Softcover. NY, Harry N Abrams, 1st, 1995, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, large format, 64 pages. A catalog for an exhibition at The Corcoran Gallery of Art showcasing works that blend mundane, found materials with sophisticated graphic design. The collection highlights, with text by Dore Ashton, how Chermayeff repurposed, for example, office scraps, envelopes, and paper, creating complex, often whimsical, portraiture. Clean, bright copy.
Hardcover. NY, Watson Guptill, 1st, 1974, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover. Beautiful copy of this detailed study of the American illustrator. Color, black & white plates. 206 pages. In a bight, unclipped dust jacket.
Softcover. San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 144 pages. Light shelf-wear to wrappers, else a clean, tight copy. "For years Jack Cole labored dutifully as a cartoonist, comic book illustrator, and Playboy's premier artist. But one look at his most famous creation---the manic, surreal Plastic Man---and there is no question that much more lurked in the mind of this tragic artist than anyone suspected. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and cartoonist Art Spiegelman and renowned graphic designer Chip Kidd pay homage to Plastic Man and his creator. With exuberant energy, extraordinary flexibility, and bizarre plot twists, Jack Cole stretched Plastic Man beyond the traditional limits of the comic book form."
Hardcover. US, IDW Publishing, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. Hardcover issued w/o a dust jacket. Jack Cole's often overlooked horror work finally gets the hardcover treatment. The stories hit many of the usual horror themes, and a few unique ones, with many based in the crime genre. Cole brings his own outlook to the idiom; casually violent and gruesome, with kinetic artwork and splash panels/pages that will knock your socks off.Offered chronologically, the earlier stories outshine most of the later ones. The best ones are "borrowed" from a couple of "Weird Tales" authors- "Custodian of the Dead" (Henry Kuttner's "Graveyard Rats") and "The Corpse That Wouldn't Die" (Clark Ashton Smith's "The Return of the Sorcerer"). Cole's own stories are pretty original, compared to the mostly ho-hum output of contemporaries like Stan Lee's ATLAS line, and he doesn't try to imitate the EC horror comics like 99% of the rest of the field did. Some of the stories are ludicrous and will make you roll your eyes ("Goddess of Murder" especially), but it's refreshing to see a different take on the comic book horror story.
Hardcover. NY, Ten Speed Press, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in pictorial boards, no dust jacket issued, 201 pages. This sweeping, full-color comic book biography tells the complete life story of Jack Kirby, co-creator of some of the most enduring superheroes and villains of the twentieth century for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and more. Critically acclaimed graphic novelist Tom Scioli breathes visual life into Kirby's life story--from his days growing up in New York during the Great Depression and discovering a love for science fiction and cartoons to his time on the frontlines in the European theatre of World War II where he experienced the type of action and adventure he'd later imbue his comic pages with, and on to his world-changing collaborations at Marvel with Stan Lee, where the pair redefined comics as a part of pop culture.
Softcover. Bew Haven CT, Yale University Press, 1st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 272 pages. Richly illustrated with images from Jan Tschichold's little-known private collection of design ephemera, this important book explores a legendary figure in the history of modern graphic design through the artists, ideas, and texts from the Bauhaus that most influenced him. Tschichold (1902-1974), a prolific designer, writer, and theorist, stood at the forefront of a revolution in visual culture that made printed material more elemental and dynamic. His designs were applied to everyday graphics, from billboard advertisements and business cards to book jackets and invoices. This handsome volume offers a new understanding of Tschichold's work, and of the underlying theories of the artistic movement he helped to form, by analyzing his collections. Clean copy. The book is still in the original publisher shrink wrap.
Softcover. Tokyo, DH Publishing, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 96 pages. A retrospective of the almost extinct phenomenon of billboard painting in Japan, this is a fascinating look at the golden age of cinema as seen through the eyes of Japanese artists and media. Contains cover-to-cover, full-color photos, film trivia and historical background. More than just a mine of retro-kitsch, this is a unique look at Western cinema from across the ocean, for both casual readers who wish to flick through and explore the vivid images, and those interested in the historical significance of the depiction of the West and Western films in Japan.
Softcover. Middletown CT, Wesleyan University Press, 1st, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 128 pages. Mostly b&w with some color. Catalogue of a traveling exhibition to be held at the Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University and other institutions, March 27, 1978 to November 18, 1979. Clean copy.
Hardcover. Taschen, 2nd Ed., 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Two white folio volumes in a slipcase, 559 pages, b&w illustrations (chiefly color). Vol. 1: Interviews. Bob Ciano ; Fred Cohen ; Michael Cuscuna -- Record covers. A-K by artist -- v. 2: Interviews. Rudy Van Gelder ; Ashley Kahn ; Creed Taylor -- Record covers. L to Z by artist. Vinyl mania: Jazz LP covers from the 1940s to 1990s. This volume features a broad selection of jazz record covers, from the 1940s through the decline of LP production in the early 1990s. Each cover is accompanied by a fact sheet listing performer and album name, art director, photographer, illustrator, year, label, and more.
Softcover. London, Titan Books, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 88 pages illustrated by Jordan. Widely considered as one of the most important sci-fi comic strips ever published, "Jeff Hawke" is a benchmark in intelligent storytelling. Jeff Hawke's not your average space-hero; rather his focus is on reasoning, diplomacy and moral virtues instead of brute force, and he is frequently forced to be the ambassador - rather than the savior - of mankind. Clean, bright copy.
Softcover. London, Titan Books, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 88 pages illustrated by Jordan. Widely considered as one of the most important sci-fi comic strips ever published, "Jeff Hawke" is a benchmark in intelligent storytelling. These strips ran in London's Daily Express in the mid-1950s. Clean, bright copy.
Hardcover. Dark Horse, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 256 pages. Volume 2 of the collected strip from the 1950s. This is a lost gem of American comic strips. Jerry Robinson's fluid style and supreme draftsmanship are on full display here. Fun, fast-paced stories of a character who's part Bill Nye, part Indiana Jones. The highlight of this discovery is seeing how Robinson played with his own style, slightly altering it to suit each story.
Hardcover. Dark Horse, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 216 pages. In the 1950s, when the world was faced with strange or anomalous threats, there was one man who was called on to set the situation right - Jet Scott of the Office of Scientifact! Whether it was tracking down deadly Banthrax germs, uncovering the source of strange ocean creatures, or discovering the cause of spontaneously combusting pipelines in Saudi Arabia, Jet Scott was the adventurer who could get to the truth!
Softcover. New York, Pantheon Graphic Library, reprint, 2003, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Non-paginated. Softcover with light edgewear to cover wrapper. Color comics throughout by Chris Ware. Clean, tight copy. This first book from Chicago author Chris Ware is a pleasantly-decorated view at a lonely and emotionally-impaired "everyman" (Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth), who is provided, at age 36, the opportunity to meet his father for the first time. An improvisatory romance which gingerly deports itself between 1890's Chicago and 1980's small town Michigan, the reader is helped along by thousands of colored illustrations and diagrams, which, when read rapidly in sequence, provide a convincing illusion of life and movement. The bulk of the work is supported by fold-out instructions, an index, paper cut-outs, and a brief apology, all of which concrete to form a rich portrait of a man stunted by a paralyzing fear of being disliked.
Hardcover. Paris, Maeght Editeur, 1st Ltd. Ed., 1977, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 217 pages, #647 of 5000, off-white cloth covers with black lettering on spine. Color and b&w illustrations including 5 original lithographic plates and lithographic wrap-around dust jacket. Dust jacket with minor edgewear, acetate wrapper chipped, worn.
Hardcover. London, Titan Books, 1st, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 256 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket. Color pictures in center, black and white pictures throughout.
Hardcover. London, Unicorn Publishing Group , 1st, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial boards, 208 pages. A biography of British commercial illustrator John Hassall, "The Poster King," with one hundred color illustrations. In the early twentieth century, John Hassall (1868-1948) was one of Britain's best-known, highest-profile artists. Though he worked across a variety of disciplines, it was his commercial art for travel companies, political causes, and well-known brands that made him a household name. With bold lines, flat colors, and an engaging, cheery style, Hassall created some of the most famous and influential designs of the era. A century after his heyday, Lucinda Gosling presents an exploration of John Hassall's life, his art, and his legacy. Including photographs of his family and studio, the story behind his iconic "Jolly Fisherman" poster, and previously unpublished material from Hassall's archive at the University of Essex--including artwork, sketches, letters, diaries, and photographs--this is an unprecedented account of the artist's life and work.
Hardcover. New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 240 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Very clean, like new in publishers shrink-wrap. A tight copy. The American realist artist John Sloan is best known for his portrayals of daily life in early 20th-century New York and as a member of The Eight and the Ashcan School, alongside peers like Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, and George Luks. Sloan's artistic approach was shaped by his experience as a commercial illustrator, a type of work that inaugurated his professional career-at newspapers like the Philadelphia Press and later for mass-market magazines-and which he pursued even after he turned his focus to painting. In John Sloan: Drawing on Illustration, Michael Lobel explores the impact of Sloan's illustrating on his wider output, including his paintings, his drawings for the radical journal The Masses, and his response to the watershed 1913 Armory Show. Illuminating the interaction between art and popular culture, this book provides an important new framework for understanding the modern genre of illustration, and in so doing touches on major 20th-century currents, including the rise and expansion of the mass media and the visual legacy of European modernism.
Hardcover. New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 240 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Very clean, like new in publishers shrink-wrap. A tight copy. The American realist artist John Sloan is best known for his portrayals of daily life in early 20th-century New York and as a member of The Eight and the Ashcan School, alongside peers like Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, and George Luks. Sloan's artistic approach was shaped by his experience as a commercial illustrator, a type of work that inaugurated his professional career-at newspapers like the Philadelphia Press and later for mass-market magazines-and which he pursued even after he turned his focus to painting. In John Sloan: Drawing on Illustration, Michael Lobel explores the impact of Sloan's illustrating on his wider output, including his paintings, his drawings for the radical journal The Masses, and his response to the watershed 1913 Armory Show. Illuminating the interaction between art and popular culture, this book provides an important new framework for understanding the modern genre of illustration, and in so doing touches on major 20th-century currents, including the rise and expansion of the mass media and the visual legacy of European modernism.
Hardcover. Hunt Valley MD, Hermes Press, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Large hardcover, 160 pages of color comics reproduced from the Sunday comics of the 40s. Beautiful condition.
Hardcover. Munich/NJ, Prestel, 1st, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 256 pages. One of the most important German postwar artists, Joseph Beuys is known for his drawings, performance art, activism, and teaching, influencing a generation of younger artists and expanding the concept of what art is. He had an ambitious goal for his art: to transform western culture into a more peaceful, democratic, and creative place. He also considered everyone to be an artist and that art and life should not be viewed separately. This book pulls together all of the avant-garde artist's posters from his entire oeuvre. His earliest posters often announced exhibitions of his own performance art, while later posters expressed his philosophical and political opinions, such as those for Germany's Green Party, which he was a founding member of. This book includes full page illustrations of Beuys' most important posters, essays about Beuys' influence, an extensive biography of the artist and a complete catalogue of all posters created under his guidance. Text in English and German. Still in publisher's shrinkwrap.
Softcover. New York , Abrams, 1st, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Large softcover, 64 pages. 45 large color illustrations, very good+ paperback & cover This facsimile reproduces the look & feel of Cloin's art deco lithographs along with Georges Thenon's (aka Rip's) preface & Baker's own handwritten commentary. Clean, sharp copy.
Hardcover. New York , Metropolitan Books, 1st US, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 191 pages, illustrated throughout in color and b&w. Clean, unmarked copy in excellent condition. Over the past decade, Joe Sacco has increasingly turned to short-form comics journalism to report from conflict zones around the world. Collected here for the first time, Sacco's darkly funny, revealing reportage confirms his standing as one of the foremost war correspondents working today. Journalism takes readers from the smuggling tunnels of Gaza to war crimes trials in The Hague, from the lives of India's "untouchables" to the ordeal of Saharan refugees washed up on the shores of Malta. And in pieces never published before in the United States, Sacco confronts the misery and absurdity of the war in Iraq, including the darkest chapter in recent American history-the torture of detainees.
Softcover. NY, Judge Publishing Co., 1928, Book: Good, Softcover, 32 pages. Color cover art by Jefferson Machamer, "The Dummy". Color ads for Fatima and Marlboro cigarettes. B/w cartoons by Gardner Rea, Suess, others. Small tan spot to bottom edge.