTE
Compositions 1961. [LY 1961.] (Fluxus h [sic].) (34)pp. Sq.
12mo. Blue wraps., stapled as issued. A compilation of 29 min-
imalist compositions, assigned dates equally spaced in the
calendar of 1961 and catalogued identically with the directive
“Draw a straight line and follow it,” which was La Monte
Young’s “Composition 1960 No. 10.” “My book, ‘LY 1961,’ pub-
lished by Fluxus... was ‘Composition 1960 10’ written over and
over again” (La Monte Young, in conversation with Richard
Kostelanetz). Published in Germany in the fall of 1963, the vol-
ume also includes a list of Fluxus Yearboxes and Fluxus Spe-
cial Editions, current and projected. A fine copy. Rare.
[Ehlhalten, West Germany] (Fluxus), 1963. $1,500.00
Fluxus Codex p. 583ff. (2 illus.); Silverman 529; Phillpot/Hen-
dricks 157; Moeglin-Delcroix, Anne: Esthétique du livre d’artiste
1960/1980 (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1997), pp. 114 (illus.),
380; Kellein, Thomas: “Fröhliche Wissenschaft”: das Archiv
Sohm (Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, 1986), no. 140, p. 93 (illus.)
134