Rare books from Le Bookiniste, ABAA-ILAB-IOBA

Folio (14 x 11 inches; 355 x 280 mm), bound volume in illustrated wrappers (soft cover).
SIGNED and numbered 36/70 by Joseph Beuys on the front cover. A rare collection of the first year of Pour, a radical/anarchist, French-language magazine in Brussels, for 1973-74. Beuys was a supporter of Pour and sometimes raised money on behalf of the magazine, which at first appeared twice monthly and then became a weekly. The cover is stamped in German and English with the contact details for Beuys's organization in Düsseldorf, the Organization for Direct Democracy Through Referendum.
The collection begins with a prospectus, laying out the aims of the magazine as well as details on circulation and financing. That's followed by the 29 issues published during the first year, each containing 8 pages, with the exception of a 16-page special issue.
Pour focused on Belgian politics, strikes, antinuclear actions, prisons, deficiencies in the health system, feminism, outrages by multinational corporations and the… Read More

Quarto (11 x 8 1/2 inches; 280 x 215 mm), [30] leaves in stapled wrappers, printed on rectos only (soft cover).
SIGNED by James Schuyler and Fairfield Porter on the limitation page of this collection, which features poems by Schuyler and illustrations by Porter (including the cover). This is letter "P" of only 26 lettered copies, signed by both men, from a total edition of 300.
This volume is a terrific collaboration between two key members of the New York School literary and art scene, who lived together from 1961 to 1973. In 1980, Schuyler won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for "The Morning of the Poem."
SCARCE signed by author and illustrator.
CONDITION: A fresh copy with light soiling and a few indents to wrappers and rusting of staples. A beautiful, Near Fine copy.

Quarto (12 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches; 307 x 220 mm), pp. [8], ix-xlvii, [1] [introduction], 195 [plates], [3], 199-211, [1] [appendix], in publisher's original brown cloth, lacking the rare dust jacket.
A celebration of Alexander Tairov's pathbreaking Kamerny Theatre in Moscow, featuring set and costume designs as well as scenes from the theatre's first 20 years. Text entirely in Russian. Profusely illustrated in both color and black and white, the book showcases each production of the Kamerny, founded by Alexander Tairov (1885-1950 ) and his wife, the actress Alisa Koonen (1889-1974).
Tairov brought many non-Russian productions to the Kamerny, including works by Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Eugene O'Neill, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde. Tairov's productions were known for their magnificent set and costume designs, and he collaborated with some of the most acclaimed avant-garde artists of the day, including Alexandra Exter and Natalia Goncharova. Indeed, it's possible to see the evolution of… Read More

Square Octavo (8 1/8 inches; 205 mm), 219, [1] pages in publisher's original blue cloth, titles in silver to spine, in a photo-illustrated dust jacket.
SIGNED by many of the contributors to this important (and now classic) anthology of New York School poets, featuring works by nine poets and illustrations by an equal number of artists. Signed on the table of contents page by: Frank Lima, Red Grooms, Norman Bluhm, Joe Brainard, Alex Katz, John Bernard Myers, Alan D'Archangelo, Tony Towle, Barbara Guest, Kenneth Koch, John Ashbery, Robert Goodnough, and Kenward Elmslie.
Interesting, lengthy introduction by John Bernard Myers, who championed many poets of the 1950s and published early works by Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch, and others, either in separate editions or through his poetry journal Semi-Colon.
Unsigned copies of this book are easily obtainable, but copies signed by so many of the contributors are not often seen in the market. A beautiful copy of this landmark anthology, signed by… Read More

Montréal: Les Éditions de l'Arbre, 1945. First Edition, First Printing. Small Quarto (9 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches; 240 x 190 mm), 96,[4] pages plus 38 black-and-white plates, in pictorial wrappers.INSCRIBED by Fernand Léger on the half title: "Alex Z Wiener / Très Amicalement / F Léger." A catalogue featuring some of Léger's works from 1938 to 1944. With an essay by Léger himself as well as laudatory articles by M.-A. Couturier, Maurice Gagnon, S. Giedion, S.M. Kootz, and J.J. Sweeney. Poem by François Hertel. Text entirely in French. SCARCE SIGNED. CONDITION: Moderate soil and dampstaining to upper wrapper, smudges to verso of upper wrapper and to front end paper. Some edge wear and creasing. Still, about Very Good.

[Singleton, Frederic Thoreau]. Poster Lore: A Journal of Enthusiasm Devoted to the Appreciation of Modern Posters [February 1896, Number 2]. Kansas City, Missouri: Frederic Thoreau Singleton at the Sign of the Red Pale, 1896. First Edition, First Printing. 16 mo (6 1/4 x 4 3/4 inches; 160 x 120 mm), pages [10], 42-62, original decorated wrappers in red and black, enclosed in a modern box.A single volume (February 1896) of a short-lived periodical devoted to the modern poster. Complete, with the 11 supplementary illustrations laid in (three in color), reproducing the work of R. Cunningham, R.B. Teachenor, E.B. Bird, A.H. Clark, F.A.M. Schieffelin, T.B. Hapgood, Wilber Macey Stone, and Edward Penfield. Short articles by Arthur Stedman, Emile Leclerc, Wilber Macey Stone, and R. Cunningham. Woodcut initials and ornaments by Frederic Thoreau Singleton, the publisher (who was also the typesetter and designer).Poster Lore is regarded as one of the earliest American publications about posters. Only five… Read More

Ellsworth, Maine: Backwoods Broadsides / Sylvester Pollet, 1994-2006. First Edition, First Printing. A rare complete set of the Backwoods Broadsides Chaplet Series, featuring 100 different poets. Each is one of only 26 lettered and SIGNED copies. (Our set is letter Y.) Total edition sizes ranged from 300 copies at the beginning of the series in 1994 to 750 copies when the series ended in 2006. Each broadside appears on a single sheet, folded to create 8 panels. 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches (215 x 90 mm) when folded. The series contains a remarkable collection of writers, including established poets such as Amiri Baraka, Robert Creeley, Jerome Rothenberg, Anne Waldman, Alice Notley, Diane Di Prima, Dick Higgins, Jackson Mac Low, Joanne Kyger, Jack Hirschman, Carl Rakosi, Aram Saroyan, Anselm Hollo, and many others. But it's not just big names. There are many emerging or lesser-known poets as well. (Please inquire for a complete list.)Sylvester Pollet (1939-2007) was the mastermind behind this series. He was… Read More

Éluard, Paul and André Breton. [A Postcard Signed by Both Surrealists]. 1935.Postcard measuring 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (88 x 140 mm).Postcard signed by the two leading Surrealists, Paul Éluard and André Breton, to Brussels music publisher Georges Vriamont. Éluard has addressed the card in black ink and written: "Très amical souvenir," signing it underneath. Breton added his signature in green ink under Éluard's signature. The verso is a black-and-white photograph of four bridges in Prague; the postcard was issued by Z. Broz of Prague.Éluard and Breton traveled to Prague from March 27 to April 10, 1935, following the opening of the first Czech Surrealist group exhibition. Breton gave four talks on Surrealist art, while Éluard spoke on Surrealist poetry. (Gérard Durozoi, History of the Surrealist Movement, The University of Chicago Press, 2002, page 294.)An interesting bit of Surrealist ephemera signed by the two leading Surrealists. RARE. CONDITION: Light soiling. Near Fine.

Robeson, Paul, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Roscoe Dungee.
To the President and Congress of the United States of America [Petition] and Typed Letter Bearing Signatures of Robeson, Du Bois, and Dungee. New York: [Communist Party USA], 1947.
Single-page typed letter and two-page petition, printed on rectos only. Each page 8 1/2 x 11 inches (215 x 280 mm).
A rare typed letter bearing signatures of Paul Robeson, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Roscoe Dungee, asking recipients to sign a petition against banning the Communist Party USA. We believe the signatures were printed, as does an autograph expert we consulted.
In any case, the three African-American leaders sprang into action after President Truman's Labor Secretary, Lewis B. Schwellenbach, told Congress that the Communist Party should be outlawed. Schwellenbach was concerned about Communist control and infiltration of labor unions and thought no Communist should be allowed to lead a union.
The letter is dated March 22, 1947, and carries the address of 23 West 26th… Read More

Moscow: A.A. Gorozhankin and K.A. Fisher, 1911-12. Twenty-six postcards, each 5 1/2 x 3 3/8 inches (138 x 84 mm), featuring black-and-white photos of scenes from Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and text descriptions in Russian. The Cherry Orchard opened at the Moscow Art Theatre on January 17, 1904, in a production directed by Konstantin Stanislavsky just six months before the death of Chekhov. In the play, a family is forced to sell their estate at auction to pay their debts. The buyer, Lopakhin, plans to cut down the family's beloved cherry orchard so he can build cottages on the estate. These postcards feature cast members from early productions: Olga Knipper as Madame Ranevskaya (the estate owner), Maria Lilina as Anya (her daughter), Margarita Savitskaya as Varya (foster daughter), Stanislavsky himself as Gaev (Ranevskaya's brother), Leonid Leonidov as Lopakhin, Vladimir Gribunin as Simeonov-Pishchik (a landowner), Elena Muratova as Charoltta Ivanovna (a governess), Alexander Artyom as Firs… Read More

Brussels: Éditions Nicolas Flamel, 1933. First Edition, First Printing. Small Quarto (10 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches; 265 x 215 mm), 36 pages, in original orange wrappers, titles to upper wrapper in black, and housed in a black slipcase. INSCRIBED by Belgian Surrealist artist and writer E.L.T. Mesens on the half title to French Surrealist artist and poet Georges Hugnet: "À Georges Hugnet, / très cordialement / Mesens / décembre 1933." A wonderful association between two Surrealists. This alphabet book, written entirely in French, features short poems or phrases following each letter of the alphabet. Paul Éluard has written a preface, while the frontispiece collage is by Mesens himself. One of 500 numbered copies printed on Featherweight vélin, following 3 copies on Japon nacré and 13 on Hollande van Gelder. Mesens founded the publisher, Éditions Nicolas Flamel, and named it after the medieval scribe and manuscript seller. "There can be no doubt that Alphabet sourd aveugle is the key work in Mesens's… Read More

Paris: Louis Carré, 1956. First Edition. Small Quarto (10 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches; 275 x 192 mm), 67, [9] pages, sewn into printed wrappers with the original glassine dust jacket and with a "compliments" card laid in from the gallery. A sumptuous catalogue for an exhibition of Fernand Léger's landscape paintings at Galerie Louis Carré in Paris from November 19 to December 31, 1954. One of 750 copies printed on Vélin d'Arches by Coulouma and Mourlot Frères in Paris. The catalogue contains 6 lithographs in color -- including two double-page spreads -- as well as illustrations in ink throughout. There's also the text of a three-way conversation between Léger, the poet Blaise Cendrars, and gallery owner Louis Carré, in which they talk about the works in the exhibition, which span the years 1905-1953. Léger and Cendrars were old friends and had collaborated on a book, Paris ma ville, a love letter to the city of Paris. Also featured: a list of the works shown in the exhibition, a preface by Cendrars,… Read More

New York: Aspen Communications Inc., [1970-71]. First Edition. Folder measuring 11 inches (285 mm) square containing books, flyers, and posters (soft cover). A complete issue of Phyllis Johnson's iconic multimedia arts publication, Aspen Magazine, which was published from 1965 to 1971. This issue is often called the Fluxus issue because of the involvement of Fluxus impresario George Maciunas and other artists associated with this experimental art community of the '60s and '70s. Like all the other Aspen issues, this one contains a multitude of artists' works loosely laid in to a folder. All 14 sections are present (collation based on the UbuWeb avant-garde "shadow library" at ubu.com): Section 1: The outside folder, which encloses sections 2 through 14. Editorial note by Dan Graham, table of contents, and brief biographies of the contributing artists. Cover painting by Jo Baer. Section 2: Small booklet: In Place of a Lecture: Three Musics for Two Voices, by Eleanor Antin and David Antin. Section 3:… Read More

Wuppertal, Germany: Galerie Parnass, 1959. First Edition, First Printing. SIGNED by André Frénaud and the illustrator, Raoul Ubac. A book of 14 poems by the French poet André Frénaud, illustrated with six original woodcuts by the Belgian artist Raoul Ubac. Frénaud's poems are in French, with accompanying translations into German by Paul Pörtner. This is copy #80 of 120 hand-numbered copies signed by both Frénaud and Ubac. PHYSICAL DETAILS: Quarto, loose signatures totaling 50 [10] pages laid in a gray cloth portfolio. Titles in black to spine. With a gray cloth slipcase. CONDITION: End papers have some foxing. Otherwise, Fine. The matching cloth slipcase is split along the backstrip (nearly detached) and has some frayed edges. A beautiful fine-press collaboration between Frénaud and Ubac, one of several joint initiatives by the poet and illustrator. SCARCE.

New York: Library & Museum of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, 1985. First Edition, First Printing. Rare exhibition catalogue celebrating Caffe Cino, widely considered the birthplace of Off Off Broadway. The exhibition took place from March 5 to May 11, 1985, at the Vincent Astor Gallery of the Library & Museum of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Joe Cino (1931-1967) opened the tiny space as a coffee house at 31 Cornelia Street in the West Village in 1958. He soon began hosting poetry readings that developed into readings of plays by actors and then performances of plays. "By 1960 actors had been joined by directors, designers, and more frequently by playwrights," Leah D. Frank writes in an essay published in this catalogue. In 1965, Caffe Cino (along with Cafe La Mama) received a special Obie award "for creating opportunities for new playwrights to confront audiences and gain experience of the real theatre." Deprived of opportunities in commercial theater, young playwrights, actors,… Read More