Ursus Rare Books

Melbourne Antiquarian Bookfair 2016

Booth 23

T. Peter Kraus

URSUS RARE BOOKS, LTD. 699 Madison Avenue

Third FloorNew York, New York 10065

Tel: (212) 772-8787

e-mail: pkraus@ursusbooks.comagorfin@ursusbooks.com

Please visit our website at for more images and complete descripitons:www.ursusbooks.com

Shop Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 - 6:00

Saturday 11:00 - 5:00

All prices are net and in US Dollars. Postage, packing and insurance are extra.

Cover Image: No. 1 Blake

1. William BLAKE. Illustrations of the Book of Job. Engraved title and 21 engraved plates, executed by William Blake after his own designs. Folio, 420 x 275 mm, bound in contemporary blue paper covered boards, grey paper spine. London: Published by the Author, 1825.

$ 85,000.00

First Edition of Blake’s final masterpiece, his last completed prophetic book, and the last series of engravings completed before his death. The first edition is comprised of three different issues: 150 copies on laid India paper (with the word “Proof ”), 65 copies on French paper (with the word “Proof ”), and 100 copies on English drawing paper (with the word “Proof ” erased and watermarked “J. Whatman 1825”). The present copy is one of 65 copies on French paper.

After Blake’s illuminated books, the Illustrations of the Book of Job represent his most important achievement as a printmaker, “ranking with the supreme masterpieces of graphic art” (Ray, Illustrator and the Book in England 8).

(See cover image)

2. CHINESE EXPORT GOUACHES. Album of Seventeen Chinese Gouaches on pith paper. Illustrated with 17 gouaches on pith paper ranging in size from 145 x 244 mm to 174 x 300 mm, each with tissue guard and ornamental gold foil border, mounted on thick paper stock. Oblong folio, 260 x 355 mm, bound in an elaborate Romantic French full tan calf mosaic binding, elaborately stamped in gilt, with geometric panels painted by hand, silk label in the center stamped “Album” in gilt, gilt foil inside dentelles, wood panel patterned endpapers, a.e.g. [Canton: ca. 1840]. WITH:

Album of Twelve Chinese Gouaches on pith paper. Illustrated with 12 gouaches on pith paper ranging in size from 174 x 285 mm to 193 x 306 mm, each with tissue guard and ornamental gold foil border mounted on thick paper stock. Oblong folio, 255 x 360 mm, bound in a Romantic French full purple morocco binding, elaborately stamped in gilt with hand painted silk inlays of natural history scenes and three gentleman playing a board game (?), gilt foil inside dentelles, pastedowns painted in deep blue with gold ornamental boarders, a.e.g. [Canton: ca. 1840].

$ 40,000.00

Two albums of Chinese Export paintings of high quality, luxuriously bound for a French patron who most likely commissioned the gouaches. The present two albums are unusual and exceptional for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the high quality of the painting, which, as in most examples, was likely done by several hands. The courtly attire is well achieved with gilt highlights and tight brushwork in the ornate flowing costume of the dignitaries. The depictions of the tea trade in the first album demonstrate a mastery of perspective showing landscapes of the planting fields, architectural elements and interiors inhabited by pickers, labourers and merchants. The street scenes in the second album achieve an engaging composition as they provide the sense of a bustling street populated by Chinese characters with expressive, individual faces.

3. Jean COCTEAU. L’Ode a Picasso. [66] pp. 8vo., bound in original wrappers, in a new orange cloth folding box. Paris: A La Belle Edition, 1919.

$ 4500.00

First Edition of one of the first written tributes to the genius of Picasso. Cocteau wrote the work in 1916 but was unable at the time to find a publisher. The clever typographical layout resulted in the accusation from John Richardson that the book is a “slick pastiche of Mallarme,” but he does go on to say that Cocteau was the only writer to have understood the significance of Picasso’s Seated Man. One of an edition of 339 copies, this being one of the 300 on Verge d’Arches. A remarkably scarce book.

4. Miguel COVARRUBIAS. Pageant of the Pacific. Contents include four lithographed maps measuring 630 X 960 mm, two lithographed maps measuring 480 x 630 mm, 12 pp pamphlet of descriptive text, original wood dowel all housed in the original screen-printed portfolio. [San Francisco]: Pacific House, 1940.

$ 5000.00

First Edition. A rare complete set of these lithographic reproductions of Miguel Covarrubias’s six cartographic murals for Pacific House at the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939 and 1940. The four larger maps represent the murals in the main hall that measured 15 x 24 feet; Peoples of the Pacific, Flora and Fauna of the Pacific, Art Forms of the Pacific Area and Economy of the Pacific. The two smaller maps depict the murals for the main entrance measuring 9 x 13 feet; The Native Means of Transportation and Native Types of Dwellings. The prints faithfully reproduce the colourful pictograph laden maps centered on the Pacific. Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957) was an accomplished artist and burgeoning anthropologist when he was commissioned to create the murals. Drawing from both disciplines the results were at once graphically stimulating and informative.

5. CZECH AVANT-GARDE BOOK DESIGN. A collection of 88 books with covers designed by Drtikol, Frantisek Muzika, Jindrich Styrsky, Ladislav Sutnar, Toyen and others. Prague: Various publisher’s, 1929-48.

$ 9500.00

A representative collection of Czech book cover designs from between the wars. Imaginative photomontages by renowned Czech artists, photographers and designers grace the covers of both native and translated literature. Includes rare covers by Drtikol, and several by one of the most important of the Czech surrealists, Jindrich Styrsky. In good to fine condition. Please inquire for a full list.

6. Jean DUBREUIL. La Perspective practique. Contents include title, added engraved title, 9 ff of dedication, preface and instructive table, followed by 150 full page engraved plates with letterpress text on the verso of each plate describing the facing plate. Paris: Chez Melchoir Tavernier, 1642. BOUND WITH:

Jacques ALEAUME & Estienne Migon. La Perspective speculative, et pratique. [6], 155, [5] pp. Illustrated with 39 engraved plates, several of which are full-page. 4to., 235 x 170 mm, bound in contemporary French marbled calf with the gilt arms of Louis Treslon-Cauchon dit Hesselin on the covers, in a modern matching slipcase. Paris: Chez Melchoir Tavernier, 1643.

$ 12,500.00

Ad1: First Edition of this classic text on perspective. Jean Dubreuil’s (1602-1670) La Perspective practique would go on to be enlarged by two volumes in 1647 and 1649 and be republished numerous times in both French and English. “His work on perspective is probably the most influential ever published expressly for the use of a lay audience.” (Millard, French Books).

Ad2: First Edition. Another important work on perspective, this one authored by the mathematician and instrument builder in the service of the French Court, Jacques Aleaume (1562-1627).

7. El LISSITZKY. SSSR Stroit Sotzializm. (USSR Builds The Socialism). xxvi, 282, [4] pp. Illustrated throughout with photographs. Folio, bound in publisher’s cloth-backed boards, preserved in a new grey cloth folding box. Moscow: Izozis, 1933.

$ 9750.00

A spectacular example of Lissitzky’s skill as a bookmaker. This hymn to the Soviet state was assembled by Lissitzky making photomontages from the photographs of unidentified photographers. The endpapers reproduce the phrase “Workers of the World unite” in 32 languages. Despite the immense edition of 25,000 copies, few copies seem to have survived.

8. Johann Bernhard FISCHER VON ERLACH. A Plan of the Civil and Historical Architecture, in the Representation of the Most noted Buildings of Foreign Nations, both Ancient and Modern: Taken from the most Approv’d Historians, Original Medals, Remarkable Ruins, and Curious Authentick Designs. [4], 28 pp. Illustrated with 88 double-page engraved plates and one double-page letterpress plate. Folio, 410 x 293 mm, bound in contemporary mottled English calf. London: The Translator, 1737.

$ 25,000.00

A fine copy of the English translation, very rare thus. Fischer von Erlach’s engraved architectural history of the buildings and monuments of different ages and civilizations provided the first comparative pictorial study of world architecture. First published in Vienna in 1721, this is the second edition in English, issued at the expense of the translator Thomas Lediard, following the first edition of 1730. All the superb engravings were based on Fischer’s own drawings, and were executed by many of the great names in German Baroque illustration, i.a., J.A. Delsenbach, J.U. Kraus, C. Engelbrecht, J.A. Pfeffel, B. Kenckel, and C. de la Haye.

9. Domenico FONTANA. Della Trasportatione dell’ Obelisco Vaticano. 108 (i.e., 110), [4] ff. Illustrated with an engraved title-page, an engraved portrait frontispiece of Fontana, and 38 engraved plates continuously foliated, of which three are double-page and folding, mostly by Natale Bonifacio. Folio, 394 x 260 mm, bound in recent Italian half vellum, eighteenth-century Italian pastepaper boards. Rome: The Vatican Press, directed by Domenico Basa, 1590.

$ 22,500.00

First Edition to record one of the most challenging technological feats of the Renaissance: the moving and erecting of the Vatican obelisk in front of St. Peter’s Cathedral, Rome. The illustrations are based on drawings by Fontana, engraved by Natale Bonifacio.

10. Giorgio FOSSATI. Raccolta di Varie Favole delineate, ed incise in Rame. Six volumes in two. [16], 44; [16], 48; [8], 76; [8], 59; [8], 59; [8], 36 pp. Title-pages in vol. I with engraved ornamental borders printed in red. Illustrated with 3 engraved headpieces and 216 engraved plates, printed in red, green, blue, brown and black. 4to., 295 x 205 mm, bound in full Venetian contemporary vellum boards. Venice: Carlo Pecora, 1744.

$ 55,000.00

First Edition of one of the most sought-after Venetian eighteenth-century colour-printed works. The two hundred plus engravings are printed in the following colour inks: blue, olive green, sepia, madder rose, chocolate brown, yellow brown, Payne’s grey, reddish brown, cadmium orange, black and blue-grey.

11. Natalia Sergeevna GONCHAROVA. Vertogradari nad lozami (Gardeners over the Vines). By Sergei Bobrov. 162 pp. Illustrated with woodcut frontispiece and 10 double-page colour lithographs by Goncharova. 8vo., 180 x 115 mm, bound in original light blue wrappers with a gilt avian motif designed by Bobrov on the cover. Preserved in a new blue cloth folding box. Moscow: Lirika, 1913.

$ 12,500.00

First Edition, One of 500 copies. Sergei Bobrov’s most important collection of poetry illustrated with fine colour lithographs by Natalia Goncharova. The powerful Cubo-Futurist images stand in stark contrast with the conservative nature of Brobrovs poetry. A few of Goncharova’s lithographs feature the “stone maidens” found atop Scythian burial mounds in the Ukraine echoing her early neo-primitive paintings. An exceptional copy, mostly unopened, suffering only from some wear to the spine of the fragile wrappers. A rare book in such condition.

12. Carrado GOVONI. Rarefazioni e Parole in Libertà. 50, [4] pp. Illustrated throughout with various typographical elements and drawing reproductions. Folio, 320 x 245 mm, bound in publisher’s printed wrappers. Preserved in a new orange cloth folding box. Milano: [Edizione Futuriste di “Poesia”], 1915.

$ 3850.00

First Edition. One of the rarer and more unusual works of Futurist poetry and typography by poet Corrado Govoni (1884-1965), who only briefly experimented with the movement. Rarefazioni e Parole in Libertà emphasizes Futurism’s interest in the freedom of childhood with its mixture of the usual typographical elements in concert with naive illustrations throughout. The result is both charming and arresting. An exceptionally fine copy.

13. Johannes ITTEN. Farbenkugel in 7 Lichtstufen und 12 Tönen. (Color sphere in 7 light values and 12 tones). Lithograph in 18 Colours. Folio, 475 x 320 mm. Issued as a supplement to: Utopia: Dokumente der Wirklichkeit (Utopia: Documents of reality), ed. Bruno Adler. 88 pp. Bound in original illustrated wrappers with 18 plates of which 11 are original lithographs by Itten. Preserved in a new blue cloth folding box. [Weimar: Utopia Verlag, 1921].

$ 8750.00

First printing of this extremely rare and highly influential colour sphere. Itten referred to his twelve-point farbenkugel as “a clear and complete map of the world of colour.” Although Itten was influenced by earlier colour studies, Otto Runge for instance, the twelve-part structure of his diagram marks an original departure. Itten correlated a twelve-point colour system based upon the twelve harmonic notes of the musical scale. The Itten plate is loose in a copy of Utopia, which is inscribed by Itten to the textile designer Elsi Giauque.

14. JAPANESE PAPER. KYOKARAKAMI. Kara nagatezuri mokuhan monyo [Kara-cho Designs for Hand-Printed Woodcut Pattern Paper.] Edited by Ansou Hisao. Preface by Osaragi Jiro. Two volumes. Contents includes: 2 ff. prefaces, 102 sheets of decorated papers, printed in colors from the original woodblocks on Kurotani paper, sheet size 390 x 510 mm. Text fascicles loosely inserted in each volume (each 16 pp., with collotype illustrations; small 4to., self-wraps., secured with cord, as issued). Large folio, loose in original publisher’s purple silk-covered wooden cases. Tokyo: [Bijutsu Shuppan-sha], 1966-1967.

$ 17,500.00

One of 120 copies. A special publication reproducing kyokarakami (hand-printed woodcut pattern paper) from actual woodblock specimens, most dating from the Edo and Meiji periods, from the firm Karacho, the oldest surviving studio producing these papers by hand. This set of papers represent one of the most important source books of Japanese classical design in Kyoto. A complete list describing each paper design is available upon request.

15. Jasper JOHNS. Fizzles. By Samuel Beckett. Unpaginated. Illustrated with a total of 34 original illustrations, including lift-ground aquatints, dry-point etchings, and soft-ground etchings by Johns, printed by Crommelynck in Paris. Small folio, 333 x 253 mm, bound in original plain wrappers, laid into publisher’s white cloth box, lined with two brightly-coloured original lithographs by Johns. [London: Petersburg Press], 1976.

$ 50,000.00

This is probably the most talked-about illustrated artist’s book of the past 40 years; it is the only book to have a major traveling retrospective devoted solely to it: Foirades/Fizzles, Echo and Allusion in the Art of Jasper Johns, organized by the Wight Art Gallery of UCLA. This is a clean copy, virtually without the detrimental offsetting that mars so many copies. One of an edition of 250 copies signed by Beckett and Johns.

16. Oskar KOKOSCHKA. Die Träumenden Knaben. 10 ff. Illustrated with 10 lithographs (8 in colour and 2 in black & white), by Oscar Kokoschka. 4to., 240 x 275 mm, bound in the second issue tan cloth binding by Kurt Wolff with lithographic label designed by Kokoschka on front cover. Preserved in a new purple cloth box with an orange leather label. Vienna: Wiener Werkstätte, 1908.

$ 35,000.00

First and Only Edition of this remarkable book in its second issue binding. This was the first graphic work by the painter Oska Kokoschka. Offered here in a fine copy, Die Träumenden Knaben represents a major document of modern art, in part because Kokoschka’s colour lithographs foreshadow the expressionist movement. The coloured lithographs are from the earliest printing. Copy 16 from the edition of 275 copies, this being part of the edition rebound and sold by Kurt Wolff in 1917. The Kokoschka coloured lithographs were issued in 500 sets.

17. Charles LACOUTURE. Répertoire chromatique, solution raisonée et pratique des problèmes les plus usuels dans l’étude et l’emploi des couleurs. xi, 144 pp., [2] ff. Illustrated with 29 chromolithographic plates, including frontispiece with printed tissue guard, and a few diagrams in text. Large 4to., 325 x 250 mm., bound in publisher’s green cloth, stamped in black and gold, title gilt on spine. Paris: Gauthier-Villars et fils, 1890.

$ 4500.00

First Edition of this treatise on colour theory by the French botanist Charles Lacouture (1832-1908), Professor of Natural History at Metz. Dedicated to the memory of the greatest colour theorist of the nineteenth century, Michel-Eugène Chevreul, Lacouture’s Répertoire is an attempt to resolve the practical problems posed by the mixing of colours. In his introduction the author explains that Chevreul’s important achievements in the classification of colours have not been translated into usable knowledge for artists, artisans and manufacturers, a gap he proposes to close in the present work, by simplifying and completing Chevreul’s theory.

18. LE CORBUSIER. Des Canons, des Munitions? Merci! Des Logis... s.v.p. Oblong 4to., 283 x 230 mm, bound in original illustrated boards, in a new red cloth folding box. Paris: Editions de l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, [1938].

$ 3500.00

First Edition of one of the scarcest and most sought-after books by Le Corbusier. This profusely illustrated monograph is based on Le Corbusier’s involvement with the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux in 1937. In publishing this plea for the application of the same technologies that were utilized for the fabrication of munitions and armaments of war to the realization of an enlightened architectural urbanism, Le Corbusier was nonetheless struck by the increased relevance of the title applied to his text.

19. Henri MATISSE. Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé. Illustrated by Henri Matisse with 29 etchings printed in black. Small folio, bound in original printed wrappers, and housed in the original calf-backed chemise and slipcase. Lausanne: Albert Skira & Cie., 1932.

$ 75,000.00

The Matisse etchings for Mallarmé’s Poésies are renowned for their delicate and simple design. This is considered “Skira’s most beautiful book” (Castleman); it represents one of the snowy peaks of the twentieth-century livre d’artiste. This copy is one of 95 copies on velin paper, signed by Matisse, from a total edition of 145.

20. Beatriz MILHAZES. Coisa Linda. Upaginated. Illustrated with 34 hand-printedscreen prints and a unique collage. 4to., bound in original decorated blue and gold cloth, yellow paper spine in a yellow cloth slipcase. New York: Library Council of The Museum of Modern Art, 2002.

$ 8500.00

The first book published in “Contemporary Editions” by the Library Council of the Museum of Modern Art. This exquisite book was created by contemporary Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes. Each copy contains thirty-four hand-printed screenprints by Milhazes, and a unique collage. The screenprints are printed in forty colors and are bound in a hand-printed cover, all created by Milhazes in collaboration with the printmaker Jean-Paul Russell of the Durham Press. The images are accompanied by lyrics from both traditional and contemporary Brazilian songs that have inspired the artist. Edition of 175 copies. As new and already a rare and sought-after book.

21. Balthazar MONCORNET. Livre Nouveau de toutes sortes d’ouvrages d’Orfeuries receuillies des meilleurs ouvrieres de ce temps et se vendent chez Jean Moncornet. / Ein Newes Büchlein Von allerhant Goldtschmiderey... Illustrated with an engraved title-page followed by 11 engraved plates measuring 186 x 137 each mounted on stubs. Small 4to., bound in modern brown morocco in the style of a French eighteenth-century binding. [Paris]: Jean Moncornet, rue St. Jacques, [1679-95].

$ 22,500.00

An aesthetic, rare suite of engravings depicting jewelry designs by the engraver Balthazar Moncornet (1600-1668) executed in the time of Louis XIV. The suite features bejeweled earrings, necklaces and broaches intertwined with floral borders made of cornucopias, wreaths, birds, swirling ribbons and other ornamental elements. Each design appears floating above engraved landscapes and cityscapes depicting Rome, Paris, Notre Dame, Saint Denis, and the gardens of the Château de Rueil. The final engraving features a portrait of Louis XIV within a jeweled frame, surrounded by a wreath over a view of Pont Neuf. A work of such unique charm that Bernard Quaritch saw fit to make facsimile edition published in 1888! The introduction to the facsimile describes the work as “An undescribed and apparently unknown series of 12 plates...”

22. Abelardo MORELL. The Island of Rota. Text by Oliver Sacks and designed by Ted Muehling. 4to., bound in boards with 13 clichés-verre plates and 1 hand-made paper gate-fold in publisher’s designed box. New York: Library Council of The Museum of Modern Art, 2010.

$ 3000.00

Abelardo Morell created thirteen clichés-verre, photographic prints from images he made with ink and plant matter on glass; 12 of the images are bound into the book and one is loosely inserted in a folder within the box, as issued. Ted Muehling designed the book as well as the cycad-leaf center gate-fold, beautifully executed by Dieu Donne Papermill. These visual elements illustrate Oliver Sacks’ text, a chapter taken from his book ‘The Island of the Colorblind and Cycad Island’. A beautifully produced contemporary artist book that incorporates photography, handmade papers and letterpress printing. From the Contemporary Editions series at The Museum of Modern Art. Edition of 135 copies signed by Morell, Sacks, and Muehling.

23. Shuzo NAKAGAWA. Jinkotsu Toyomi No Shinkosei [New Compositions of Beauty of Human Anatomy]. Title, 2 pp. introduction, followed by 12 tipped-in photographs each with facing text beginning with a geometric initial. Folio, loose leaves laid into the publisher’s illustrated box featuring a naked women leaping over a blue volvelle stamped in gilt, spine stamped in gilt, part of cover and rear of box covered in silver and black checkered pattern in a new yellow cloth folding box. Tokyo, 1932.

$ 3500.00

A rare and unusual Japanese photobook published between the wars. It is a celebration of the female form, as each photo depicts a young subject posed to mimic a geometrical form that appears on the facing page along with letterpress descriptions. The work is reminiscent of Karel Teige and Karel Paspa’s landmark Czech photobook, ABECEDA published in 1926.

FIRST JAPANESE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA

24. Tekisai NAKAMURA. Kinmo zu-i. 21 kan in 14 volumes. Illustrated with hundreds of black and white woodcuts with identifying characters. 4to., 270 x 197 mm, bound Japanese-style, fukuro-toji, in original blue paper wrappers with printed paper labels, housed in a recent navy shiztu case. [Japan]: Yamagataya, [ca. 1666].

$ 25,000.00

Early edition, complete, of this “all knowledge” series that inaugurated a new genre of illustrated books in early modern Japan. Designed to teach children the names and pronunciation in Japanese and Chinese of animals, plants, peoples, clothing, places, and much more, the Kinmo zu-i gained wide readership among adults as well. There were many editions and related publications building on the success of the original, including a new edition as late at the 19th century. The Kinmo zu-i has been considered an important, authoritative reference work since its first printing in 1666.

25. Pablo PICASSO. ...Autre Chose Que de l’Enfant Beau. By Antonin Artaud. 30 pp. Illustrated with a coloured drypoint by Picasso. 8vo., 165 x 132 mm, bound in a full calf inlaid binding by Leroux in a matching chemise and slipcase, with the original wrappers preserved. Paris: Louis Broder, 1957.

$ 8750.00

This is the third volume in the series Miroir du Poete, and contains “the only engraving in color Picasso ever made for a book” (Goeppert). “We know that the painter belonged to the ‘Association of Friends of Antonin Artaud’s Work’, which had been set up in 1946 in order to pay for his board and lodging in a private clinic in

Ivry” (Goeppert). The present engraving demonstrates Picasso’s empathy for the troubled Artaud. Goeppert has noted the “surprising” similarity between this figure and a specific drawing by Artaud himself, called L’homme et sa doleur, which presumably Picasso never saw. One of an edition of 120 copies on japon ancienne, signed by Picasso, in an elegant and appropriate binding by Leroux, one of the foremost French binders of the later part of the twentieth century.

26. Karel PASPA. ABECEDA. By Vitezslav Nezval. Designed by Karel Teige. Illustrated with 25 black and white photomontages by Teige from Paspa’s photographs. 4to., bound in original printed wrappers. Prague: J. Otto, 1926.

$ 6500.00

An important landmark of the Czech avant garde and at the same time one of the most celebrated of all photobooks. Paspa photographed the Czech dancer Milca Mayerova posing in the various letters of the alphabet.

27. Edward RUSCHA with Billy Al BENGSTON. Business Cards. Unpaginated artist’s book with 18 black-&-white illustrations. 8vo, bound in original wraps preserved in a new cloth box. 1968.

$ 3750.00

First edition, 1968. Signed by Ruscha and initialed by Billy Al Bengston. Photographs illustrating the concept of a “business card exchange.” Scenes depicted include the collection of various business cards, their display, and a dinner celebrating this project. A polaroid is mounted on the front cover. A fine copy.

28. Solomon TELINGATER. Piatiletka (The Five-year Plan). By Semen Kirsanov. 176 pp. Illustrated with photographs. 8vo., bound in publisher’s cloth, preserved in a new cloth folding box. Moscow: Goslitizdat, 1931.

$ 3500.00

A splendid example of Russian avant-garde book design, from the binding to the layout, with its imaginative use of photography, and typography. Despite the edition size of 10,000, this is, like all Russian books of the period, is rare.

29. Arcangelo TUCCARO. Trois dialogues de l’exercise de sauter et voltiger en l’air. [4], 197 ff, (misnumbered throughout). Illustrated with woodcut title vignette, large folding woodcut plate (270 x 385 mm), 87 large woodcuts throughout text (many full-page, some repeating). 4vo., 215 x 165 mm, bound nineteenth-century vellum over boards, brown leather spine label stamped in gilt. Paris: Chez Claude de Monstr’oeil, 1599.

$ 25,000.00

Rare First Edition. Tuccaro’s illustrated work on acrobatics is widely recognized as one of the first tier illustrated books of the Renaissance. The Trois Dialogues offers substantial details on theatrical dance during the late sixteenth century, and it represents the first printed work on floor exercises. Overall an exceptionally clean copy of a book often found toned and browned due to the paper stock, with a very nice example of the fold-out plate often lacking in copies.

30. Richard TUTTLE. Two Books. 2 volumes. Unpaginated. Illustrated with 10 screen prints in first volume, illustrated throughout with die-cut images in the second volume. With a loose colophon numbered and signed by the artist. 4to., bound in original felt covered boards and wrappers, in the original slipcase, preserved in a new cloth box. Cologne/New York: Galerie Rudolf Zwirner and Betty Parsons Gallery, 1969.

$ 3750.00

An early artist book by Richard Tuttle. The first book contains 10 screen-prints and the second one contains a series of die-cut pages whose shape/image changes as the viewer works through the book. Total edition of 200, 150 numbered copies and 50 Roman numeral copies for the artist only. This copy 129/150, signed by the artist. A fine copy.