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The books described here are only a tiny fraction of an estimated 30,000 books and exhibition catalogues currently in stock. The great majority are on modern and contemporary art and artists--Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Cobra, Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Fluxus and so on. You also will find photography and unusual books in other areas.

Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America

Hungarian caricatures, 1933. For a unique album from Budapest of brilliant, original caricatures worthy of publication and exhibition, please click here.

An additional 40,000 art periodicals include the world's largest holdings of Artforum, Art in America, and High Performance, plus many others.

Shipping is free for most items to US addresses and for some items to international addresses. Please see individual descriptions.

Two free, on-line indexes, to the early years of Artforum and to High Performance (partial), are open to all.

Visitors are welcome by appointment at my nearly invisible offices in central La Jolla, where good restaurants abound and cultural treasures include three other antiquarian dealers within a hundred yards, the Athenaeum (a music and art library), San Diego's Museum of Contemporary Art, several first-rate galleries, and a remarkable private map museum. Nearby are the Salk Institute, the University of California with its splendid special collections, the La Jolla Playhouse, and of course our beaches. Or simply send an email with your inquiries.

We have been members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers since 1971.

Featured Items

FREE domestic or international shipping with direct order. **Two of the postcards from 2001 show works of Baldessari's, and the third is from the wonderful Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood. All three of these bear personal messages and have one or more pinholes near the top margin. The fourth was sent from Florence in 1972. The front is plain white, except for a hole slightly less than 1/2-inch in the center and the legend in pale gray, "A hole to see the sky through. Yoko Ono '71." On the address side the message to Matheny consists solely of a dotted circle echoing the die-cut hole. Price is for all four.

4 postcards from John Baldessari to his lifelong friend artist Bob Matheny. 1972 & 2001.
Baldessari, John.
FREE domestic or international shipping with direct order. **Two of the postcards from 2001 show works of Baldessari's, and the.. more
Price: $850.00

FREE domestic and international shipping with direct order. **New York: Artists Equity Association, 1952. Ed. by Elias Newman. 0239/2000 copies. 101 lithographs designed "by the artist[s] directly on the litho plate[s]" by nearly as many artists (a few color; includes covers). Probably direct offset lithography. Artists include Milton Avery, Antonio Frasconi, Max Weber, Ben Shahn, Chaim Gross, 3 Soyers, Jack Levine, Reginald Marsh, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Hans Hofmann, and many others. Decorated paper covers in white plastic comb binding. 30.5 x 23.5cm. Some marginal chipping and tears to back cover.

1952 Improvisations. Artists Equity masquerade ball. Hotel Astor, May 15. Spring Fantasia [Volume III].
Artists Equity Association
FREE domestic and international shipping with direct order. **New York: Artists Equity Association, 1952. Ed. by Elias Newman. 0239/2000 copies... more
Price: $1,500.00

Between 1963 and 1980 the cellist and performance artist Charlotte Moorman (known mostly for her work with Nam June Paik) organized fifteen increasingly elaborate festivals featuring a wide variety of performances in various locations. The first three were at Judson Hall, a small recital hall across from Carnegie Hall (not to be confused with Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village). Number 4 was in Central Park. Number 5 took over a Staten Island ferry. Number 6 paraded down Central Park West. The 7th was on two islands in the East River, the 8th, at the Lexington Avenue Armory. Festival number 9 occupied a vintage riverboat docked at South Street Seaport. Number 10 took place in Penn Central boxcars on a track at Grand Central Station. Number 11 was at Shea Stadium; number 12, at Floyd Bennett Field at Gateway National Park in Brooklyn. The World Trade Center was the site of the 13th. Number 14 took place on the Charles River in Cambridge. The final number 15 was at the Passenger Ship Terminal on the Hudson River. **By number 11 (1974) the casts and acknowledgments had grown to the length of movie credits. Among the many hundreds of performers were John Cage, David Tudor, Allan Kaprow, Nam June Paik, Yoko Ono, Allen Ginsberg, Ray Johnson, Joseph Beuys, John Lennon, Max Neuhaus, Yvonne Rainer, Laurie Anderson, Ornette Coleman, Geoff Hendricks, Shirley Clarke, Bob Watts, James Tenney, Meredith Monk, and Al Hansen. **For each of these festivals Charlotte Moorman published a poster, four of them in two versions. She designed the simple first three herself; number four was a collaboration with Jim McWiliams; the remaining eleven were his work. Like the festivals, the posters became larger and increasingly elaborate, with images and text in layers. Number 11 is a riot of color featuring multiple aerial views of Shea Stadium. Number 13 shows the Twin Towers from different views. If number 11 was a riot of color, number 14 is full-fledged revolution. The sequence ends with a 20-color extravaganza. **A few complete sets remain available of approximately 50 that could be assembled from Charlotte Moorman's estate. Numbers 1, 2, 8, and 9 appear in two versions. Please write or call for a complete descriptive list. Some posters also are available singly. Nearly all of these posters that might appear on the current market were folded and mailed. All of these are flat, uncreased, and unmailed, except 2b, 3, and both number 8s. Those four were folded but are unmarked and have been stored flat. Sizes range from 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches to 36 x 24 inches. Sets will be shipped in tubes.

Annual New York Avant Garde Festival [title varies]. Complete set of 19 vintage posters, 1963-1980
Moorman, Charlotte, organizer; McWilliams, Jim, poster designer (from 1966)
Between 1963 and 1980 the cellist and performance artist Charlotte Moorman (known mostly for her work with Nam June Paik).. more
Price: $1,000.00

FREE domestic & international shipping with direct order. **Fischer's imaginative cover for this publication is a sealed vinyl sandwich with internal spaces in the shapes of fingers and semi-circles. The resulting, partly continuous void contains pink sand that can be shifted into different shapes by tilting and shaking the periodical. Supplementary material is laid in. Most of the issue consists of an article on 34 artists working in plastics, among them Arman, César, Dubuffet, and Saint-Phalle. Profusely illustrated in color, including one 3-panel gatefold. 36 pp. 30.7 x 23 cm. Fine.

Hygiène de l'art. In Petroleprogrès: revue trimestrielle. Printemps 1972. No. 91.
Fischer, Hervé. Esso Standard
FREE domestic & international shipping with direct order. **Fischer's imaginative cover for this publication is a sealed vinyl sandwich with.. more
Price: $250.00

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