art history

Hardcover. New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 304 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy with still in publishers shrink wrap. Visions of an American Dreamland highlights more than 200 images from Coney Island's history, including paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, posters, film stills, architectural artifacts, and carousel animals.

Hardcover. London, National Portrait Gallery, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 160 pages, color illustrations. Published to coincide with the first ever exhibition dedicated to Constable's portraits, this book will present new scholarship and argue that many of these unexplored paintings are worthy of close attention, both for their contribution to the history of portraiture and for the insights they bring to a painter of international acclaim. Constable's sitters make up a 'Jane Austen' world, belonging to the middle and upper ranks of early nineteenth century provincial society: clergymen and their wives, landed gentry and families wealthy from trade. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Tokyo, Kodansha, 1st, 1967, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 187 pages. Large format. Illustrated with full color and black & white examples of of fine contemporary prints from Japan. Dust jacket shows wear with dime sized chunk missing at top of spine and piece missing at bottom left corner of rear flap. Clean, tight copy. May require additional postage. "Contemporary Japanese Prints" is a fine, beautifully printed folio book--just the way art books should be. Written by a key art historian and critic as well as museum director, it serves as an excellent and eye-opening overview of just what the straightforward title indicates, artistic prints by Japanese artists then currently active as of 1967. Kawakita's introduction is clear and concise but properly informative, defining this art form's general characteristics and then outlining its modern history, starting with its rise in the early twentieth century. Contrary to what one might expect, these prints are almost totally unrelated to Japan's rather famous ukiyo-e prints of the early modern period, these modern "hanga" instead representing the creative vision and artistic labor of one individual artist. And well, a picture's worth a thousand words, so the bulk of the book presents a selection of 150 prints by 119 artists--47 color plates and 103 monochrome plates.

Hardcover. NY, Rodale Books , 1st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Robert Hilburn's storied career as a rock critic has allowed him a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of some of the most iconic figures of our time. He was the only music critic to visit Folsom Prison with Johnny Cash. He met John Lennon during his lost weekend period in Los Angeles and they became friends. Bob Dylan granted him his only interviews during his "born-again" period and the occasion of his 50th birthday. Michael Jackson invited Hilburn to watch cartoons with him in his bedroom. When Springsteen took to playing only old hits, Hilburn scolded him for turning his legendary concerts into oldies revues, and Springsteen changed his set list. In this totally unique account of the symbiotic relationship between critic and musical artist, Hilburn reflects on the ways in which he has changed and been changed by the subjects he's covered; Bono weighs in with an introduction about how Hilburn's criticism influenced and altered his own development as a musician.

Hardcover. Casterman, reprint, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. FRENCH TEXT. The history of Pratt's most famous character told in pictures and words. Illustrated in color and b&w. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Harry N. Abrams, 2nd pr., 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 320 pages, 9.9x1.2x12.3 inches. Color illustrations throughout. Michael Benson, one of the world's leading authorities on the visual legacy of space exploration and astronomy, tells a riveting story of the discovery of the universe through pictures. Selecting strikingly powerful and intriguing illustrations and maps, many hidden away in the world's great science libraries and virtually unknown today, he chronicles more than three thousand years of humanity's ever-expanding understanding of the size, shape and visual texture of the cosmos from the planets of our Solar System to the Milky Way and to the large-scale structure of the greater universe, with its teeming swarms of galaxies. These illustrations - some are maps, some are diagrams, some are speculative works of representation- are among history's most powerfully compelling works of data visualization, an art that is increasingly necessary in today's data-intensive world. NOTE: DUE TO WEIGHT, DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Hardcover. NY, Rizzoli, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, More than a century ago, when Abbot Kinney built his Venice-of-America with its network of canals and fanciful buildings, cultural aspirations were high. Over the years, this aura of fantasy and imaginative possibility endured as integral to the zeitgeist of the place. Today, this spirit of innovation and creativity is richly expressed in the vintage bungalows and cottages that have been embraced and brought back to life by homeowners more in love with place than size. Stalwart survivors of the ebb and flow of the area's fortunes over a century, these small homes channel the creative spirit of the place and provide a welcome counterpoint to oversize houses. Color, landscape, treasured collections, personal narrative, contemporary overlays and additions, art and craft, and inventive design--all combine in various ways to produce domestic environments with unique and deeply personal points of view.

Hardcover. Brooklyn NY, Melville House, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. This is the original 30,000 word article Agee wrote for Fortune magazine in 1936 that was never published. Accompanied by 30 Walker Evans photos. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Assouline, 1st, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 240 pages. Celebrates its centennial in 2004 with a global operation in more than 25 countries. With wit, spirit, and luminous images, Orla Healy tells the inspiring story of Coty, both the man and the company..

Hardcover. Ketchum ID, Dobler Hill Ltd, 1st, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 228 pages. In stunning photographs, Stoecklein shows cowboy and Western gear as it actually looked on the cowboys who wore them, and how the gear was used. A timeless resource for collectors, and western fans alike. A full color documentary of our Western heritage, including saddles, spurs, boots, hats, and attitude. Shows artifacts and collectibles from 1860 to 1920 as they were actually used by their original owners -- it's a true look into the daily lives of the men who settled the West. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, PowerHouse Books, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap.

Hardcover. New York, Funk Wagnalls, 4th pr., 1967, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Fair, Hardcover, 110 pages. Black & white illustrations by Eric Sloane. Dust jacket heavily chipped. Dust jacket is protected by a mylar cover.

Softcover. Austin, University of Texas Press, 1st, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, yellow wrappers, 287 pages. Light fading to spine. In ancient Mediterranean cultures, diamonds were thought to endow their owners with invincibility. In contemporary United States culture, a foreign-made luxury car is believed to give its owner status and prestige. Where do these beliefs come from In this study of craft production and long-distance trade in traditional, nonindustrial societies, Mary W. Helms explores the power attributed to objects that either are produced by skilled artisans and/or come from 'afar.' She argues that fine artisanship and long-distance trade, both of which are more available to powerful elites than to ordinary people, are means of creating or acquiring tangible objects that embody intangible powers and energies from the cosmological realms of gods, ancestors, or heroes. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Syracause NY, The Adirondack Museum, 1st, 1968, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Fair, Hardcover in a worn, tape repaired dust jacket, 207 pages, b&w illustrations including a fold-out map. Articles and primary source materials (diaries; memoirs) about the settlement and development of this region in the New York Adirondack Mountains. Previous owner's inscription on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. Boston, MA, University of Massachusetts Press, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 516 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. A very clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket edges. This volume documents Fenn's prolific career from the 1860s until his death in 1911. Sue Rainey also recounts his adventurous sketching trips in the western United States, Europe, and the Middle East, which enhanced his reputation for depicting far-flung places at a time when the nation was taking a more prominent role on the world stage.

Hardcover. Boston, MA, University of Massachusetts Press, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 516 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. A very clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket edges. This volume documents Fenn's prolific career from the 1860s until his death in 1911. Sue Rainey also recounts his adventurous sketching trips in the western United States, Europe, and the Middle East, which enhanced his reputation for depicting far-flung places at a time when the nation was taking a more prominent role on the world stage.

Hardcover. Berkeley CA, University of California Press, 1st, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 267 pages, b&w photos. Clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket. This book examines the often-neglected role played by immigrant artists and critics in the circle of Alfred Stieglitz, including Japanese-German author Sadakichi Hartmann, Mexican-born caricaturist Marius de Zayas and English Sri-Lankan curator Ananda Coomaraswamy, as well as better-known U.S.-born painters, including Arthur Dove and Georgia O'Keeffe.

Hardcover. London/NY, Collins Living, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 271 pages, fully illustrated with color reproductions of photographs. Features articles and cover art from October 1969 through December 1987 issues. Fine in original pictorial paper-covered boards and fine pictorial dust jacket.

Softcover. Beverly Hills, CA, Lawrence Bassoff Collection, 1st, 1997, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Large softcover, 159 pages, illustrated throughout in color. Light wear to pictorial covers, else a very nice, tight. clean copy. Foreword by Robert Wise. 100 beautiful reproductions of classic crime film posters.

Hardcover. Long Beach CA, Long Beach Museum of Art, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover with a nice dust jacket. Since 1970, Mizuno's work has evolved from functional dinnerware to abstract sculptural forms, from playful and humorous trompe l'oeil plates to richly layered sculpture informed by his evocative personal history, paralleling the development of the ceramics field itself in the late 20th century as it evolved from functional forms to a medium of full artistic expression. The exhibition is the first major museum exhibition to survey the work of this artist whose superbly crafted works, while firmly grounded in the traditions of the ceramic arts, extend to new forms in clay that defy traditional categories. This exhibition catalogue designed by Takaaki Matsumoto includes a forward, interview with the artist, a biography and exhibition history, and the exhibition checklist of 48 artworks. The exhibition and publication trace the work of this Japanese-born, Los Angeles-based ceramist from 1971 through 2003. Interview of the artist by Deborah McLeod, foreword by Museum Director Harold Nelson Format: hardcover Dimensions: 8-1/2 x 6-1/4 inches, 96 pages plus cover / 51 color plates. in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title at the Long Beach Museum of Art November 18, 2005 through January 15, 2006.

Hardcover. Long Beach CA, Long Beach Museum of Art, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 95 pages, illustrated with 45 color plates. Like new in publisher's shrinkwrap. Since 1970, Mizuno's work has evolved from functional dinnerware to abstract sculptural forms, from playful and humorous trompe l'oeil plates to richly layered sculpture informed by his evocative personal history, paralleling the development of the ceramics field itself in the late 20th century as it evolved from functional forms to a medium of full artistic expression. The exhibition is the first major museum exhibition to survey the work of this artist whose superbly crafted works, while firmly grounded in the traditions of the ceramic arts, extend to new forms in clay that defy traditional categories. This exhibition catalogue designed by Takaaki Matsumoto includes a forward, interview with the artist, a biography and exhibition history, and the exhibition checklist of 48 artworks. The exhibition and publication trace the work of this Japanese-born, Los Angeles-based ceramist from 1971 through 2003. ISBN 0-97127772-3-0 Published by the Long Beach Museum of Art Interview of the artist by Deborah McLeod, foreword by Museum Director Harold Nelson Format: hardcover Dimensions: 8-1/2 x 6-1/4 inches 96 page plus cover / 51 color plates.

Hardcover. NY, Scribner, 1st, 2025, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 458 pages. Robert Crumb is often credited with single-handedly transforming the comics medium into a place for adult expression, in the process pioneering the underground comic book industry, and transforming the vernacular language of 20th-century America into an instantly recognizable and popular aesthetic. Now, for the first time, Dan Nadel, delivers a "gripping and essential account" (The Boston Globe) of how this complicated artist survived childhood abuse, fame in his twenties, more fame, and came out the other side intact. Braiding biography with "cultural history and criticism...that honors the complexity of [its] subject, even, perhaps particularly, when it gets ugly" (Los Angeles Times), Crumb is the story of a richly complex life at the forefront of both the underground and popular cultures of post-war America. Including forty-five stunning black-and-white images throughout and a sixteen-page color insert featuring images both iconic and obscure. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Scribner, 2nd pr., 2025, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 458 pages. Robert Crumb is often credited with single-handedly transforming the comics medium into a place for adult expression, in the process pioneering the underground comic book industry, and transforming the vernacular language of 20th-Century America into an instantly recognizable and popular aesthetic. Now, for the first time, Dan Nadel, delivers a "gripping and essential account" (The Boston Globe) of how this complicated artist survived childhood abuse, fame in his twenties, more fame, and came out the other side intact. Braiding biography with "cultural history and criticism...that honors the complexity of [its] subject, even, perhaps particularly, when it gets ugly" (Los Angeles Times), Crumb is the story of a richly complex life at the forefront of both the underground and popular cultures of post-war America. Including forty-five stunning black-and-white images throughout and a sixteen-page color insert featuring images both iconic and obscure. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Hatje Cantz, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 511 pages. Clean, unmarked copy in excellent condition. From the earliest days of the Cuban Revolution, the Revolutionary High Command was intensely aware of the power of the photographic image to advance the ideals of the Revolution, at home and abroad. If portraying the human side of its leaders was an important part of the Revolution's visual ideology, so too was its conception and depiction of the Cuban populace: as early as 1959, the High Command organized mass rallies in Havana assembling more than a million Cubans from throughout the island to celebrate the victory of the Revolution. Cuba in Revolution captures the complexity and the energy of this moment in all its contradictory beauty. It gathers a colossal array of photographs by both known and anonymous photographers into five thematic, chronologically overlapping sections: "Pre-Revolutionary Cuba: 1933-1959"; "The Years of Struggle and Victory: 1953-1957"; "Sierra Maestra: The Revolutionary Movement: 1956-1959"; "Bay of Pigs 1961"; and "Picturing the Revolution: 1959-1968." From Constantino Arias' portraits of poverty and wealth in pre-revolutionary Havana to the photographs of the dead Che Guevara in Bolivia, this volume offers an epic photo-narrative of the Cuban story. Iconic pictures of Che Guevara by Alberto Korda and Rene Burri are complemented by snapshots of Fidel Castro playing golf or hunting in the Soviet Union. Raul Corrales' pictures of revolutionaries playing the conga drums during the Cuban Missile Crisis also reveal a different face of the Revolution; portraits of individual Cubans by Henri Cartier-Bresson present an equally fluid vision of everyday life in Cuba; and the political and the personal merge in startlingly intimate portraits of Che Guevara by Andrew Saint-George and images of the forbidden pop culture of the mid-1960s by Jose Figueroa. Throughout the publication there is an exhilarating tension between the heroic portrayal of the leaders-Castro, Guevara and Cienfuegos-and the dramatic portrayal of a people in the midst of revolutionary transformation.