BARBIER, G E o RGE Le Bonheur du Jour ou les Graces à la Mode, texte et dessins par George Barbier. Paris, Chez Meyniel, 1924. 2‘400 € [ref: 97568]
The sixteen plates of Le Bonheur du Jour are amongst the largest and most carefully meditated of Barbier’s designs. So ambitious was this album that it took him from 1920 to 1924 to complete it to his satisfaction. A study of manners and fashion, it was designed to appeal both to those who like to link the present to the past, and to observers of the current scene.
Barbier begins his introduction with a summary of fashion illustration from the XVI century onwards, finding a specific predecessor for his own work in that of Horace Vernet’s record of First Empire costume, Incroyables et merveilleuses, published around a hundred years earlier. Barbier saw similarities between the period after the Napoleonic Wars and his own post-Great War era, with dandies and their ladies free at last to enjoy frivolities and sensuality.
Lithographs hand-coloured in pochoir by Henri Reidel after Barbier, some with fully coloured backgrounds. Framed and glazed, 52 by 38.5cm. PRICE IS PER PIECE.
BARRABAND
Jacques Barraband was the finest ornithological artist of his time. The son of a weaver at the Aubusson Factory, he is first mentioned as a pupil of Joseph Malaine (1745-1809), the eminent flower painter, and is known to have worked for both the Gobelin Factory and the porcelain factory of Sèvres. His most important work was undoubtedly the 300 or so drawings that he produced for François Levaillant’s three great ornithological monographs - Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets; Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de Paradis et des rolliers; Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d’Afrique.
BARRABAND, J A cqu E s A Group of Four Toucans. [Paris, 1806].
15‘000 € [ref: 87812]
Colour-printed stipple engraving, finished by hand. Dimensions of the plate: approx. 52 x 34 cm. Overall dimensions: 63.5 x 45.5 cm, framed and glazed.
BARRABAND, J A cqu E s A Group of Four Parrots. Paris, Langlois, [1805].
7‘200 € [ref: 100083]
Stipple engravings, printed in colours and finished by hand, with fine, strong colour, in matching handmade gold leaf frames. Overall size: 41cm by 58cm. Dimensions: 330 by 240mm. (13 by 9.50 inches).
BARRABAND, [J A cqu E s ]. L’Amazone Tapiré en jaune. No. 89. Paris, Langlois, 1805.
1‘800 € [ref: 90670]
From Levaillant’s Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets, which is considered the most comprehensive and complete catalogue on the subject.
Stipple engraving, printed in colours and finished by hand, with good strong colour, some spotting. Dimensions: platemark 330 by 260 mm (13 by 10.25 inches), sheet 460 by 310 mm. (18 by 12 1/4 inches).
BESLER
Magnificent plates from Hortus Eystettensis, one of the earliest and most famous works in the field by Basil Besler. The Hortus Eystettensis is a pictorial record of the flowers grown in the greatest German garden of its time, that of Prince Bishop of Eichstatt, Johann Conrad von Gemmingen. The garden was begun by Joachim Camerarius in 1596 and, after his death in 1598, completed by Basil Besler, a pharmacist from Nuremberg. A visitor, Philipp Hainhofer, in 1611 marvelled at the eight gardens, each containing ‘flowers from a different country; they varied in the beds and flowers, especially in the beautiful roses, lilies, tulips.’ The Hortus records this variety and beauty. The book is exceptional in every sense; in its variety and range of flowers, in its size, in its fine quality of engraving. It is also one of the earliest records of flowers from a specific, documented garden. Besler was asked to complete the work by Gemmingen in 1606; the huge nature of the task was clear to Besler and he enlisted the help of his younger brother Hieronymus and Ludwig Jungermann, a nephew of Camerarius. Printing the Hortus may have begun as early as 1607. Drawings were made in situ and from specimens sent by the Bishop to Nuremberg; the Bishop reported to Hainhofer that he had boxes of fresh flowers sent every week to Besler at Nuremberg for sketching. A team of at least 10 engravers were employed to translate the drawings to copperplates.
BE s LER, B A s ILI us (A Group of Four Peonies). Nuremberg and Eichstatt, 1640.
16‘800 € [ref: 96802]
Plate size: 50cm x 44 cm.
Four copper engraved plates with hand-colour. Framed and Glazed, Overall Size: 51.2 x 60.3 cm.
BE s LER, B A s ILI us [A Group of Six Tulips ]. Nuremberg and Eichstatt. 1640
35,000 € [ref: 96903]
Plate size: 50cm x 44 cm.
Six copper engraved plates with hand-colour. Framed and glazed. overall size: 55.5 by 63.5cm.
The second half of the eighteenth century saw a boom in natural history publications in France fuelled by such works as Buffon’s Histoire Naturelle.The accession of Louis XVI in 1774 was followed by a relaxation in the regulation of the book trade making it easier for authors to publish their own works. No other writer was to take such copious advantage of these two developments as Pierre-Joseph Buchoz (1731-1807), a French physician, lawyer and naturalist. His works are characterised by the beauty of the illustrations, and their rarity owing to the small size of the print runs.
B uc H o Z, P IERRE J os EPH A Group of 4 Tulips. Collection coloriée des plus belles variétés de Tulipes qu’on cultive dans les Jardins des Fleuristes. Paris, The Author, 1781.
6,500 € [ref: 101441]
A Group of 4 hand-coloured engraved plates of tulips, in matching silver leaf frames. Dimensions: 34.6cm by 48.5cm.
B uc H o Z, P IERRE J os EPH A Group of 6 Tulips. Collection coloriée des plus belles variétés de Tulipes qu’on cultive dans les Jardins des Fleuristes. Paris, The Author, 1781.
10‘000 € [ref: 101402]
A Group of 6 hand-coloured engraved plates of tulips, in matching silver leaf frames. Dimensions: 34.6cm by 48.5cm.
B uc H o Z, P IERRE J os EPH A Group of Six Hyacinths. Collection coloriée des plus belles variétés de Jacinthes, qu’on monte aux Curieux dans les Jardins des Fleuristes d’Harlem. Paris, The Author, 1781.
7‘200 € [ref: 99924]
A Group of 6 hand-coloured engraved plates of hyacinths. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 34.5cm by 46.5cm.
Pith seems not to have been adopted for painting until about 1820. Some European museums claim that their paintings on pith (often erroneously called “rice paper” or “mulberry pith”) come from the end of the eighteenth century but there do not seem to be any dateable examples that are so early.There is a record of the Kaiser Franz of Austria buying some albums from an English Consul-General Watts in 1826. We know of an Italian Count who visited Canton in 1828 and had over 350 paintings on pith in his baggage when he died in Ambon two years later. In the British Library there is a scrap-book containing six pith paintings and a journal entry by a serving British officer who sent them home from India in 1829. These examples and contemporary accounts by visitors to Canton suggest that there was a flourishing trade in pith paintings by the early 1830s.
Pith presumably came into use for painting to satisfy the increasing demand for small, inexpensive and easily transported souvenirs, following the massive growth in the China Trade in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Paintings in oils, on board and canvas were costly and difficult to carry home. Earlier and more prestigious export water-colours had often been on a larger scale and painted on fine Chinese paper or on paper imported from Europe. The albums of pith paintings (and later the little glass-fronted boxes) were inexpensive, light, easy to pack and gave the pictures some protection on the long voyage home. Because many were sold in albums and hence protected from the light, they retain their bright colours to this day.
Pith comes from the central column of spongy cellular tissue in the stem of a small tree called Tetrapanax Papyrifera, native to south-west China. It has had a variety of uses, some going back many centuries. At the imperial court both men and women wore coloured flowers made from pith in their hair. For use in painting, it is cut by hand with a knife into thin sheets from short lengths of the spongy tissue. Cutting is highly skilled and the constraints of the process mean that the finished sheets for painting seldom, if ever, measure more than about 30cms by 20cms. The sheets are dried, trimmed and used for painting without any further processing. Because of the nature of pith and its cellular structure, the gouache used by the Chinese sat on the surface and produced a bright and even sparkling effect. Very fine detail could be achieved but pith did not lend itself to the flat wash of colour favoured for European watercolours. Carl Crossman in his book The Decorative Arts of the China Trade (originally published under the title The China Trade) gives an excellent list of export painters with a note of those known to have painted on pith. These include Tingqua, Sunqua and Youqua. From 1757 until 1842 Canton was the only Chinese port open to trade with the west and it is no surprise that of the eight studios identified by Crossman as producing works on pith, six were in Canton.
It seems that the 1830s and 1840s may have been the heyday of pith painting. The international trading bases, the waterfront ‘factories’ on the ‘Hongs’ in Canton, where they were produced, were partially burnt during the First Opium War (1839-41) and totally destroyed in a fire of 1856. The foreign trading companies then moved to Honan and subsequently put up splendid new offices on reclaimed land at Shamian Island, a little up river. As the result of the Treaty of Nanking, in 1842 additional Chinese ports were opened up for foreign trade and Hong Kong was established as a major trading centre. By 1860 references to China in the Illustrated London News, plentiful three years earlier, were few and far between. That is not to say that painting on pith ceased. Nicholas the second was given paintings on pith when he visited Canton in 1891 and the last Emperor is said to have sent him a gift which included pith paintings in 1907 (though these could have been examples of much earlier work). Painters on pith did not in general sign their work (the sole exception is Sunqua whose name can be found on the face of three paintings on pith).
There are collections of paintings on pith in the Ashmolean, the British Museum, the Fitzwilliam, the Hermitage, the Peabody/Essex Museum in Massachusetts and the Hong Kong Museum of Art. However, because paintings on pith are not in general regarded as fine art, they are usually to be found in ethnographic or specialised collections.
16‘000 € [ref: 89966]
[CHINA EXPORT WATERCOLOURS ON PITH PAPER] . A Group of twelve Butterflies and Insects
14‘400 € [ref: 97276]
Watercolour and gouache studies on pith paper, overall dimensions 33 x 23.5cm., framed and glazed.
[
c HINA EXP o RT WATER co L ou R s o N PITH PAPER]. A Group of Twelve Chinese Junks and Barges. c. 1860.
15‘000 € [ref: 95017]
T he vessels depic T ed include varian T s of T he T radi T ional flaT - boTTomed J unk , T he similar bu T e uropean - hulled l orcha , s TaT e and pleasure barges, and a large floaTing duck house
Watercolour and gouache studies on pith paper, edged in blue silk ribbon. Framed and glazed, overall size: 36cm by 26cm.
[
c HINA EXP o RT WATER co L ou R s o N PITH PAPER]. A Group of Twelve Deities. Canton, 2nd half of 19th century].
13‘200 € [ref: 91710]
A lovely group of these fragile watercolours, showing colourful costumes of Chinese deities and processional characters. In a fine original binding with svastikas, symbol of prosperity and good fortune.
A group of 12 watercolour and gouache studies on pith paper; occasional spotting. Contemporary red, green and black patterned silk binding, with a label inscribed in ink in Chinese and French ‘Dieux’. Framed and glazed, overall size: 33cm by 25cm.
[ c HINA EXP o RT WATER co L ou R s o N PITH PAPER]. A Group of Twelve Shells.
15,000 € [ref: 99366]
Watercolour and gouache studies on pith paper of Shells. Framed and glazed, overall size: 39.3cm by 27.4cm.
[CHINA EXPORT WATERCOLOURS ON PITH PAPER]. A Set of Twelve Processions.
China, ca. 1870].
13‘200 € [ref: 85217]
Watercolour and gouache studies on pith paper, framed by blue silk ribbon, all mounted, overall dimensions 33 x 23.5cm., framed and glazed. Mounted size 28 x 41 cm: Image size 22 x 33 cm
[ c HINE s E sc H oo L]. Chinese Craft on the Pearl River. Canton, circa 1810.
4‘200 € [ref: 101451]
Well execuTed and highly aTmospheric WaTercolours capTuring The imporTance of The river for Trade in early nineTeenTh cenTury china
A fine group of unusual and very attractive depictions of river life. Typically with the river in the foreground with a finely executed drawing of a native boat, the backgrounds showing landscape scenes interspersed with occasional architectural details.
The Pearl River is so named because of the pearl-colored shells that lie at the bottom of the river in the section that flows through the city of Guangzhou. Formerly often known as the Canton River, it is an extensive river system in southern China. The name ‘Pearl River’ is also often used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Xi (’West’), Bei (’North’), and Dong (’East’) rivers of Guangdong. These rivers are all considered tributaries of the Pearl River because they share a common delta, the Pearl River Delta. Measured from the farthest reaches of the Xi River, the Pearl River system is China’s third-longest river, 2,400 kilometres, after the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and second largest by volume, after the Yangtze.
A pencil, water colour and body colour drawing of craft, heightened with white on paper watermarked ‘J Whatman 1804’ and ‘1805’. Framed and glazed, overall size: 67.8cm by 57.3cm.
[ c HINA EXP o RT WATER co L ou R s o N PITH PAPER]. A Group of Six Courtly Ladies at Leisure. Canton, 2nd half of 19th century].
9‘000 € [ref: 94512]
an exquisiTe group of inTerior scenes, exclusively of nobleWomen and ladies in WaiTing, engaging in various genTeel acTiviTies, such as floWer arranging, painTing, poeTry reading and WriTing, surrounded by eleganT qing dynasTy furniTure and ornamenTs, including unusual asymmeTrical display cabineTs, exoTic bird sWings, and porcelain vases, all sTanding or siTTing on elaboraTely paTTerned silk carpeTs
Watercolour and gouache on pith paper, edged in turquoise silk ribbon and laid on paper; glazed and framed. Overall 27 x 39cm.
[ c HINA EXP o RT WATER co L ou R s o N PITH PAPER]. A Group of Twelve Exotic Birds. Mid 19th Century
15,000 € [ref: 97999]
A Group of 12 water-colour and gouache illustrations on pith paper framed by a blue silk ribbon and laid down on paper, some splits and small chips, mostly to margins, otherwise very bright and finely detailed group of paintings. Framed and glazed, overall size: 35.2cm by 26.2cm. 35.2cm by 26.2cm
fu RBER, R o BERT Twelve months of flowers. [London, 1730-32].
51‘000 € [ref: 89261]
rare compleTe seT of WhaT Was essenTially a ground-breaking and highly decoraTive floWers caTalogue: an incomparable record of The mosT sorT-afTer Types and varieTies of floWer ThaT could be groWn in TemperaTe regions during The early eighTeenTh cenTury here WiTh fine hand-colouring
In the early eighteenth century, the most important trade association for the purchase, sale, and exchange of plants and seeds was the Society of Gardeners. Its members would bring specimens to monthly meetings at a coffee-house in Chelsea for discussion and to standardise plant names. For reference purposes a selection of the plants might be drawn. This, combined with the wishes of clients to have notes on cultivation, led to the evolution of illustrated catalogues, often handsomely produced.
Of all the publications produced by members of the Society of Gardeners, that of Robert Furber (circa 1674-1756) displayed the most originality. His nursery, in Kensington Road near Hyde Park, was extremely successful, and having already published a couple of modest lists, he produced the present, extravagant catalogue illustrated in the grand manner.
Rather than producing a conventional brochure, Furber engaged the Flemish artist, Pieter Casteels (1684-1749), resident in London and well-known for his still-life compositions, to execute 12 portrayals of flowers bunched in ornamental vases and urns, one for each month of the year. Each presented a baroque bouquet of more than thirty different flowers, all obtainable from the Furber nursery. Casteels completed his commission by September 1731, upon which subscribers were reminded to send the balance of their subscription. A thirteenth plate with the subscribers’ names within a floral border was produced in March 1732 dedicated to Frederick, Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the 435 subscribers. Sets of the plates were made available to non-subscribers at one pound five shillings plain, or two pounds twelve shillings and six pence coloured. A number against every flower, identified in a key at the bottom of the plate, was used by customers when ordering.
Furber’s catalogue was produced to appeal to florists, and, reflecting the taste of the day, there are 26 varieties of auricula, and nineteen of the anenome. Hyacinth, tulip, and ranunculas are also well represented.
The catalogue was a huge success, and the images were used as the basis for later engravings by print makers such as Robert Sayer and John Overton, as well being used in embroidery and other decorative arts.
Twelve hand-coloured plates designed by Pieter Casteels and engraved by H. Fletcher, plus the Floral Calendar (13). Framed and glazed, overall size: 68cm by 55cm.
GALLE s I o , G I o RGI o [A Group of Six Grapes] [Pomona Italiana Ossia Trattato Degli Alberi Fruttiferi]. Pisa, 1817-[1839].
7‘800 € [ref: 99413]
The finesT iTalian Work on fruiTs, remarkable for colouring which is at once delicate and intense. The plates appeared in 41 parts, and Domenico del Pino, Antonio Serantoni and Isabella Bozzolini were among as many as twenty artists responsible for the designs. An almost equal number of engravers were involved, Giuseppe Pera, Giuseppe Carocci, Tommaso Nasi and Francesco Corsi being well represented. SA lawyer and a civil servant as well as a botanist, Gallesio conducted experiments in his fruit garden in Savona later quoted by Charles Darwin to illustrate the development of varieties. Although he died before completion of this work, he had left pre-eminent contributions to the study of Italian fruit.
Six hand-coloured plates of Grapes, printed in colour and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size: 42.5 by 57.5cm.
GI o VANN o LI, A L o I s I o . Group of Nine Grotesque Masks. Rome, Venanzio Monaldini, 1781
30‘000 € [ref: 100085]
rare sTrong impressions of eTchings of groTesque masks, afTer original designs by The iTalian (rome) arTisT and engraver aloisio giovannoli (1550-1618). The publisher claims that the masks were inspired by antiquity but a more likely source of inspiration is the work of Giulio Romano (Pouncey & Gere, Italian Drawings in the British Museum, Raphael and his circle, London 1962, plates 94, 113) and others including the French Renaissance artist René Boyvin (ca. 1525-1598). Published as Serie di Mascheroni Cavati dall’antico che per la prima volta escono in luce intagliati in rame opera utile a professori ed amatori delle belle arti. Plates are lettered either ‘Libro P[rimo]’ or ‘Libro S[econdo]’ and also numbered, inscribed ‘C.P’ (cum priviligio); Some have the artist’s name, ‘Ali Gio’. On some plates, this has been partially burnished out. There is no record of any previous issue of the plates, and Monaldini’s claim on the title-page (not present) that the prints here are ‘per la prima volta escono in luce’ makes it probable that these prints are published here for the first time.
4 Groups of 9 engraved plates of Grotesque Masks. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 69.3cm by 82cm.
GREIG, T[ H om A s ] W AT so N Ballet Slippers. Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1900.
scarce firsT ediTion
1‘500 € [ref: 101509]
‘The sixty-three ladies’ shoes now illustr ated have all belonged to and been worn by ladies of the 19th century. They have been most carefully selected to illustrate the variety and change of fashion during that period.’ Each page contains three nearly life-sized shoes except for a single shoe on frontispiece and last plate, which depicts Madame Cerri’s ballet slipper.
Chromolithographed illustration of a Green Silk Mule, printed with gold and silver inks, framed and glazed, overall size: 37cm by 52cm.
GREIG, T[HomAs] WATsoN A Group of Four Ladies’ Dress Shoes of the Nineteenth Century. Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1900.
6‘000 € [ref: 101447] scarce firsT ediTion
‘A group of four chromolithographed illustrations of shoes, some printed with gold and silver inks, framed and glazed, overall size: 37cm by 52cm.
GREIG, T[ H om A s ] W AT so N . A Group of Six Ladies’ Dress Shoes of the Nineteenth Century. Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1900.
9‘000 € [ref: 101449] scarce firsT ediTion.
A group of six chromolithographed illustrations of shoes, some printed with gold and silver inks, framed and glazed, overall size: 37cm by 52cm.
GREIG, T[ H om A s ] W AT so N . A Silk Mule. Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1900.
1‘500 € [ref: 101507] scarce firsT ediTion
Chromolithographed illustration of a Green Silk Mule, printed with gold and silver inks, framed and glazed, overall size: 37cm by 52cm.
HERB s T, J o HANN f RIEDRI c H W ILHEL m A Group of Six Crustaceans: Crabs. J.C. Fuessly, Zurich: c.1800
9‘600 € [ref: 101513]
a Winning combinaTion of arT and science Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst (1 November 1743 – 5 November 1807) was a German naturalist and entomologist. Herbst’s Naturgeschichte der Krabben und Krebse, issued in fascicules, was the first full survey of crustaceans. Recording many previously unknown species, it is to this day recognized as an important reference work.
He was the joint editor, with Carl Gustav Jablonsky, of Naturgeschichte der in- und ausländischen Insekten (1785–1806, 10 volumes), which was one of the first attempts at a complete survey of the order Coleoptera. Herbst’s other works included Anleitung zur Kenntnis der Insekten (1784–86, 3 volumes), Einleitung zur Kenntnis der Würmer (1787–88, 2 volumes) and Natursystem der ungeflügelten Insekten (Classification of unwinged insects) (1797–1800, 4 parts)
A Group of six hand-coloured engraved plates of Crabs by Schellenburg, P. Haas, Heidenreich and Ludwig Schmidt. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 53.8cm by 36.4cm.
HERB s T, J o HANN f RIEDRI c H W ILHEL m A Group of Six Crustaceans: Lobsters. J.C. Fuessly, Zurich: c.1800
9‘600 € [ref: 101512]
a Winning combinaTion of arT and science
A Group of six hand-coloured engraved plates of Lobsters by Schellenburg, P. Haas, Heidenreich and Ludwig Schmidt. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 53.8cm by 36.4cm.
HER sc H u ( P s E u D .) [ sc H u LTZ, H ERBERT ]. Automotive design for Alexis Kellner AG Berlin. Pullman Limousine coachwork design by Alexis Kellner AG for Audi Type SS or Type T. 1930.
1‘800 € [ref: 97398]
Finished in black over dark brown, with silver coachline and solid disc wheels, picked out against a subtle wooded landscape, this handsome limousine would have been designed to be powered by one of the 6- or 8-cylinder engines acquired by Audi’s majority shareholder, Jürgen Rasmussen, from the bankruptcy of American engine manufacturer, Rickenbacker, in 1928. This design dates to 1929 or 1930.
Founded by Alexis Kellner (1880-1953) in 1910, in Berlin, the eponymous Alexis Kellner AG coachbuilding company’s stylish automobile bodywork designs were immediately successful. This was demonstrated by the number of orders he received at the International Motor Show, in Berlin, in 1911. Kellner was noted for his inventiveness of small details, such as a concealed handle behind the driver’s seat for quickly and easily raising and lowering the car’s roof, concealed bonnet hinges, for aesthetic as well as aerodynamic reasons, and a suitcase mounted on the running board.
The company’s success reached its zenith in the 1920s, when it was famed for the luxury bodies it designed for such prestigious manufacturers as Audi, Austro-Daimler, Bugatti, Cadillac, Horch, Maybach, Mercedes, and others. This popularity stemmed from both the highly stylish external lines and the sumptuously appointed interiors. This emphasis on sensuous indulgence was even reflected in the company’s pioneering use of nude women in its advertising. But, as with so many manufacturers dependent on wealth and stability in the market, its fortunes crashed in 1929, and Alexis Kellner was declared bankrupt in 1930. The brand name and patents were sold to arch-rival, Drauz in Heilbronn, against whom Kellner had launched a plagiarism suit in 1920 over a particular body design, who shrewdly maintained the Kellner name for its sales company.
The stylishness of Kellner’s coachbuilding was perfectly captured and presented to the public by the artistry of Herbert Schultz. Unlike the flamboyant designs he portrayed so skilfully, Schultz was a modest man, despite being a creative all-rounder. In 1818, as a commercial artist and caricaturist working for the Berliner Tageblatt, he gained the admiration of fellow contributor, the artist George Grosz. Schultz had only recently come to Berlin, having graduated from the Royal Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig, followed by a spell at the Kunstakademie in Hamburg. Schultz’s skills as a graphic artist lent themselves perfectly to illustrating promotional catalogues to appeal to Alexis Kellner AG’s affluent clientele, which had included the royal household. Always signing his work as ‘Herschu’, he presented these imposing designs against subtle open country landscapes, glamourous night cityscapes, or floating in isolation against a solid ground.
Following the demise of Alexis Kellner AG, Schultz’s ongoing artistic career was finally blocked by the Nazi state when he refused to part with his half-Jewish wife. So the Herschu name faded, as did that of Kellner, only for both to be rekindled now in these recently rediscovered, breathtaking, design.
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on cream card, annotated in pencil with body type below, numbered ‘35’, in upper left corner, German copyright stamp on verso, 27 x 42 cm (10½ x 16½ in).
H uss EY, m R s T.[ H om A s ] J.[ o HN ] Group of Eight Illustrations of British Mycology, Fistulina hepatica, Agaricus pileolarius, Polyorus gigantius, Agaricus violaceus, Lycoperdon & Agaricus procerus. Reeve Brothers, London 1847
6‘700 € [ref: 101397]
This work is one of the most attractive British mycological publications. Mrs Hussey (1805 -1853) was a British mycologist living in Hayes, Middlesex and most the of the detailed plates are after her drawings.
Group of Eight hand-coloured plates, heightened with gum arabic, of fungi, mushrooms and toadstools. Framed and glazed: 31.7cm by 38.5cm
H uss EY, m R s T.[ H om A s ] J.[ o HN ] Group of Six Illustrations of British Mycology, Fistulina hepatica, Agaricus pileolarius, Polyorus gigantius, Agaricus violaceus, Lycoperdon & Agaricus procerus. Reeve Brothers, London 1847
5‘000 € [ref: 101396]
Group of Six hand-coloured plates, heightened with gum arabic, of fungi, mushrooms and toadstools. Framed and glazed: 31.7cm by 38.5cm.
THE f INE s T AND mos T m ETI cu L ous I m AGE s of THE moo N u NTIL THE 1970’ s
The Atlas photographique de la lune was the ultimate achievement of nineteenth century astronomical photography and can be regarded, along with Muybridge’s Animal Locomotion (1887) and Edward S. Curtis’ The North American Indian (1907-30), as one of the great publishing ventures of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Indeed it was not until the 1970’s when Bernard Lyot at the Pic du Midi Observatory obtained results that were clearly better than those of Loewy and Puisseaux. As with all books published in fascicles, complete copies are rare and the individual plates, amongst the largest and finest ever made, are prized by collectors for their sheer aesthetic beauty
Moritz Loewy (1833-1907) and Pierre-Henri Puiseux (1855-1928), assisted by Charles Morvan, undertook a project to make a complete series of detailed photographs of the moon and the lunar surface. The two astronomers devoted approximately 500 evenings to observations in order to make more than 6,000 photographs of the moon. Their very best images were then published in L’Atlas photographique de la Lune. This was issued in fascicles from 1896 and 1910 by the Observatory of Paris, the atlas represents the best and most complete overview of the work of Loewy and Puiseux.
The photographs were taken through the 24-inch coudé refractor, which had been invented by Loewy in 1889. The negatives were produced at the Paris Observatory with a camera attached to a telescope. Since the earth and the moon are moving constantly, the camera and telescope had to move accordingly to produce a clear image-no easy feat considering the long exposure times required to take photographs at night. Both were synchronized with the moon’s path by a sophisticated preset clock system, and the resulting images, such as this example, maintained an impressive amount of detail, even after subsequent photographic enlargement and transfer to an etching plate. The majority of the photographic reproductions by heliogravure were entrusted to M. Fillon at Heuse, Gaultier and Schutzenberger. The enlargements were used to decorate the showroom of the Ministère de l’Instruction Publique at the Exposition Universelle during the World’s Fair, which was held in Paris in 1900.
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P IERRE -H ENRI P u I s E u X MAUROLYCUS_WERNER_SACROBOSCO. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101298]
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI BOUSSINGAULT _ VLACQ _ MAUROLYCUS. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101432]
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI . DELAMBRE_MANILIUS_BESSEL. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101431]
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI . GEMMA FRISIUS_SACROBOSCO_DESCARTES. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101433]
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI MER DE LA SÉRÉNITÉ_ARCHIMÈDE_PLATON. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101429]
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI MER DU NECTAR_MER DE LA FÉCONDITÉ_POSIDONIUS. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101428]
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI . PETAVIUS_LANGRENUS_MER DES CRISES. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101437]
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI . PÔLE SUD _ SCHICKHARD _ GASSENDI. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101434
L o EWY, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IER RE -H ENRI PÔLE SUD_PITISCUS_ZAGUT. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101430]
L o EW Y, m o RITZ ; P u I s E u X, P IERRE -H ENRI POSIDONIUS_ATLAS_CORNE BORÉALE. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1899-1910.
3‘000 € [ref: 101436]
m ANETTI
Storia naturale degli uccelli... was one of the finest bird books issued to that date and one of the most sumptuous publications of the eighteenth century in Italy (Christine Jackson, Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World).
[ m ANETTI, s AVERI o , L o RENZ o L o RENZI & V I o LANTE VANNI]. Two Parrots. [Giuseppe Vanni, Florence 1776].
4‘200 € [ref: 101237]
Two hand-coloured etchings, with engraving. Original colour. Very good condition with strong, fresh colour and full margins. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions:
[
m ANETTI, s AVERI o , L o RENZ o L o RENZI & V I o LANTE VANNI]. A Group of Six Owls. [Giuseppe Vanni, Florence, 1776]
12‘500 € [ref: 101232]
A Group of Six hand-coloured etchings, with engraving. Original colour. Very good condition with strong, fresh colour and full margins. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 50 x 43cm.
[
m ANETTI, s AVERI o , L o RENZ o L o RENZI & V I o LANTE VANNI]. A Group of Six Parrots. [Giuseppe Vanni, Florence 1776].
12‘500 € [ref: 101234]
A Group of Six hand-coloured etchings, with engraving. Original colour. Very good condition with strong, fresh colour and full margins. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions:
PIRANE s I, G I o VANNI B ATTI s TA A Group of Six Views of Rome: Veduta della Dogana di Terra a Piazza di Pietra; Veduta della Piazza di Monte Cavallo;Veduta in prospettiva della gran Fontana dell’Acqua Vergine detta di Trevi Archittettura di Nicola Salva; Veduta di Piazza Navona sopra le rovine del Circo Agonale; Veduta della Piazza e Basilica di S. Giovanni in Laterano; Veduta dell’insigne Basilica Vaticana coll’ampio Portico, e Piazza adjacente. Rome, c.1778. 30,000 € [ref: 99397]
1. Veduta della Dogana di Terra a Piazza di Pietra. 3rd state with the artist’s address and price. [H.32 III; F.821; WE.168]
2. Veduta della Piazza di Monte Cavallo. 1st and only Roman state. 3rd state with the artist’s address and price. [H.103 I; F.732; WE.236]
3. Veduta in prospettiva della gran Fontana dell’Acqua Vergine detta a Trevi Archittettura di Nicola Slava. 1st and only Roman state. [H.104 I; F.734; WE.237]
4. Veduta di Piazza Navona sopra le rovine del Circi Agonale. 1st and only Roman state. [H.108 I; F.733; WE.241]
5. Veduta della Piazza e Basilica di S. Giovanni in Laterano. 1st and only Roman state. [H.117 I; F.725; WE.250]
6. Veduta dell’insigne Basilica Vaticana coll’ampio Portico, e Piazza adjacente. 1st and only Roman state. [H.120 I; F.720; WE.253] Magnificent group of six views of Rome, all from the Rome edition of ‘Vedute di Roma’, etchings with engraving on laid paper, with central vertical folds. Framed and glazed, overall size: 88.5cm by 66.6cm.
PREV os T, J EAN L ou I s . Collection des Fleurs et des Fruits: a Set of Floral Designs. Paris, 1805.
11‘400 € [ref: 78578]
Prevost came from a long line of French artists spanning 400 years. Jean-Louis himself first exhibited at the Salon when only fourteen years of age, showing paintings of bouquets, a vase of flowers and other small botanical studies. Immediately he was commissioned by Monsieur Roussel to paint the flowers in the wealthy landowner’s garden. The result was a 12-volume work of gouache studies, entitled “Hortus Cellensis”, and was at once acquired by the Paris Natural History Library. Soon after he began work on his great printed work, the “Collection des Fleurs et Fruits”, a series of 48 stipple engraved plates depicting bouquets and baskets of fruit. The work was engraved by the brilliant and versatile artist Charles Louis Ruotte, who had learned the new practice of coloured engraving under Bartolozzi in London. The work is known as one of the most magnificent and beautiful publications in the world of botanical art, and was used as a manual for designers of chintzes and toiles. Above all, he was a master of composition who could unerringly blend the finest hot-house specimen with the simplest bloom of field or hedgerow to produce beautiful images.
Original stipple engravings by Charles-Louis Ruotte, Charles Louis)
size: 63.3 by 47.2cm.
printed in colour and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overallREDOUTE
The highest peak of Redoute’s artistic and botanical achievement... Among the most important monuments of botanical illustration ever to be published. (Frans A. Stafleu, Redoute - peintre de fleurs in A Catalogue of Redouteana).
Redoute was at the height of his powers during the publication of Les Liliacees. It is easily the equal in accomplishment of its more popular successor, Les Roses. The work is broader than its title implies, including as it does petaloid monocotyledons in general belonging, for example to Commelinaceae, Bromeliaceae, Liliaceae, At this time, he had as patron and sponsor Josephine Bonaparte, who, on acquiring Malmaison and establishing a superb garden of rare plants there, required an artist of outstanding talent to record them.
RED ou TE, P IERRE -J os EPH . Group of Nine Amaryllis. Paris, Chez L’Auteur, 1802-16.
35,000 € [ref: 98364]
Group of nine stipple-engraved plates of Amaryllis, printed in colours and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size: 43.5 x 62 cm.
RED ou TE, P IERRE -J os EPH Group of Six White Lillies. Chez L’Auteur, Paris 1802-16
15‘000 € [ref: 98363]
Six stipple-engraved plates of white Lillies, printed in colours and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size: 43.5 x 62 cm.
RED ou TE, P IERRE -J os EPH . Group of Twelve Irises. Chez L’Auteur, Paris 1802-16
37,500 € [ref: 98362]
Group of twelve stipple-engraved plates of Irises, printed in colours and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size: 43.5 x 62 cm.
RED ou TE, P IERRE -J os EPH . Musa paradisiaca - Banana. (Eating Banana). Paris, Chez l’Auteur, 1802-16
Stipple-engraved plate of Bananas printed in colours and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size:
RED ou TE, P IERRE -J os EPH Set of Three Bromelia (Pineapples). Chez L’Auteur, Paris 1802-16
4,800 € [ref: 98352]
10,000 € [ref: 98361]
Set of three stipple-engraved plates of Pineapple and plants, printed in colours and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size: 43.5 x 62 cm.
RIDINGER, J o HANN E LIA s Group of four mezzotint hunting plates. Augsberg, n.d. circa 1750
10‘000 € [ref: 99409]
4 mezzotint engravings by and after Ridinger (c.55 x 43 cm.), margins on all sides, framed and glazed, overall size: 68.5 cm by 58.5 cm.
Y, E[ u GENE ] A[ LAIN ]. Insectes: A Group of Eight. Paris, Du Chartre et van Buggenhoudt, [1924].
14‘000 € [ref: 98582]
Superb lithographs by the master of the format. “In comparison with their variety and brilliance, much Art Deco illustration seems pallid and constrained. And of course their large format makes them particularly attractive for exhibition purposes” (Ray, The Art Deco Book in France).
E.A. Seguy (1889-1985), was active as an artist in Paris from 1900 to 1925. His mastery of decorative design and colour is evident in the series of 11 beautiful pochoir portfolios he created. Unusual in his capacity to span the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods, Seguy’s portfolio’s remain exquisite examples of ornamentation and composition, featuring motifs based on the natural world, including flowers, foliage, crystals and animals.
Group of 8 lithographs hand-coloured en pochoir. Framed and glazed, overall size 52.5 x 40.5 cm.
1799-[1807].
second sTaTe
15,000 € [ref: 94919]
Robert John Thornton (?1786-1837) was a prolific medical author and became a Doctor of Medicine at St Andrews University and licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. However, he is best remembered for his great botanical publication The Temple of flora, which formed a part of the larger work New Illustration of the sexual system of...Linnaeus. in 1797, he also began advertising for subscribers to his planned natural history publishing venture , which eventually became known as The Temple of flora, comprised of 30 folio botanical plates. For these remarkable illustrations, he engaged the services of the leading artists and engravers of his day: Sir William Beechey, James Opie, Henry Raeburn, John Russell, Philip Reinagle and others as painters; Francesco Bartolozzi, Richard Earlom and John Landseer. Most of the images were painted by Peter Charles Henderson and Philip Reinagle.
These botanical illustrations are unique as they were the first flower prints with landscape backgrounds, depicting the natural habitat of the plant. The life-size flowers stand out dramatically and the whole effect is startlingly modern. Thornton’s announced intention was to make this work the most magnificent tribute ever paid to the famous Swedish botanist Linnaeus by illustrating his Sexual System with the finest possible prints. All these were engraved on a larger scale than anything which had hitherto appeared and then were printed in colour, an expensive and uncommon method in England at this time. A brilliant effect.
Aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colour and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora. Framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 52 x 64 cm. (20 1/2 x 25 1/4 in).
WEIN m ANN, J o HANN . Group of Six Tulips. Regensburg, H. Lentz and H.G. Neubauer, 1737-1745.
9‘000 € [ref: 94325] an aTTracTive collecTion of fine plaTes, being one of The earliesT examples of colour prinTing Weinmann (1683-1741) was a Regensburg apothecary who organized the publication of Phytanthoza Iconographia, a huge florilegum which was not only very beautiful but which also influenced the publication of similar works worldwide. “The mezzotint process used here had been invented by Johann Teyler in the Netherlands around 1688. As practiced here by Bartholomaus Seuter (1678-1754) and Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767), it was really a combination of etching and mezzotint, which made possible delicate lines and a very fine grain. The addition of hand-tinting brought about unusual and subtle effects” (Hunt).
Group of 6 mezzotint engravings, printed in colour and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size: 48 x 34.5 cm.
HARING, K EITH Bad Boys.
45‘000 € [ref: 100669]
Bridging the gap between the art world and the street, Keith Haring rose to prominence in the early 1980s with his graffiti drawings made in the subways and on the sidewalks of New York City. Combining the appeal of cartoons with the raw energy of Art Brut artists like Jean DuBuffet, Haring developed a distinct popgraffiti aesthetic centered on fluid, bold outlines against a dense, rhythmic overspread of imagery like that of babies, barking dogs, flying saucers, hearts, and Mickey Mouse. In his subway drawings and murals, Haring explored themes of exploitation, subjugation, drug abuse, and rising fears of nuclear holocaust, which became increasingly apocalyptic after his AIDS diagnosis.
The complete set of six silkscreens, 1986, on B.F.K. Rives paper, each signed and numbered from artist proof edition of 7 aside the standard edition of 30, printed by Ger Stahlhofer, Rotterdam, published by House Bebert, 20 x 25 7/8 in (50.8 x 65.7 cm). Reference: Littman pp.54-59
LIcHTENsTEIN, R oY . Bedroom (from Interior Series).
102‘000 € [ref: 100335]
Roy Lichtenstein takes a modernist perspective of the picture plane by utilizing a method of commercial design through comic strips and advertisement. Lichtenstein integrates the readymade quality of screen prints and integrates a painterly gesture with the use of thick lines, flat surface planes, and obscured perspective. Unlike with most print series, the prints of the Interior Series by Roy Lichtenstein preceded, rather than followed, the paintings of similar subjects. Roy Lichtenstein’s Interiors are based on advertisements, most of which Roy Lichtenstein cut from the Yellow Pages.
Woodcut and Screenprint, 1990, on 4-ply Paper Technologies, Inc. Museum Board, from the edition of 60, printed by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, published in 1991 by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, 78 ½ x 56 ¾ in (199.4 x 144.2 cm). Reference: Corlett 247
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Illustration for ‘Amérique’, From La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
24‘000 € [ref: 101066]
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier DupontVisat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48cm, 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in. Reference: Corlett 267
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y . Illustration for ‘Auto Poésie: en Cavale de Bloomington’, from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
12‘000 € [ref: 101067]
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier DupontVisat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48cm, 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in. Reference: Corlett 268
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y . Illustration for ‘Bayonne en Entrant dans NYC’, from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
18‘000 € [ref: 100842]
In 1972 Ginsberg published his work The Fall of America: Poems of These States 1965-1971.
20 years later In the early 1990s, the publisher Jean-Claude Meyer brought Allen Ginsberg and Roy Lichtenstein together. Ginsberg selected 11 poems from his collection for Lichtenstein to illustrate. This suite being published aside from the bound book edition.
This work was Lichtenstein’s only foray in to the world of illustrated books.
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 13 15/16 x 18 7/8 in (35.4 x 48 cm). Reference: Corlett 269
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y . Illustration for ‘De Denver au Montana, Départ 27 Mai 1972’ (I), from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
14‘400 € [ref: 101071]
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48cm, 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in Reference: Corlett 275 354 by 480mm (14 by 19 inches).
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Illustration for ‘De Denver au Montana, Départ 27 Mai 1972’ (II), from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
14‘400 € [ref: 101072]
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48cm. 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in Reference: Corlett 275 480 by 354mm (19 by 14 inches).
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Illustration for ‘De Nouveau au-dessus de Denver’, from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
14‘400 € [ref: 100844]
In 1972 Ginsberg published his work The Fall of America: Poems of These States 1965-1971.
20 years later In the early 1990s, the publisher Jean-Claude Meyer brought Allen Ginsberg and Roy Lichtenstein together. Ginsberg selected 11 poems from his collection for Lichtenstein to illustrate. This suite being published aside from the bound book edition.
This work was Lichtenstein’s only foray in to the world of illustrated books.
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48cm, 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in.
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Illustration for ‘Hüm-Bum!’, from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique
14‘400 € [ref: 101070]
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48cm, 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in Reference: Corlett 274
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y . Illustration for ‘Or Automnal: ArrièreSaison en Nouvelle Angleterre’, from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
14‘400 € [ref: 100843]
In 1972 Ginsberg published his work The Fall of America: Poems of These States 1965-1971.
20 years later In the early 1990s, the publisher Jean-Claude Meyer brought Allen Ginsberg and Roy Lichtenstein together. Ginsberg selected 11 poems from his collection for Lichtenstein to illustrate. This suite being published aside from the bound book edition. This work was Lichtenstein’s only foray in to the world of illustrated books.
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 13 15/16 x 18 7/8 in (35.4 x 48 cm). Reference: Corlett 270
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Illustration for ‘Passage du NordOuest’, from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
9‘600 € [ref: 101069]
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48 cm, 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in. Reference: Corlett 273
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Illustration for ‘Une Fenêtre ouverte sur Chicago’, from La Nouvelle Chute de l’Amérique.
14‘400 € [ref: 101068]
Etching with aquatint, 1992, on 250-gram Velin d’Arches paper, initialled and numbered from the edition of 80, printed by Atelier Dupont-Visat, L’Inediteur, Paris, published by Les Editions du Solstice, Paris, 35.4 x 48cm, 18 15/16 x 13 15/16 in. Reference: Corlett 271
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Imperfect Print for B.A.M.
63‘000 € [ref: 97692]
Challenging the traditional edge of the canvas, Lichtenstein here starts with a line, follows it along the canvas and then brings it back to the start. As the artist himself said of the print, ‘the line goes out beyond the rectangle of the painting, as though I missed the edge somehow’.
Woodcut and screenprint in colours, on Arches wove, 1987, signed and dated in pencil from the edition of 75, published by Parasol Press, Ltd., New York, from The Brooklyn Academy of Music 125th Anniversary Portfolio, 59 3/8 x 31 3/8 in (151 x 80 cm). Reference: Corlett 218
LI c HTEN s TEIN, R o Y Imperfect Print, from: Imperfect Series. 132‘000 € [ref: 100826]
Roy Lichtenstein’s Imperfect series, printed on 4-ply Museum Board, combines woodcut and screen print, and all but one print have metalized Mylar collage elements. Lichtenstein sent the block –line drawings for the print to Gemini GEL in advance of his arrival but worked out the colors there. For the woodcut portions, Lichtenstein cut the online (key block) and the large flat areas were printed separately from jigsaw cutout sections. To get the dense colors, several over printings were required. The silver and galvanized Mylar were prepared in sheets and then hand-cut for each of the collage elements. The silver Mylar was overprinted with a clear coat to protect the reflective surface. The galvanized Mylar was over printed with a silver run made from a rubbing of galvanized steel. A screen printed coating has been applied to the verso of each of the boards to stabilize it.
Woodcut and Screenprint with collage in colours, 1988, on Archivart 3-ply Supra 100 paper, signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition 45, printed and published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, with their blindstamps, inkstamp and workshop number RL87-1152 verso, 67 x 79 7/8 in (170.2 x 202.9 cm). Reference: Corlett 222
m AN RAY Électricité. 1931.
48‘000 € [ref: 100315]
Électricité is among the most acclaimed works by Man Ray—a dynamic assemblage of ten rayographs that the artist made as a commission for a private power company that desired to promote the domestic consumption of electricity.
At the time, most homes in France relied on natural gas, wood, or coal for lighting, cooking, and heating. Man Ray used electrical appliances (light bulbs, a toaster, an iron, a fan) and electric light to cast the objects’ shadows on photographic paper. Then he added wavy trails of power cords and heating coils—symbolic traces of the unseen effect of electric current. He also included in five images his own photographs (female nudes) and other pictures he may have appropriated (a roasted chicken, nighttime signage, the moon).
In Électricité, Man Ray demonstrated how electricity (essentially an invisible force) could be a subject and also a modern medium and how it might effectively make a tasty dinner meal, cool the kitchen, eroticize the body, and thus contribute to the quality of life for working-class Parisians.
10 photogravures, 1931, after Rayographs, each signed to paper, each signed (in the negative), Paris: Commissioned by La Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Electricité, each image 26 x 20.6cm. or inverse, each paper mount 37.4 x 27.6cm.
m IR o , J o AN . Lapidari. Llibre de les Propietats de les Pedres. Barcelona, Maeght, 1981.
15‘000 € [ref: 97302]
Miro’s illustrations accompany text written by anonymous Catalan authors of the 15th century about the properties of different stones.
Limited edition, no. 33 of 130 copies on veLin d’Arches signed by miro, of a total edition of 145 copies, oblong folio (358 x 498 mm), 24 original etchings by Miro including 12 in colour, loose as issued, a few margins with very minor soiling or offsetting, publisher’s cream cloth solander box, upper cover set with a slice from a geode, some minor soiling to edges, otherwise a fine copy.
WARH o L, A NDY Details of Renaissance Paintings: Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus.
111‘000 € [ref: 101424]
In 1984, Warhol departed from his usual portraits of celebrities and initiated the Details of Renaissance Paintings series. For this series, Warhol cropped images of old Master paintings and gave these portraits the vibrant colours and kitschy style for which he is known. He strips each work of its original intent and instead focuses on their value as symbols of popular culture. Furthermore, the process of silkscreening deliberately appropriates the painstaking process of painting the original masterpieces. What results is a poignant statement on mass consumption of artistic masterworks.
Screenprint in colours, 1984, on Arches Aquarelle paper, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 70, published by Editions Schellmann & Klüser, Munich and New York, 81 x 111cm.
WARH o L, A NDY The Star.
96‘000 € [ref: 100658]
The Star is part of Warhol’s Myths portfolio, which also included characters such as Superman, Howdy Doody and Dracula. This is considered one of the best of the Myths portraits, and embodies everything that Warhol adored – beauty, celebrity and wealth. The gorgeous scarlet portrait of Greta Garbo remains the favourite with collectors worldwide and is one of the two portraits in the Myths Portfolio of actual people (the other is Warhol himself).
A photograph of actress Greta Garbo in The Star was used to create Mata Hari, a Dutch dancer who was executed as a spy during World War I, a true femme fatale. From the 1960s on, Andy Warhol exhibited an unerring sense for the powerful motifs of his time – contemporary images that capture the modern imagination as completely as the gods and goddesses of ancient mythology once did.
In Myths, Warhol’s 1981 portfolio of 10 screen prints, he was referring not to remote civilizations, but to the beginnings of the cinema and the imaginary characters loved and recognized by millions all over the world. Most images in Warhol’s Myths series are taken from old Hollywood films or 1950s television and portray the universal view of America’s once enchanted and powerful past. Included in the series are characters loved by children such as Superman, Howdy Doody, and Santa Claus, as well as fictional figures like Dracula, The Wicked Witch of the West, and Uncle Sam.
Screenprint in colours, 1981, signed and numbered from the edition of 200 in pencil verso, on Lenox Museum Board, as included in the ‘Myths’ portfolio, printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Inc., New York, 96.5 x 96.5cm. 965 by 965mm (38 by 38 inches).
WARH o L, A NDY Ingrid Bergman: With Hat. 1983.
81‘000 € [ref: 101118]
The Ingrid Bergman series is made up of three types of screen prints of the Academy Award winning actress in 1983. The source images used for these portrait pieces include movie still from her role in Casablanca (‘With Hat’), a movie still from the movie The Bell of St. Mary’s (‘The Nun’) and also a publicity photo (‘Herself’)
Proveniens: Gallerie Börjeson, Malmö
Screenprint in colours, 1983, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 250 (total edition includes 20 artist’s proofs), on Lenox Museum Board, printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York, with his blindstamp, published by Galerie Börjeson, Malmö, with their inkstamp on the verso, sheet size 96.5 x 96.5 cm.
87‘000 € [ref: 100878]
Silkscreen in colours, 1972, on Beckett High White paper, signed and numbered from the edition of 250, printed by Styria Studio, Inc., New York, published by Castelli Graphics and Multiples, Inc. New York, 91.4 x 91.4 cm.
87‘000 € [ref: 100748]
Silkscreen in colours, 1972, on Beckett High White paper, signed and numbered from the edition of 250, printed by Styria Studio, Inc., New York, published by Castelli Graphics and Multiples, Inc. New Yor k, 91.4 x 91.4 cm.
Warhol’s idea for creating portraits of Mao Zedong, the Chinese Communist revolutionary, began, according to Bob Colacello’s biography of Warhol, Holy Terror, with Bruno Bischofberger, Warhol’s longtime dealer and supporter in Zurich. Bischofberger suggested that Warhol return to painting by making portraits of the most important figure of the 20th Century. Ever the enthusiast for celebrity adoration, Warhol mentioned that he had read in Life magazine that Mao Zedong was the most famous person in the world at that time. The enforced ubiquity of Mao’s image in China and its resemblance to a silkscreen instantly attracted Warhol. As David Bourdon notes in his Warhol biography, he thought it would be great to make paintings similar to “the same poster you can buy in a poster store.”
Andy Warhol based his 10 screenprints that comprise the present work on the official portrait of the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976), that was illustrated on the cover of the widely circulated 1966 publication Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, also known as the Little Red Book. Party members were strongly encouraged to carry a copy with them as it contained the foundations of Maoist ideology. The cult of Mao played a crucial role in the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. The figure of the Chairman was often the center of the politicized images that were produced in vast quantities and disseminated throughout China. By the early 1970s, Mao was established as one of the most important figures in modern history and his portrait one of the most replicated. China’s improved relations with the United States, symbolized by Richard Nixon’s visit to the communist nation, and the attention paid to it by the world’s media, further increased Mao’s already significant global political profile. Considering Warhol’s obsession with fame, it is not surprising that the Chinese leader provided an appealing image for his art. This image inspired Warhol not only to create this set of screenprints, but also five series of paintings, a series of drawings and a design for wallpaper.
WARH o L, A NDY Mao (II 90).
WARH o L, A NDY Mao (II 97).
Screenprint in colours with diamond dust, on Arches Aquarelle Cold Pressed paper, signed, inscribed and numbered in pencil on the reverse, an hors commerce impression aside from the edition of 60, published by the artist with his copyright inkstamp on the reverse, 101 x 150.8cm.
Shapero Rare Books
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London W1S 2EA
+44 (0)20 7493 0876
rarebooks@shapero.com
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A member of the Scholium Group
Compiled by Lucinda Boyle
Edited by Jeffrey Kerr
Design by Magdalena Joanna Wittchen
Photography by Ivone Chao and Magdalena Joanna Wittchen
