Washington DC: Abstract Orange, 2022. One of 45 copies. Corita Rules! is inspired by the work and rules of Corita Kent. Corita Kent (1918–1986) was an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. She created many pieces using bright colors and typography. One of her works entitled “Power up” was a multi-section serigraph featuring the words “Power Up”. This book, that pays homage to Kent's use of color and typography, is an accordion using different color papers bound together to repeat her message of “Power up” — a call to action. The other words in this piece come from the “Ten Rules”, which was a collections of rules she used in her classroom. The book is letterpress printed using handcut wooden type. In Sister Corita’s practice, she did not number her pieces. This was a choice she made so that no one piece would be more valuable than the others. Following her tradition for this piece, the books are not numbered. In fine condition. Measures 5 x 7 inches. Unpaginated. PRI/041223. Fine. More

Cairo, Egypt: Islam Aly, 2019. Hardcover. Number 24 of 30 copies. Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist. "Inception is inspired by stories and journeys of the refugees. It is a bilingual codex in English and Arabic. The book is based on the twelfth-century Persian verse poem 'The Conference of the Birds' written by Farid Aldin Al-Attar. The poem is about the search for truth and integrity, which is parallel to the refugee's quest to re-discover themselves. [In the poem] birds meet to begin searching for their perfect king. But to find him, they need to start a difficult journey ... that only 30 of them complete. They eventually recognize that their king is each of them and all of them. The English text is adapted from the Afkham Darbandi translation. The Arabic text is adapted from Badee Mohamed Gomaa Arabic translation “Manteq Al Tayr”. The bird images represented are from medieval Islamic artwork. Arabic Calligraphy is done by Abdul Karim and Sabri. 'Inception' was made as part of Swarthmore College’s Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary project" (artist's website). Hand-sewn coptic binding in wooden boards with leather wrappings connected to seven miniature books. The books all have laser-engraved titles in English and Arabic on the boards. The illustrations are lasercut on Fabriano paper as is the bi-lingual text in the miniature books. The text in the larger book is laser printed on tracing paper. All text is in English and Arabic. Size: Main book is 4.5 inches diameter x 3.5 inches thick, seven miniatures are each 2 inches in diameter x .75 inches thick. Islam Aly is an Egyptian-born book artist and teacher based in Iowa. His books explore the possibilities of historical bindings in contemporary book art practices They have appeared in international exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and in private and public collections including the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Library of Chile, Yale University, and Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In an artist's statement he writes: "When I make a historical book structure, I go through a learning process. I learn the history as well as the different physical aspects of the binding such as how a book form is constructed in a specific sequence. I learn about the use of different materials such as paper, wood, leather and dyes. I learn to make choices in selecting and replacing traditional materials that I don’t have access to. I use these different experiences to enhance my work in making artists’ books and to use historical and cultural references from these structures in the actual content. In essence, I wish to explore new ways to use the rich structures of historical books in contemporary artists’ book practice and incorporate contemporary content into strictly historical structures." ARTB/080222. Fine. More

[1897]. Original caricature done in ink on paper. The caricature celebrates the opening night of The Happy Life, a play by Louis N. Parker and Murray Carson, staged at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, in 1897. It depicts Parker (standing atop the Duke of York’s column), Carson, and Max (top hat and wasp-waisted coat) himself drinking champagne. Both Parker and Carson were important dramatists at the turn of the century; Beerbohm would later collaborate with Carson on a one-act “curtain-raiser” in 1914, The fly on the wheel. Inscribed “Best wishes in a great success. December 6 ’97” and signed “Max.” Unrecorded; not in Hart-Davis’s catalogue of Beerbohm’s caricatures. In near fine condition and nicely framed. 20 x 25.4 cm. ORIG/011216. More

Boston: Impressions Workshop, The Cricket Press, 1965. Hardcover. Number 59 of 150 copies signed by the poet and the illustrator. A lovely book with George Lockwood's evocative woodcuts and wood engravings, all carved and engraved by hand. The poems by Bockes were written for the prints. George Lockwood (1929 - 1969) was a poet and printmaker who studied under Leonard Baskin and taught at several colleges. He was married to writer Margaret Lockwood with whom he founded the Impressions Workshop in Boston. . Bound in stab-sewn brown paper-covered boards with a cream paper title label affixed to front cover and title to cream spine. Beautiful burgundy marbled endpapers. Printed on fine Venezia paper. Accompanied by a 45 rpm record of Bockes reading his poems, housed in a rear pocket. Missing slipcase. In near fine condition. Measures 9.5 x 10 inches. Unpaginated [about 32 pages] PRI/072022. Near Fine. More

New York and Monte Carlo: George Braziller and André Sauret, 1962. Hardcover. First edition in English. With two original color lithographs done by Mark Chagall expressly for this edition and printed by Mourlot, as were 36 preparatory color designs transferred to the stones by Charles Sorlier under the direction of Chagall. With 104 plates, 64 of which are in color. This beautiful edition provides a detailed overview of the various stages of Chagall's window designs for the synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Centre in Jerusalem. Bound in red cloth with gilt title to spine and front cover. In a black pictorial dust jacket with protective mylar cover. Slight wear to edges of jacket. Near fine condition in a very good dust jacket. Missing slipcase. Measures 10 x 13 inches. 211 pages. ART/072522. Near Fine. More

New York: Béatrice Coron, 2012. Paperback. One of 3 copies. Created in the year of Hurricane Sandy, this book addresses rising sea levels and shows parts of NYC underwater. Rather than dwelling on tragedy, Coron chooses to focus on the theme of New York reinventing itself to accomodate. She depicts a duck show in place of the famous Westminster dog show. In the panels that do not depict the duck show, ducks are shown as taking the place of dogs in people's apartments and on the streets (which are now Venetian style rivers to be navigated by gondola). Coron describes her book work: "For the last 20 years, I have been exploring visual storytelling in artist books, paper cutting and public art. Collecting memories from individuals and communities, I stage narrative allegories in silhouette to create a dialogue with the viewer in playful fantasies. These visual chronicles record archetypal stories that transcend time and space. I have been fascinated by the relation of people to their space and the sense of belonging. Using papercutting where everything is cut from a single piece of Tyvek, the profusion of individual stories makes a coherent whole world." [From her website]. Cristina Favretto, Head of Special Collections at the University of Miami describes her work in Coron's "artfragments" portfolio: "There is a palpable joy in the work of Béatrice Coron, the kind of joy we felt as children in unwrapping a particularly enticing holiday gift. But...for Béatrice the gift is a sheet of Tyvek...or paper, and the stories to be unearthed and unleashed within and through the medium." Hand-cut on black Arches paper. Size: 10 x 8 inches closed; 37 x 6.75 extended. Housed in a black folder with title, artist, and birds on front cover and ribbon ties. ARTB/081921. Fine. More

New York: Béatrice Coron, 2001. Hardcover. Number 24 of 25 copies. Beatrice Coron is renowned internationally for her book arts and installations. She is particularly known for her use of papercutting to tell stories and create books. This inventive and complex book by Coron is a departure from her works created by cutting paper. It first appears to be a traditional codex. However, when opened one discovers that the text pages in French of Verne's novel are bifolds that open to reveal facsimiles of his manuscript pages of that text. Even more unexpected are inserts between the pages that may be pulled out by green string to document the changes made in the text in the manuscript. A wonderful production. Soft covers in a Coptic binding. Inkjet printed and stenciled on paper. Housed in a blue cloth and black leather custom box with a title label on front cover. Size: 6 x 9 x 1 inches. Unpaginated. ARTB/081921. Fine. More

New York: Béatrice Coron, n.d. Number 2 of 3 copies. Coron and her collaborator the Canadian poet Charles Gill have created an inventive artist's book with Gill's evocative poem on gold seekers illustrated with Coron's intricate papercuts that show the gold hunters in their often desperate attempts to find gold. Coron describes her book work: "For the last 20 years, I have been exploring visual storytelling in artist books, paper cutting and public art. Collecting memories from individuals and communities, I stage narrative allegories in silhouette to create a dialogue with the viewer in playful fantasies. These visual chronicles record archetypal stories that transcend time and space. I have been fascinated by the relation of people to their space and the sense of belonging. Using papercutting where everything is cut from a single piece of Tyvek, the profusion of individual stories makes a coherent whole world." [From her website]. This work is done from hand-cut brown Cave paper with gold leaf appliqué. The text of the poem is printed on four white labels affixed to the bottom margins of the folded pages. Housed in a folder covered with brown textured paper with a paper title label. In fine condition. Measures 6 xx 22 inches when unfolded. ARTB/090821. Fine. More

Paris: Chez Moutard, Libraire-Imprimeur de la Reine & de l'Académie des Sciences, Hôtel de Cluni, 1787. Hardcover. First edition in French. The first edition was issued in Dutch in 1712. An influential work for many 18th century painters. Known as the "Dutch Poussin" (after the French Baroque painter), Gerard de Lairesse (1641 - 1711) was a popular Dutch painter known for his classical style. In this work he gives extensive directions supported with numerous diagrams on proper classical proportions, value, composition, and more. Both volumes are bound in full marbled tan calf with red title and volume labels to spines. Gilt titles and decorations to spines. Wear to edges and corners of boards with cracks to front hinges of both volumes; although, the boards remain firmly attached. A few sporadic spots of foxing, penciled notes from a bookseller in French to endpapers, and penned signature from a previous owner to bottom of title pages. Marbled endpapers and full red edges. Includes 33 plates in Volume I, with 2 that fold out plus frontispiece portrait, which has been pasted down, and 2 plates in Volume II, with 1 that folds out. Bookplates of du Chateau de Marchienne to pastedowns of both volumes. This 17th century castle located in Belgium was owned by the de Cartiers before the French Revolution. The castle survived the revolution; however the de Cartiers were no longer the lords. The family remained in the town and were given municipal tasks. They worked to industrialize the township into the 20th century. Interestingly, there is a gilt stamp to the front boards of both volumes: "Donne A Lecole Centrale du Dept. de la Seine in Fre L'an 6 De da Rep. Francoise, " which translates to "Given to the Central School of the Department of the Lower Seine the year 6 of the French Republic." Bookshop sticker from a shop in Brussels to front pastedown. Evidence of removed library stickers to spine ends of both volumes and to endpapers. Date of May 2, 1962 stamped to front endpapers of both volumes. Volume 1 is 527 pages; Volume 2 is 662 pages. FRE/082522. Very Good. More

Pasadena, CA: Deeply Game Productions, 2012. Hardcover. Number 1 of 7 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. Sara Press is a photographer, printer, and book artist whose work addresses science, nature, and the intricacies of our culture. This is a suite of four etchings by Ms. Press that depict contemporary mixed-martial-arts fighters. The accompanying text has been appropriated from a panther / bear fight advertising poster from the 1850s. The text describing animal fights is juxtaposed with the prints of human fighters to make an important statement on violence. The typeface is designed by Dan Mayer. Letterpress printed on a Vandercook No. 3 Proof Press. The loose prints and text pages are housed in a solid maple box with title burnt into the lid. Unpaginated. ARTISTSBOOKS/030613. Near Fine. More

London: Bernard Lintott, 1703. Hardcover. A unique copy of a first edition Restoration comedy from the personal library of actor and theater manager John Philip Kemble. The volume is initialed, collated, and pronounced perfect on the title page in ink by Kemble along with the date. John Philip Kemble (1757 - 1823) was an important English actor who also achieved fame as the manager of the Drury Lane and Covent Garden theaters. He was also known for assembling a theatrical library that was unrivaled. After he retired in 1819 he sold his collection of 4000 plays and forty volumes of playbills to Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire. The Devonshire collection is now part of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. The remainder of Kemble's library was auctioned by Evans in Pall Mall over ten days beginning January 21, 1821 (from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). George Farquhar (1677 - 1707) was an Irish playwright of real comic power who wrote for the English stage at the beginning of the 18th century. He stood out from his contemporaries for originality of dialogue and a stage sense that doubtless stemmed from his experience as an actor. His early plays were primarily spirited variations on a theme: young men have their fling for four acts and reform, unconvincingly, in the fifth. The plays have freshness, however, as well as wit and a lively human sympathy (Encyclopedia Britannica). For this copy each individual page has been meticulously framed on slightly larger sheets of contemporary white paper. It has been beautifully bound by Riviere and Son in full tan calf with gold tooling and lettering. The spines have five raised bands with gilt decorated compartments and there are two leather labels, one with the play's title and author, and the other stating "J.P. Kemble's Copy." With gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, and all edges gilt, with a few splash marks on cover otherwise in near fine condition. The pages of the play are browned with spots of foxing and soiling but text is completely legible. In very good condition. Measures 6.5 x 9 inches. 54 pages. DRAMA/012121. Near Fine. More

Basel: Romano Hänni, 2022. Number 27 of 30 copies, each unique. This is a remarkable production from Basel book artist and printer Romano Hänni. It celebrates the famous annual Basel Carnival Lantern Exhibition. The Exhibition has existed since 1921 and was inducted into the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity in 2017. This work is comprised of three parts: a lavish digitally printed photo picture book in eight languages with over 600 lantern pictures and with hand painted elements; a unique hand painted actual lantern; and a custom slipcase. The lanterns represented in the photo book are a selection from the carnival years 2003 -2019. Romano writes: "Basel’s three most beautiful days, as the Basel Carnival is called locally, begin promptly each year, on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, at four in the morning., This year there was a colorful sea of lights from February 24 to March 26 2022. An international public of thousands moved around some 200 works of art - lanterns - that reached up to four meters in height." The lanterns in this production were individually hand painted by four lantern artists and then lacquered to a satin finish. Their frames were made of hemlock covered in cotton. The interiors of the lanterns are illuminated by a battery powered LED bulb. The book is found inserted into the lantern. They are housed in a slipcase made from handmade cardboard. Thus each three part Lantern Picture Book contains original work by the four lantern artists. The lanterns measure 23.8 x 21.8 x 6.4 cm. The slipcases measure 24.4 x 23.3,x 7.2 cm. In fine condition. ARTISTSB/032822. Fine. More

Red Cliff, CO: Helen Hiebert Studio, 2019. Number 20 of 25 copies signed and numbered by the book artist. Helen Hiebert is a noted paper artist who constructs installations, sculptures, artists’ books and works in paper using handmade paper as her primary medium. She teaches, lectures and exhibits her work internationally and online, and is the author of the several how-to books about papermaking and papercrafts. She says of this beautiful and complex work: "I’ve been fascinated with light for as long as I can recall. As a child, I always looked for rainbows, and I enjoyed trying to identify every color, from red to violet. Sir Isaac Newton was the first person to articulate the science of a rainbow. In 1665, he observed that when white light passed through a triangular prism, it dispersed into seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This book explores the wonder of that interaction between color and light. As you flip through the pages, you will see 24 analogous colors (each new hue sharing some of the color of the page next to it). It’s my attempt, as a paper artist, to capture the essence of a rainbow within the pages of the book. My medium is handmade paper, and for over 25 years, I have been exploring the properties of abaca, a fiber from a non-fruit bearing banana plant. I processed the abaca fiber to create a translucent paper that resembles frosted glass. I spent a long time contemplating how to achieve a rainbow of paper and performed several color-mixing experiments. My process centered around determining how to accurately produce the spectrum by mixing pigments into wet paper pulp. After several trials, I ended up matching 24 colors on a chart that gradually change from red to orange, yellow to green, blue to indigo and finally to violet, with several colors in between each hue. All 54 pages plus the cover are stitched together into a single signature allowing the soft deckled edges of the colors to meet at the fire-edge, blending and transitioning from one to the next as colored light does in the rainbow." The front and back text pages show the abaca paper in its natural hue. The cover is a cotton/abaca blend with a pulp painting in abaca. Text was letterpress printed by Tom Leech at the Press at the Palace of the Governors in Sante Fe from polymer plates made by Boxcar Press. The typefaces are Dante and Futura. Claudia Cohen created the blue cloth covered box with white and colored spine label. In fine condition. Box size: 12 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 1 inches. Book size (closed): 12 x 9 inches. More