Search Results: Authors starting with R from Ursus Books

1926. RAMSAYE, Terry. A Million and One Nights. Two volumes. lxx, [2], 400; [4], 401-868 pp. Illustrated with frontispiece portraits of Thomas Edison and Charlie Chaplin, plus 100 illustrations throughout (mostly photographic). Large thick 8vo., bound in recent blue half morocco, blue cloth over boards. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1926. First Edition. Thomas Edison is known to have stated: "This is, I believe, the first endeavor to set down the whole and true story of the motion picture." A landmark in the study of early film, owing to the fact that in the creation of this work the author was able to consult with virtually all of the major film pioneers; much of the information cannot be found elsewhere. 100 Books on Hollywood and the Movies, No. 73.

1713. RATELBAND, Johannes. Schatkamer der verborgentheden, voorgestelt in een beschryvinge der wonderlyke geschapenheit des firmaments, sterren, planeten, cometen, & c ... (44), 463 [i.e. 443] pp., (21), plus 26 (of 27) plates, many folded, including a World map. Lacking 2*1 (blank?) and 6*4 (errata?), but with text and catch-words continuous. Pages 248-267 omitted in pagination, as issued. 4to, 187 x 155 mm., bound in contemporary blind-tooled Dutch calf with gilt title label on spine. Amsterdam: By Johannis Ratelband, 1713. This is a Dutch edition of Johann Heinrich Seyfried's 1679 Medulla mirabilium naturae, das ist: Auserlesene unter den Wundern der Natur, aller verwunderlichste Wunder, which went through several editions, all of which are extremely rare. Among the many interesting illustrations are a mummified body; an array of anthropomorphic sea-monsters; a whale; a West-Indian sea turtle; a flying cat; a mermaid alongside a wild-man and an orangutan, as well as a unicorn. In… Read More

1937. MAN RAY. Les Mains Libres. By Paul Eluard. 208 pp., with 66 reproductions of drawings by Man Ray. 4to, 280 x 225 mm., bound in the original illustrated wrappers, in a new slipcase with morocco backed chemise. Paris: Editions Jeanne Bucher, 1937. A pristine copy of this celebrated collaboration between Man Ray and Paul Eluard, inscribed by Man Ray to Souzouki. Man Ray had moved to Paris in 1921 and in the 1930's was one of André Breton's surrealist circles. Unlike most illustrated books where the pictures illustrate the text, this book uses the poems to illustrate the drawings, which are important documents of Man Ray's non-photographic output. One of 650 printed on Chester Vergé of a total edition of 675 copies. From Manet to Hockney 104.

1926. MAN RAY. Revolving Doors. Comprised of 10 pochoir plates [580 x 380 mm]. Folio, loose in original publisher's black portfolio with ties. Laid into a new folding box. Paris: Editions Surréalistes, 1926. A fine copy of this legendary surrealist publication. Between 1916 and 1917, the artist and photographer Man Ray created a series of collages he called "Revolving Doors." He included the series in his third solo exhibition at the Daniel Gallery in New York, in 1919. The collages, whose geometric shapes combine machine-like and anthropomorphic forms, were framed and installed on a rotating pole that the viewer could spin. The original collages were destroyed, but he later reproduced them in this series of pochoir prints, published by Éditions Surréalistes in Paris. This publication represents an important contribution to avant-garde art and together with Jazz and the Prose du Transsibérien comprise the Holy Trinity of great pochoir books of… Read More

1931. RENGER-PATZSCH, Albert. Eisen und Stahl. 97 Fotos. Geleitwort von Albert Vögler. Folio, cloth and dust wrapper, in a new cloth folding box. Berlin: Verlag Hermann Reckendorf G. m. b. H., 1931. A classic 1930s photobook by one of the leading photographers of the Neue Sachlikeit movement. The book showcases iron and steel in all its aspects from the mill to casting and in its uses in everything from shipbuilding to bridges. An exceptional copy in the incredibly rare dust wrapper with a few small pieces missing, but still remarkably fresh. Parr/Badger, The Photobook: A History, Vol I, p. 125 and Roth, ed., The Open Book, p. 102-103).

1928. RENGER-PATZSCH, Albert. Die Welt ist Schon. Unpaginated with introduction in German, 100 full-page duotone plates. 4to, cloth and dust jacket in a new cloth folding box. Munich: Wolff, 1928. A fine copy of this landmark photobook in its legendarily rare dust jacket. The book, along with Sander's Antlitz der Zeit are key documents of the of the Neue Sachlichkeit movement. The dust jacket is in remarkably fine condition with just a couple of minute tears. This copy is accompanied by two original botanical photographs similar to those in the book, the versos both bearing the Renger-Patzsch studio stamp. Roth. The Book of 101 Books pp. 50-51

1942. RETCLIFFE, John. Die Geheimnisse des Judenfriedhofes in Prag. 43 pp. Illustrated with 28 photographic plates. 8vo., 209 x 153 mm, bound in publisher's illustrated wrappers in a new blue cloth folding box. Prague: Orbis, 1942. John Retcliffe was a nineteenth-century German anti-semite whose real name was Hermann Ottomar Friedrich Goedsche. This little book reprints part of an earlier text from his 1868 novel Biarritz. It is here accompanied by a series of excellent photographs. Published in the middle of the war, few copies seem to have survived.

1929. RICHTER, Hans. Filmgegner von Heute - Filmfreunde von Morgen. 8vo, original bright red cloth with blue lettering on cover and spine, in original photo-illustrated dust jacket. Berlin: Hermann Reckendorf, 1929. This legendary book functions as an encyclopedia of new technique in filmmaking and is profusely illustrated with Richter's reproductions of stills, including examples from filmmakers such as Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Eisenstein, Léger and others. It was published at the same time as Werner Gräff's "Es kommt der neue Fotograph" and to coincide with the Werkbund-Exhibition "Film and Foto" in Stuttgart, 1929. Incredibly rare with the dust wrapper, which is extremely fresh with just the slightest rubbing. "The Open Book," pp. 80 & 81.

1864. RIDDELL, John. Architectural Designs for Model Country Residences. Accompanied by general descriptions and estimates. Prepared expressly for persons who contemplate building, and artisans throughout the United States. [14] ff., illustrated with 20 full-page colour lithograph plates (illustrating 22 country houses) each accompanied by a full-page plan. Oblong folio, 370 x 445 mm., bound in original brown cloth. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1864. Rare American architectural work, illustrated with chromolithographs which must be seen to be fully appreciated. "The successful architect John Riddell is best remembered for his Architectural Designs for Model Country Residences, a book written to encourage prospective clients that -- ironically -- remains his chief monument. Illustrated with twenty lithographs in full colour, Architectural Designs is one of the handsomest American books of architecture published in the nineteenth century. Most of the designs are in the Italianate style,… Read More

1886. RIDGWAY, Robert. A Nomenclature of Colors for Naturalists, and Compendium of Useful Knowledge for Ornithologists. 129, [1] pp. Illustrated with 17 plates, 10 of which are hand-coloured. 8vo, bound in publisher's green cloth. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1886. A fine copy of Ridyway's extremely scarce first book on colour. Ridgway was the first full-time curator of birds at the United States National Museum where he developed his system, which was one of the first and most important colour systems for bird identification. He later expanded it in his classic Color Standards and Nomenclature. Both books are rare, but the early version is extremely so. His works have endured, and everyone from stamp collectors to naturalists to chemists refers to 'Ridgway colors' to identify specific shades. A clipped inscription from Ridgway to Dr. Coues, presumably the ornithologist Elliott Coues, is affixed to the first blank.

1556. RINGELBERG, Ioachim Fortius. Ioachimi Fortii Ringelbergii Andoverpiani opera, quae proxima pagina enumerantur. 664, [2] pp. Profusely illustrated with Woodcuts. Small 8vo., 165 x 100, bound in contemporary blind-stamped pigskin with a Roman goddess on the front cover, and a portrait of Luther on the back cover. Lyon: M. Sylvius for J. Frellonius, 1556. An exceptional copy of the third edition of Ringelberg's Collected Works divided in 6 parts: 1. 'Ad Grammaticen pertinent'. 2. 'Ad Dialecticen'. 3. 'Ad Rhetoricen'. 4. 'Ad Mathematicen'. 5. 'Ad Diviniationem'. & 6. 'Communis quisdam Naturae sunt'. Joachim Sterck van Ringelberg (1499-1531) was an itinerant scholar from Antwerp who lectured all over Europe on almost every imaginable subject. This compendium covers all of his encyclopedic interests, ranging from science, mathematics and astronomy to Greek grammar and the occult arts (for which the book was placed on the Papal… Read More

1884. ROCHAS, Albert de. Le Livre de Demain. 44 separate fascicles comprising 424 pp., illustrated with 11 original samples of rare old paper, 4 chromatic circles, 6 silhouettes by P. Konewka and 5 plates of which 3 are etchings and 2 are reproductions. 8vo, 225 x 140 mm., loose as issued in the original cardboard folder, in a new half morocco folding box. Blois: Imprimerie Raoul Marchand, 1884. A tour de force of fin de siècle bookmaking printed on 44 different kinds of paper. The first three sections deal with the history of paper, ink, and colour, with the rest of the book being a selection of texts printed on various kinds of tinted paper, all decorated in a variety of colours. The paper samples illustrate the history of paper from papyrus to modern Japanese. Among the authors of the texts are Alphonse Daudet, Paul Verlaine and Robert de Montesquiou. Our copy has the rare four-page promotional "Avis" printed on red paper within a gilt rule frame separately published… Read More

1931. RODCHENKO, A.M. Govorit Moskva [Moscow Speaks]. No. 36 (104), 1931. 18 pp., illustrated throughout. Folio, 314 x 225 mm., bound in publisher's colour peek-a-boo Constructivist die-cut wrappers designed by Rodchenko. Moscow: Vsesoiuznyi kom-t po radioveshchaniiu, 1931. One of the rare issues of Moscow Speaks with the stunning lithographed decorative spirals on the cover by Rodchenko. It includes the poem "Devyasot pyatyi god" [The Nine Hundred and Fifth Year] by Pasternak, its fragility has added to the other conditions that have made it extremely scarce. OCLC lists only a set at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace. Stanford University. A fine copy. Rowell & Wy, No. 953 for 1931 no. 11.

1939. RODCHENKO, Aleksandr. The Red Army and Navy. Unpaginated, photographically illustrated throughout. Folio, 390 x 250 mm., bound in publisher's blind-stamped cloth. Moscow and Leningrad: State Art Publishers, 1939. Designed by Rodchenko, and presumably issued as a companion volume to Soviet Aviation in the same year and in the same format. A marvelous example of Stalinist book design, combining Rodchenko's modernist sensibility with typical Stalinist bombast. The large format photomontages extol the power and virtue of the Soviet Army at the dawn of the Second World War. Very slight bend to the cloth, but generally an unusually fine copy. Karasik. The Soviet Photobook 1920-1940. p. 474.

1936. RODCHENKO, A. and Varvara STEPANOVA. URSS en Construction. Est Consacaré au 15 Anniversaire du Kazakstan. No 11. Unpaginated, illustrated throughout. Folio, 415 x 292 mm., bound in original wrappers, preserved in a recent blue cloth box. Moscow: Editions d'Etat des Beaux-Arts, 1935. A fine copy of one of the issues of this landmark periodical designed by Rodchenko and Stepanova. As Martin Parr says, "From 1930-1940 URSS en Construction employed the best Soviet photo-journalists and graphic designers. Amongst the photographers were Max Alpert, Arkadi Shaikhet, Georgi Zeima, Boris Ignatovich, Semen Fridland and Georgi Shaikhet. Designers included El Lissitzky, Sophie Kueppers, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova. All the visual strategies of the propaganda photobooks, designed by Lissitzky, Rodchenko and others -- the elaborate photomontages, innovative photography, fold-out pages, transparent overlays and so on -- were developed in URSS en Construction, one of the… Read More

ROH, Franz. Foto-auge, Oeil Et Photo, Photo- Eye. 96 pp. 4to, original photo-pictorial wrappers by El Lissitzky Stuttgart: Dr Fritz Wedekind, 1929. The book was designed by Jan Tschichold, and has the celebrated cover by Lissitzky. Although not officially, this work functioned as the catalogue of the 'FiFo' exhibition in Stuttgart in 1929, reproducing work from the exhibition by Man Ray, Weston, Atget, Renger-Patzsch, Moholy-Nagy and others. Accompanied by Franz Roh's trilingual essay in French, German and English. A very fresh bright and tight copy, and much better than usually encountered, accompanied by the incredibly rare prospectus, and a leaf entitled warum 4 alphabete by Roh. A tiny bit of damage to the top of the spine, but nevertheless a desirable copy. Parr / Badger, v.1, 98-99; Open Book 82-83;

1794. ROPPELT, Johann Baptist. Practischer Entwurf eines neu zuerrichtenden Urbariums, Saal- oder Lager-Buchs. 2 volumes. Text volume: 56 pp. Plate volume: 13 plates, of which 2 are folding and 12 are in contemporary hand colouring. Folio, contemporary calf backed boards. Nuernberg: Im Verlag der Raw'schen Buchhandlg, 1794. A splendid copy of a most unusual and rare book dealing with the planning and laying out of an ideal monastery in late 18th century Germany by a Benedictine monk. Perhaps, because of the nature of the work, it is of a practical rather than aesthetic nature. The monastery is shown in plan form, showing all the buildings and surrounding fields. It is also shown in bird's eye perspective. Other plates show individual buildings, in a sort of late rural Baroque style, in larger perspective vignettes include the church, castle or manor house parsonage, village hall, an inn or tavern, farm houses, barns, etc. Other details include a quarry, sheds and minor farm… Read More

1958. YACHTING. The Story of American Yachting told in pictures. Text by William H. Taylor and Stanley Rosenfeld. [xiv], 276 pp. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs by Morris Rosenfeld. Folio, bound in recent full blue morocco, gilt-lettered spine. New York: Appleton Inc., 1958. First Edition. Illustrated by Morris Rosenfeld, reknown marine photographer, with nearly a hundred action photographs documenting the heritage of American yachting on the high seas. Why people sail, how yachting came to America, The America's Cup Races, Ocean racing and cruising, the life of a sailor, the contemporary yachting scene, et al. Fine copy in a full blue morocco deluxe binding.

1839. ROUGET DE LISLE, A. Chromagraphie. Four parts in one volume. 8; 8; 16; 12, 8 pp., illustrated with four wood-engraved vignettes, 10 folding hand-coloured lithographed plates showing over 100 pairs of colour arrangements numbered figs. 1-74; three engraved folding diagrams of weaving designs by Durau fils; one plate of weaving tools and two of stitching details by Leblanc and one fold-out lithographic table. 4to, 275 x 190 mm., bound in publisher's lithographic boards, blue cloth spine, preserved in a slipcase and blue morocco backed chemise. Paris: Chez l'auteur, chez Pitois Levrault, 1839. BOUND WITH: Notice sur les machines et procedes relatifs a la composition, a l'impression des dessins et a la fabrication des tapisseries. [8], 4, [12] pp., illustrated with two full page engraved plates. Paris: n.p., 1845. First edition, third and most complete issue, of the first practical manual to employ Chevreul's Law of Simultaneous Colour Contrast, published the same year as his… Read More

1947. MATISSE, Henri. Repli. By André Rouveyre. 163, [6] pp., illustrated with 12 lithographs and 6 linocuts. 4to, bound loose as issued in the original bright yellow wrappers, chemise and slipcase. Uncut and unopened. Paris: Éditions du Belier, 1947. A pristine copy of this scarce book which shows off Matisse's skill as a portraitist and also his sense of whimsy. Rouveyre's poem "depicts the termination of a certain exhausted love" (Rouveyre, quoted in Duthuit). Matisse designed six portraits of a woman's head, representing the object of the poet's affections, to accompany the first part of Rouveyre's text; six variations of Rouveyre's portrait appear in the second part. One of 315 copies on Velin signed by Matisse and Rouveyre, of a total edition of 370. Duthuit 20.