Search Results: Titles starting with J from Michael Laird Rare Books LLC

Nagoya, Japan: Fukada Zuan Kenkyūjo, 1921. Taishō 10. Very good. Large 8vo (254 x 187 mm). COMPLETE SET of 30 color-printed embroidery patterns, housed in original illustrated envelope with original string fastener. First leaf with considerable foxing, others with very light foxing or offsetting, envelope with a few marks and creases. Overall in very good condition. ECLECTIC "NON-TRADITIONAL" 1920s EMBROIDERY DESIGNS FOR "EVERYDAY" ITEMS, SUBTLY DEMONSTRATING THE TAISHO ROMAN STYLE IN WHICH WESTERN MOTIFS WERE EMBRACED BY JAPANESE "MOGA" (MODERNS GIRLS). THESE JAPANESE YOUTHQUAKERS SOUGHT TO FREE THEMSELVES FROM TRADITIONAL JAPANESE COSTUME AND -- BY EXTENSION -- TRADITIONAL JAPANESE SOCIAL CUSTOM. Viewed today, the "Taisho Roman" aesthetic may seem somewhat tame but in fact it signaled a dramatic shift in fashion and culture that was fostered by growing liberalism and industrialization during the Taisho era (i.e. 1912-1926). This style is characterized by its "Roaring 20s" reinterpretation of… Read More

Tokyo and Nagoya: Gendai no Zuan Kōgei-sha / Fukada Zuan Kenkyūjo, 1922. Later printing. Very good. Square 4to (258 x 191 mm). COMPLETE with title plate, 2 ff. (preface) + 30 chromolithograph plates of designs (title plate foxed, occasional light browning or minor blemishes, verso of some plates with light print-through from recto). Original linen slipcase (one tie lacking), color woodblock-printed daisen title panel (foxed), surface of the linen cloth is worn (but not abraided), probably a manufacturing problem with the cloth because even the flaps and turn-ins inside are worn (but not abraided), and the contents are perfectly sound. RARE COMPLETE SET OF THIRTY TAISHŌ-PERIOD ANIMAL DESIGNS, BEING A LITTLE-KNOWN JAPANESE ARTIST'S HYBRID INTERPRETATION OF THE ART DECO MOVEMENT, WITH SOME PATTERNS INSPIRED BY CLASSICAL EUROPEAN AND RENAISSANCE MODELS, AS WELL AS ART NOUVEAU. In the Meiki era, "Zuan" pattern books were published as works of reference for the textile and garment industry; these… Read More

Tokyo: Hakubi Shuppansha, Aporo Shuppansha, 1930. First Edition. Very good. Together 4 items, folio (ca. 265 x 190 mm). A SMALL ASSEMBLAGE OF FABULOUS ART DECO COMMERCIAL ART, BEING FOUR HARMONICA SCORES MARKETED EXPRESSLY TO "MOGA," OR FREE-SPIRITED JAPANESE "MODERN GIRLS" OF THE EARLY 30s. The present harmonica scores were clearly intended for cosmopolitan Japanese MOGA, Japan's first recognizable youth culture: these young women rejected traditional kimonos and conservative societal values to embrace mass consumerism and Western cultural imports such as Hollywood films, department stores, dance halls, jazz orchestras, pants, cigarettes, and the modern city. MOGA began to wear their hair (and their skirts) short in the style of American flappers, while men dressed as dandified French garçonnes. These women removed themselves from the previous state-mandated expectations and laws: while exuding a sense of independence, MOGA attracted widespread criticism, but their influence remains to this day.… Read More

Yokohama, Japan: Yokohama Nursery Co., Ltd. Together 100 specimens mounted on large folio sheets; each sheet is folded once to form 4 "pages," the first two being bland (protecting the specimens), the specimens are carefully mounted on "page 3," the verso of which is blank. The folded sheets measure 39 x 26 cm. Housed in two original loose boards, with tipped- in hand-painted title plate. Original binding string present at top of upper board, no others located. Corners lightly bumped. A few small scratches, a minor scrape, and a small stain to the upper board illustration. Specimen no. 30 lacks handwritten label but is captioned on the washi folio. Some wear, foxing, and occasional tears to folio extremities. Occasional water stains to folios also, not affecting specimens or labels. Housed in modern custom-made Paulownia wood box and purple cloth chemise (furoshiki). ASTONISHING COLLECTION OF ONE HUNDRED CUTTINGS OF JAPANESE ALPINE PLANTS GATHERED BY THE PIONEERING HORTICULTURALISTS AT THE YOKOHAMA… Read More

Midlothian & Waxahachie, TX: Penn Jones Publications, 1976. vol. 1 no. 1. Staplebound. Very Good. 4to. Original photocopy, folded (unstapled) as issued. 16 pp. The rarest of all the original "Deep State" conspiracy theories, Deep in the Heart of Texas, namely vol. 1 no. 1 of Penn Jones's "Continuing Inquiry." This original mission of this pioneering Texas newsletter was to debunk the Warren Commission report; the focus of "The Continuing Inquiry" soon broadened to encompass all aspects of the ongoing powers of Deep State America during the critical years of 1976-1984. Seemingly NO lead was too trivial for the editor, Penn Jones (1914-1998), who was among the earliest to publicly challenge the "official" narrative of the JFK assassination. As the newsletter continued into the Reagan years, Jones was quick to point out the increasing power of the Deep State and expand his newsletter to include reportage on aspects and incidents that led back to the players in the JFK assassination. For a lengthy… Read More

Very good. 9.5 x 7.5 inches. Photographer's blue stamp on verso. JOHN CAGE MURDERS MODERN MUSIC. Extraordinary signed photograph of the transformational avant-garde American composer John Cage (1912-1992) by Jim Tuttle. Taken in Buffalo, NY, in March 1968, Cage points a toy machine gun at the stage in a performance of David Rosenboom's "To That Predestined Dancing Place," a work in three movements scored for "percussion quartet with theatrical elements." The performance occurred at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for the 2nd Festival of the Arts. At the same event Cage performed his "A Room, She Is Asleep" with the New Percussion Quartet. Signed and inscribed in blue ink by Cage, New York (1970s) to Jennifer Adamson, daughter of the great autograph collector Steve Adamson (1937-2020). In fine condition, although the signature is difficult to read on account of the contrast of the ink on the kettle drums (!) An excellent and unusual John Cage photograph. .

Los Angeles: Universal Pictures, 1974. First Edition. Very good. Pressbook (8 1/2" x 11" stapled as issued). 9 ff. printed in b/w on glossy paper (rectos only). Preserved in mylar sleeve. Uncommon promo materials for one of the earliest Janis Joplin documentaries. "Janis: A Film" is justly considered to be a major source of footage for all subsequent works on the subject. "Janis" consists almost entirely of archival footage. Directed by Howard Alk and Seaton Findlay, the film was innovative on account of its total lack of narration, and almost none of the footage was identified by captions. "Janis" is almost unsettling due to the fact that no one who appears in the film communicates that the subject of the documentary had actually died. The present pressbook was distributed to movie theaters all around the U.S. and Canada; there are multiple images and publicity stills presented in multiple resolutions and sizes (from 14 to 400 lines). All the film credits and song titles appear on fol. 1 (as do… Read More