Arcana:

(WILLIAMS, ROBT.). Williams, Robert. Introduction by Meg Linton. San Francisco: Last Gasp of San Francisco, 2005. First Edition 1/300 Deluxe. 4to. Cloth in Jacket, Slipcased. Artist Monograph. As New/As New. 240pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Designed by Jill Von Hartmann. "Through Prehensile Eyes" is a collection of Robert Williams' fifty-eight then-recent paintings first exhibited at New York's Tony Shafrazi Gallery and subsequently shown in May 2005 at the Ben Maltz Gallery at Los Angeles' Otis College of Art. The images range from the artist's familiar lowbrow and biker culture, stretching deep into a faux science of quantum mechanics leaving the viewer in a world of scientific mindplay. Robert Williams sprang from the custom car culture of Southern California and was one of the original Zap Comix artists. He transcended the constraints of both, mastering oils and forging a career as the preeminent artist among a generation of imagist painters. After singlehandedly becoming the model of Lowbrow Art, Williams has now penetrated the inner sanctum of the fine arts movement. A brand new, pristine example of the 2005 first deluxe numbered hardbound edition of four hundred copies with the publisher's numbered bookplate featuring a caricature of the artist SIGNED by Robert Williams in black ink affixed to the front inside cover still in the publisher's shrinkwrap, as issued. 0-86719-637-8 Inventory Number: 022508

(WITKIN, JOEL-PETER). Dupuy, Alain & Antonio Saura. Madrid, SPAIN: Ministerio De Cultura, Spain & Centro De Arte Reina Sofia, 1989. First Edition. Square 8vo. Debossed Silk Over Boards. Exhibition Catalog. Near Fine/No Jacket - As Issued. 120pp, profusely illustrated in color and duotone. Text in French. With a bibliography and exhibition history. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. This is the beautifully designed hardbound catalogue published in conjunction with a 1989 traveling European retrospective that presented Joel-Peter Witkin's finished prints alongside the photographer's macabre preparatory drawings. A most handsome example of the first Spanish language edition in black moire silk-covered boards debossed with an elaborate gothic cross additionally BOLDLY SIGNED "Joel-Peter Witkin" in black ink across the entire half title page. 84-505-7482-X Inventory Number: 018491

(WITKIN, JOEL-PETER). Janis, Eugenia Parry. Paris: Centre National De La Photographie (Photo Poche Collection), 1991. First Edition. 12mo. Pictorial Wrappers. Photography Monograph. Near Fine.. np, 63 duotone illustrations. Text in French. With a biography. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. This forty-ninth installment of the venerable Photo Poche series of photography monographs is a concise survey of the boundary pushing work of Joel-Peter Witkin. A most handsome example of the 1991 first edition additionally bearing the BOLDLY SIGNED PRESENTATION "To Robert, Joel" in black ink on the title page to the noted late photography curator and historian Robert Sobieszek from whom we acquired this directly. 2-86754-071-2 Inventory Number: 018676

(WITKIN, JOEL-PETER). Witkin, Joel-Peter. Pasadena, CA: Twelvetrees Press, 1995. First Edition #53/100. Large Square 4to. Cloth in Dust Jacket,Slipcased. Photography Monograph. Fine/Fine. np (130pp), 52 duotone illustrations. Designed by Jack Woody. With an exhibition history, bibliography and collections listing. Issued in 1985 by the redoubtable Twelvetrees Press, this is the beautifully designed and printed first comprehensive publication on the work of Joel-Peter Witkin. Says the publisher: "Joel-Peter Witkin's photographs are simultaneously loathsome and brilliant, generating endless controversy and sometimes, admiration. This is the artist's first monograph and in his words and pictures a more complete understanding of his work emerges." A brand new, most handsome example of the exceedingly uncommon deluxe edition of the first 1985 Twelvetrees Press printing limited to one hundred copies BOLDLY SIGNED AND NUMBERED "Joel-Peter Witkin / 53/100" in black ink on the title page in the publisher's black linen-over-boards slipcase, as issued. 0-942642-15-5 Inventory Number: 026573

(WITKIN, JOEL-PETER). Witkin, Joel-Peter & Galway Kinnell. New York: Kevin Begos Publishing, Inc., 1993. First Edition 1/175. Elephant Folio. 1/4 Leather Over Boards in Box. Livre D'Artiste. Fine/No Jacket - As Issued.. np (52pp), 12 gravure illustrations. Designed by Kevin Begos Jr. and Joel-Peter Witkin. Issued in 1993, this is an exquisitely produced Livre D'Artiste collaboration between publisher Kevin Begos and photographer Joel-Peter Witkin. Limited to one hundred and seventy-five copies, it presents twelve arresting hand-pulled photogravure images accompanied by the letterpress printed poem "Under The Maud Moon" by Galway Kinnell from his "Book of Nightmares". Measuring 23 ½ x 17 ½", the Lana paper pages reproduce the following Witkin photographs: 1) "Head of a Dead Man (Mexico City, 1990)", 2) "Satiro ( Mexico City, 1992)", 3) "Three Kinds of Woman (Mexico City, 1992)", 4) "Un Santo Oscuro (Mexico City, 1987)", 5) "Still Life (New Mexico, 1992)", 6) "Las Meninas (New Mexico, 1987)", 7) "Studio of the Painter (Paris, 1990)", 8) "Feast of Fools (Mexico City, 1990)", 9) "Laokoon (New Mexico, 1992)", 10) "Negre's Fetishist (Paris, 1990)", 11) "Vanity (New Mexico, 1990)", and 12) "Man with a Dog (Mexico City, 1990)". These are bound in elegant one quarter black leather-over-dark grey-boards, and housed in a black linen covered clamshell box with a grey pastedown on the spine. A brand new, most handsome example of this extraordinary object acquired directly from Kevin Begos BOLDLY SIGNED AND NUMBERED in pencil by Joel-Peter Witkin at the rear colophon in the publisher's clamshell box, as issued. Inventory Number: 023305

(YOSHITOSHI, TSUKIOKA). Keyes, Roger & George Kuwayama. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1980. Third Printing. Square 4to. Illustrated Wrappers. Artist Monograph. Near Fine.. 112pp, 10 color and 67 b&w illustrations. This is the catalogue published in conjunction with the comprehensive 1980 traveling Museum exhibition of prints by the groundbreaking Japanese Ukiyo-E master Tsukioka Yoshitoshi - known for his unorthodox and compelling images. A handsome example showing some very light wear and rubbing to the spine and covers. 0-87587-096-1 Inventory Number: 021870

Allen, James, Hilton Als, Congressman John Lewis & Leon F. Litwack. James Allen, Editor. Santa Fe, NM: Twin Palms Publishers, 2000. First Edition 1/4000. 4to. Cloth in Dust Jacket. Photography Monograph. Fine/Fine. 212pp, 98 color illustrations. Designed by Arlyn Nathan and Jack Woody. "The Tuskegee Institute records the lynching of 3,436 blacks between 1882 and 1950. This is probably a small percentage of these murders, which were seldom reported, and led to the creation of the NAACP in 1909, an organization dedicated to passing federal anti-lynching laws. Through all this terror and carnage someone - many times a professional photographer - carried a camera and took pictures of the events. These lynching photographs were often made into postcards and sold as souvenirs to the crowds in attendance. These images are some of photography's most brutal, surviving to this day so that we may now look back on the terrorism unleashed on America's African-American community and perhaps know our history and ourselves better. The almost one hundred images reproduced here are a testament to the camera's ability to make us remember what we often choose to forget." This is the extremely unsettling book containing texts by Hilton Als, Congressman John Lewis and Leon F. Litwack published to coincide with a 2000 circulating exhibition of examples from James Allen's collection of harrowing vintage photographic scenes of American lynchings. A brand new, most handsome example of the uncommon 2000 Twin Palms first printing. 0-944092-69-1 Inventory Number: 026565

Astraleyes. Los Angeles: Bibliomancers / Skylight Books, I00240720. 2024.. First Edition. 8 1/4 x 5 1/4". Paperback. Book Design Survey. New. 104pp, profusely illustrations in color. Designed by Jordan Crane. "Occult Eye" is Bibliomancers' fifth and latest survey of late twentieth Century cover and illustration art from Witchcraft, Magik, Occult and Esoteric Religion-themed books and magazines. A brand new, most handsome example of this worthy successor to "Spell Bound," "The Spectral Vision of Gothic Romance," "Mask Garden," and "Binding The Devil." Inventory Number: I00240720

Cardinal, Roger. London: Studio Vista, 1972. First Edition. 8vo. Gilt Stamped Cloth. Art History Monograph. Very Good/No Jacket. 192pp, profusely illustrated  in b&w + color cover. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. This is Roger Cardinal's groundbreaking 1972 survey of art produced over the preceding Century by the mentally ill and outliers of various stripes. He gave the name for their creations "Outsider Art" - the term that is now commonplace for this genre fifty years later. A number of the artists celebrated here received their first scholarly recognition in these pages. These include Aloise (Corbaz), Karl Brendel (Genzel), Gaston Chaissac, Ferdinand Cheval, Joseph Crepin, Jules Dou, Madge Gill, August Klotz, Johann (Knupfer) Knopf, Augustin Lesage, Peter Moog, Heinrich Anton Muller, August Neter (Natterer),Simon Rodia, Clarence Schmidt, Friedrich Schroder-Sonnenstern, Scottie Wilson (Louis Freeman), and Adolf Wolfli. An internally bright, handsome example of the uncommon 1972 first Studio Vista hardbound edition of this landmark survey lacking its dust jacket showing some mild foxing along the top edge of the textblock along with a bit of wear and rubbing to the cloth of the rear cover. It has been priced accordingly. 0-289-70168-6 Inventory Number: 027069

Cortes, Jose Miguel G.. San Sebastian, BASQUE: Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea, 1997. First Edition. 4to. 1/4 Cloth Over Silk Boards. Exhibition Catalog. Fine./No Jacket - As Issued. 344pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. Text in Basque and Spanish, with an English summary. With a bibliography and filmography. This is the amazing catalogue produced in conjunction with a 1997 Spanish Museum exhibition whose English title translates as "The Veiled Face: Transvest[it]ism and Identity in Art". The premise of the show was to provide a comprehensive survey of Drag, Cross Dressing, Transvestitism, and the Transgendered as subject matter in contemporary art and film. The artists whose work is presented here are Claude Cahun, Robert Gober, Nan Goldin, Juan Hidalgo, Michel Journiac, Jurgen Klauke, Zoe Leonard, Urs Luthi, Lisette Model, Pierre Molinier, Catherine Opie, Pierre et Gilles, Man Ray, Humberto Rivas, August Sander, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, and Joel-Peter Witkin. A brand new, most handsome example. 84-7907-214-8 Inventory Number: 011658

Dunn, Katherine & Sean Tejaratchi. Portland, OR: Feral House, 1996. First Edition #85/100 Deluxe. Oblong 4to. Pictorial Boards. Fine/No Jacket - As Issued. 167pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. Designed by Sean Tejaratchi. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. "The purpose of this collection of homicide pictures is to show the work of the peace officer and his problems. It will give you an idea of what they have to contend with while performing their duties in protecting lives and property. After viewing this work it will undoubtedly bring about a better understanding between the law enforcement officer and the public which he serves. It is also incumbent upon you, as a citizen and taxpayer, in the community in which you reside, to extend to your law enforcement agency your fullest cooperation assisting in its solving the problems that come before it. As you will see, most of theses crimes are solved and the guilty prosecuted which proves that CRIME DOES NOT PAY. Please handle this book with respect". A most handsome example of the deluxe hardbound facsimile edition of Los Angeles Homicide detective Jack Huddleston's pre-war photographic scrapbook limited to one hundred copies only with a 7 ½ x 9 ½" black and white silver gelatin print of the graphic LAPD evidenciary photograph of the severed body of Elizabeth Short - aka "The Black Dahlia" - lying in situ additionally NUMBERED (85/100) AND SIGNED "Katherine Dunn" in black ink across the lower margin tipped to the front pastedown, as issued. 0-922915-29-6 Inventory Number: 027604

Dunn, Katherine & Sean Tejaratchi. Portland, OR: Feral House, 1996. First Edition 1/100 Deluxe. Oblong 4to. Pictorial Boards. Fine/No Jacket - As Issued. 167pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. Designed by Sean Tejaratchi. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. "The purpose of this collection of homicide pictures is to show the work of the peace officer and his problems. It will give you an idea of what they have to contend with while performing their duties in protecting lives and property. After viewing this work it will undoubtedly bring about a better understanding between the law enforcement officer and the public which he serves. It is also incumbent upon you, as a citizen and taxpayer, in the community in which you reside, to extend to your law enforcement agency your fullest cooperation assisting in its solving the problems that come before it. As you will see, most of theses crimes are solved and the guilty prosecuted which proves that CRIME DOES NOT PAY. Please handle this book with respect". A most handsome example of the deluxe hardbound facsimile edition of Los Angeles Homicide detective Jack Huddleston's pre-war photographic scrapbook limited to one hundred copies only with a 7 ½ x 9 ½" black and white photograph of the severed body of Elizabeth Short - aka "The Black Dahlia" - lying in situ additionally SIGNED AND NUMBERED by Katherine Dunn laid in, as issued. 0-922915-29-6 Inventory Number: 027233

Hoefnagels, Peter. Rotterdam, THE NETHERLANDS: Uitgeverij Duo, 1994. First Edition 1/3000. Oblong 8vo. Cloth in Pictorial Dust Jacket. Photographic Survey. Fine/Fine. 90pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. Text in English and Dutch. As unlikely as it seems, "Moord in Rotterdam" is an unusually serene and beautiful collection of photographs taken by anonymous policemen from the Crime Scene Unit of the Municipal Police, Rotterdam. Its macabre subject matter, and the mystery that each image evokes is strangely compelling. A brand new, pristine example of this uncommon gem in the publisher's Japanese and English language obi. 90-72971-22-1 Inventory Number: 020844