lexicon

Hardcover. Seattle, Fantagraphics, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 160 pages. Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner is a collection of gag cartoons by the legendary Mad Magazine artist in the form of an indispensable guide to demystifying life's most disconcerting social quandaries. With his fictional host, Croucher K. Conk, Q.O.C (Queer Old Coot), Wolverton would posit the problem and offer a uniquely Wolvertonian solution over seven or eight panels, each one a miniature masterpiece of scandalous visual humor. Wolverton's feature "Culture Corner" originally appeared monthly from 1945 to 1952. Each episode would tackle a different subject from the practical to the pixilated -"How to cross a busy street" to "How to tweak a beak." Revered by aficionados, it contains some of Wolverton's most outrageous drawing and his trademarked lexicon of wacky wordplay

Hardcover. NY, Abrams, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 256 pages. One of the most prolific and successful artists of the Golden Age of American Illustration, J. C. Leyendecker captivated audiences throughout the first half of the 20th century. Leyendecker is best known for his creation of the archetype of the fashionable American male with his advertisements for Arrow Collar. These images sold to an eager public the idea of a glamorous lifestyle, the bedrock upon which modern advertising was built. He also was the creator instantly recognizable icons, such as the New Year's baby and Santa Claus, that are to this day an integral part of the lexicon of Americana and was commissioned to paint more Saturday Evening Post covers than any other artist. Leyendecker lived for most of his adult life with Charles Beach, the Arrow Collar Man, on whom the stylish men in his artwork were modeled. The first book about the artist in more than 30 years, J. C. Leyendecker features his masterworks, rare paintings, studies, and other artwork, including the 322 covers he did for the Post. With a revealing text that delves into both his artistic evolution and personal life, J. C. Leyendecker restores this iconic image maker's rightful position in the pantheon of great American artists.

Hardcover. Minneapolis MN, Walker Art Center, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, publisher's light-brown cloth over boards, stamped lettering, and illustration to the spine, and boards. Richly illustrated in black-and-white and color throughout. "Deploying an acidic sense of humor, Walker examines the dialectics of pleasure and danger, guilt and fulfillment, desire and fear, race and class. This landmark publication, which is sure to win international design awards, accompanies Walker's first major American museum survey. It features critical essays by Philippe Vergne, Sander L. Gilman, Thomas McEvilley, Robert Storr and Kevin Young, as well as an illustrated lexicon of recurring themes and motifs in the artist's most influential installations by Yasmil Raymond, more than 200 full-color images, an extensive exhibition history and bibliography." Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, New York Review Books, reprint, 2025, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 128 pages, b&w illustrations. A new edition of Beetle Bailey creator Mort Walker's riotous and immensely influential handbook for drawing and reading cartoons-a book that's both a parody of humorless how-to guides and a genuine (and genuinely instructive) ode to the art of making comics. Both a send-up of lofty how-to-draw books and a sincere and hilarious love letter to the art of drawing cartoons, the Lexicon is a joyously exhaustive cheat sheet to key comics visuals that has been referenced and treasured by generations of cartoonists. This new edition includes a foreword by Chris Ware and a meticulous appendix by Mort's son Brian Walker, who delves deep into the visual language of comics. Clean copy.

Softcover. London/NY, Thames & Hudson, 1st, 2019, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 348 pages including transparent gels, 238 plates. Photographer Tim Walker draws audiences close to reveal fantasy's other, darker side. Delving deep into the art and mind of one of the most exciting and original fashion photographers working today, Shoot for the Moon showcases the gamut of Walker's weird, wild Wonderlands. In images that demand to be read as art as much as fashion, his signature opulence and decadent eccentricity encroach ever further beyond the 'real', exploring the mysteries of imagination and inspiration, and where it is they come from. Dazzlingly designed to a lavish spec, with images featuring some of the biggest names in fashion and contemporary culture, and texts and commentary by a collection of noteworthy contributors as well as Walker himself, Shoot for the Moon is set to be an landmark addition to the lexicon of fashion photography. Renowned for his surreal fashion photography, Tim Walker's new book challenges convention to explore the very concept of photographic imagination. Still in publisher's shrinkwrap. DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.