Thursday, May 28, 2015

Antiquarian Book News

From the Scarce to the Scary: Works from Wright, Warhol, Goudy and Gorey featured in
Swann Galleries' June 10 Auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books

On Wednesday, June 10, Swann Galleries will offer an eclectic selection of printed and manuscript art books from the 16th through the 20th century, including limited editions, art journals, modern and private press pieces, signed and inscribed works by Andy Warhol and a run of works by Edward Gorey in an auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books.

The limited editions include a copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses, featuring six etchings by Henri Matisse, one of only 250 copies signed by both the author and the artist, New York, 1935 (estimate: $8,000 to $12,000). There is also a copy of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, printed by the Pennyroyal Press and featuring wood-engraved illustrations by Barry Moser, West Hatfield, 1982. The present copy is number 19 of only 50 deluxe copies signed by Moser and includes an extra signed suite and original signed drawing ($3,000 to $4,000).

The fine selection of modern & private press texts includes Frederic Goudy’s Extracts from Night Thoughts [by] Edward Young, a hand-calligraphed text with illustrated borders and initial letters on vellum, circa 1890 ($2,000 to $3,000). An early work, possibly created in Chicago, the lettering in these Goudy manuscript pages is in a fairly traditional Gothic style, perhaps an experimental exercise, and showcases the early creativity of a prolific key figure in the world of type design.

The auction will offer a rare copy of Regards sur Paris, a folio with 33 color lithographs by a artists including Picasso, Braque, von Dongen, Chagall and others. Printed in Paris in 1962, this set includes an additional suite of prints for 66 total plates and is number 18 of only 20 copies signed by all involved artists and authors ($15,000 to $25,000).

SwannThere is a large selection of work by Andy Warhol, including a scare signed and inscribed folio, Wild Raspberries, New York, 1959 ($30,000 to $40,000). Believed to be one of roughly 100 copies, this example of the limited edition satirical cookbook contains hand-colored duplicates of two of the plates.

Work of note from the important art journals selection includes a group of 73 issues of Derrière Le Miroir, Paris, 1946-82 ($6,000 to $9,000), from the collection of Monroe Wheeler, the groundbreaking former Director of Exhibitions and Publications at the Museum of Modern Art (1935-67). There is also a group of 15 issues of the innovative art and design journal Wendingen, Amsterdam & Sandport, 1921-31 ($2,500 to $3,500), including the coveted Diego Rivera and Lyonel Feininger issues.

The auction also features the largest group of architecture and landscape architecture books to come to auction at Swann for a number of years. Highlights include two volumes of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Selected Drawings Portfolio, New York, 1977-79 ($1,000-$1,500), as well as a first English edition copy of Leon Batista Alberti’s The Architecture… in Ten Books, London, 1726 ($6,000 to $9,000). 

Rounding out the auction is a selection of works from ominous and amusing artist and writer Edward Gorey, including a group of 20 first trade edition children’s books, 1960s-80s ($1,500 to $2,500), nearly all of which are signed.

The auction will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10. The items will be on public exhibition beginning Saturday June 5 from 12-5, June 8 and 9 from 10-6 and June 10 from 10-12.

 An illustrated catalogue, with information on bidding, is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, or online at www.swanngalleries.com.

For further information, and to make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction, please contact Christine von der Linn at (212) 254-4710, extension 20, or via e-mail at cvonderlinn@swanngalleries.com.
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From Cambridge University Library

Three beautifully illustrated Persian manuscripts have been placed in the University Library on long-term deposit by the Royal Asiatic Society.

Originally acquired by the Society in the 1800s and among their greatest treasures, they had, until recently, been kept in the British Library. Foremost among them is the Shahnamah commissioned for the Timurid prince Muhammad Juki in Herat in 1445 who died before it was completed. It contains over 30 richly illuminated miniatures and is one of the finest examples of the Persian Book of Kings to exist.

The other two works are from the 16th century: the Kitab-i Mathnawiyyat-i Zafar Khan an unfinished autograph copy of Ahsanallah b. Abu ’l-Hasan’s poetry dated 1663, and the Gulistan (‘Rose Garden’) of the Persian poet Sa’di, which is known for its colophon portrait depicting the eminent scribe Muhammad Husayn al-Kashmiri, known as Zarrin Qalam (Golden Pen) and the artist Manohar as a youth. The text pages are filled with paintings of colourful birds and animals.

The University believes these items to represent the highest levels of artistic achievement and, therefore, these three treasures will remain on long-term loan in Cambridge University Library and scholars requiring access to them should apply through the Manuscripts Reading Room.
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Rare Sylvia Plath proof goes up for auction

A rare proof of Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar is to be auctioned at Bonhams. The uncorrected proof of the book was printed before publication.

The 1962 proof edition of The Bell Jar shows that about seventy textual changes were made between the proof and the publication of the book. Bonhams quotes scholar Peter K. Steinberg as writing, “These textual differences are the result of edits made either by Plath herself when she reviewed the proof or by the editors as they prepared the final typesetting. This shows that Plath read her proofs of The Bell Jar very carefully and extends our understanding of her involvement in the creative process beyond the composition of the work itself.”

As a student the seller has bought the work in 1985 and had recently idly searched ebay to see if it was worth anything and on finding no copies for sale had ‘googled’ it. According to her research there were less than twelve copies known to exist.
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Anti-Semitic literature

A former Luftwaffe pilot until recently had kept about 10,000 volumes of anti-Semitic literature in his library. John Norby an online bookseller came upon them during an estate sale and arranged to donate about thirty-five of the books to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. According to the museum’s website the museum works to “inspire citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity.” The financial value of the donation is unknown.

“The Jews and Their Lies,” by Martin Luther, “The Who’s Who in the World Zionist Conspiracy” by James Combs and “The Six Million Swindle: Blackmailing the German People for Hard Marks with Fabricated Corpses” by Austin J. App.

Not the kind of titles one runs across in a family book store, and for good reason, said John Norby, a Langley resident and online book seller. They’re chilling anti-Semitic literature and until recently were kept with up to 10,000 other volumes of similar genre in the massive personal library of a former Luftwaffe pilot and Everett man.

Norby stumbled across them at an estate sale, and with the help of friends Kyra Reafs and Kenneth Parker recently donated about 35 of the books to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. A living memorial, the museum works to “inspire citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity,” according to the museum’s website.

One of the books, The Truth About Jewish Ritual Murder by von Frederik To Gaste, is believed to be at only two other libraries in the U.S. It’s a blood libel that alleges Jews murdered Christians and used their blood for ritual purposes. Other rare books include The English-Jewish Alliance Toward Capitalist World Domination by von Wolf Meyer-Christian, which highlighted an alleged conspiracy among British Jews for world domination; Jew and Worker: a Tragedy of the German People by F.O.H. Schulz, propaganda published by two Nazi organizations, the Institute for the Study of the Jewish Question and the Anti-Komintern, an anti-Soviet propaganda agency; and several more such as anti-Freemason publications


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