BIRGIR ANDRÈSSON, Eyktarmörk se∂ frá Haekinsdal í Kjós, n.d. [1979]

BIRGIR ANDRÈSSON, Eyktarmörk se∂ frá Haekinsdal í Kjós, n.d. [1979]
20 x 16 cm
artist’s book, SC, 8 pp. + 7 pages of tracing paper in between the photographic images
published by the artist / printed at the Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands
splendid condition, very rare
sold

 

The title of Eyktarmörk se∂ frá Haekinsdal í Kjós could at best be translated as Orientation point of dayparts seen from Haekinsdal in Kjós.
This artist’s book of Birgir Andrèsson (1955 – 2007) shows seven parts of the day with the help of reading the shadows on surrounding mountains at fixed moments of the day. In the 18th century Icelanders in the countryside used this method for reading the time within each period of 24 hours. The eighth period of twelve ‘o clock at night was never used.

The book is dedicated to Douwe Jan Bakker (1943-1997) who lived and worked in Haarlem and visited several times Iceland where he studied the Icelandic vocabulary related to different conditions and characteristics of the Icelandic landscape.

HANA MILETIĆ, Your façades are peeling off like red onions (words found in Zagreb), 2015

HANA MILETIĆ, Your façades are peeling off like red onions (words found in Zagreb), 2015
32.3 x 21.9 cm
stapled artist’s book, offset, 27 pp.
signed, numbered
edition 70, here nr 68/70
published by Mark Pezinger Verlag, Vienna, Austria
mint
€ 150,- plus € 12,- Track & Trace registered EU mail
inv.HMil 000-pr

Hana Miletić started a collection of photographs that she has made over the years of graffiti on the city walls in Zagreb. These writings on the wall helped her to understand what is at stake on a (micro)political level in her hometown. By isolating the words from their environment and by expanding them onto the pages of a book Miletić is able to amplify their more basic qualities.

Hana Miletić refers to weaving as a kind of ‘care work’; more than just the production of cloth, it doubles as a mode of conscious reparation through which she can process the damage and disrepair she notices in the world into precious artefacts. No longer merely serviceable or disposable like their referents, they are ends in themselves. Yet they also seem to perform an ironic take on the economy of weaving, exchanging modest materials – albeit woven ones like tarpaulins and gaffer tape – for rich ones and trading functionality for aesthetic worth.

PETER FISHLI & DAVID WEISS, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1999 [artist’s book]

PETER FISHLI & DAVID WEISS, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1999
27,5 x 21,5 cm
SC, 160 pp., offset, high gloss MC paper
original grey cardboard in the middle, incl. sleeve as issued
published by Buchhandlung Walther Koenig, Cologne, Germany
mint
€ 280,- plus € 18,- registered mail
inv.F&W 000-pr

 

Peter Fischli: “We were interested in the element of chance”. David Weiss: “When the photographs come off, it’s like receiving a gift.”
and “In fact, they tread quite a thin line: we want to seduce viewers with floral opulence. But you can’t exactly view them ingenuously, either.”
This ‘book’ is one of the most outstanding visuals issued in the nineties as an industrially made artist’s book. The loose pages folded together as a book make each photographic double exposure on each spread an evocative experience for the eye. Soon one year later in 2000 a second edition was published due to its success.

BRUD / ADITYIA MANDAYAM, The Ooze, 2018 [book]

ADITYIA MANDAYAM, The Ooze, 2018
12 x 17 cm
book, offset, SC, 144 pp.
interview and texts by Aditya Mandayam (ca 30%), Chris Fitzpatrick, Andrea Liu, Michal Novotny and Kees van Gelder
edition 500
published by Roma Publications, Amsterdam, Netherlands / Kunstverein München, Germany

 

Usually so-called artist’s books with texts by others than the artist involved are expelled from The Archive is Limited. This book invites to make an exception. “The Ooze” contains 49 pages of 144 that have been written by Aditya Mandayam. The front and back of the cover show drawings by the artist. “The Ooze” gives an insight in the thinking of Brud through theories and statements.

ULISES CARRIÓN, The Muxlows, 1978 [artist’s book]

ULISES CARRIÓN, The Muxlows, 1978
22.9 x 11 cm
artist’s book, 100 pp., SC
edition 300
published by Verlaggalerie Leaman, Düsseldorf, Germany
condition: excellent, although slightly discolored cover
€ 1.450,- plus € 12,- Track & Trace registered mail
inv.UCar 000-pr

 

Introduction on fly leave:
‘The Muxlows’ is the history of an English family from Yorkshire. I found it in 1972, in the city of Leeds, in the last pages of a badly damaged bible. U.C.’

This book is a dry list of names that goes back to 1835 when Thomas Muxlow was born. It is the start of genealogical facts limited to birth and death. The first chapter “Parents names” is followed by “Childrens names”, “Marriages” and “Other family events”. In this way a family story is told as a family drama of generations, i.e. family members come and go. Again with this book Carrión’s shows his strong affinity with the method of archival order to set out a story similar to writing a novel.
KvG

A copy is in the collection of Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

History of price:
Ecart-Books, Geneva, Switzerland October 2023 SFr 1.700,-

ULISES CARRIÓN, Tell me what sort of wallpaper your room has and I will tell you who you are, 1974

ULISES CARRIÓN, Tell me what sort of wallpaper your room has and I will tell you who you are, 1974 (“2nd edition”)
16,7 x 12,3 cm
20 pp., SC, collage on couver, hand written texts – as issued – on samples of wallpaper, ink stamped name
stamp dated
edition ca 50
published by In-Out Productions, Amsterdam, Netherlands
condition: very good, although with discoloured cover

This copy is a second edition, but more personal than the first one. Opposite to the first edition that was typewritten this one is handwritten by Ulises Carrión. Therefore when one pages though the book one notices a more artisan look; in fact compared to the first edition the directness of this one makes it into a different bookwork.

On one particular day, Carrión was very happy to find the fashion books of a wallpaper company on the street in front of Rath & Doodeheefver, well-known for their outstanding quality (now in the collection of the Amsterdam Museum). He cut them to become the pages of his book “Tell me what sort of wallpaper your room has and I will tell you who you are”. He used the different designs for the identification of the rooms, such as: my sister’s room, my guestroom, my psychiatrists’ room. Some booklets were sold and others were given away, and soon a second edition of 50 copies was required, made with handwritten designations as opposed to the first series’ typewritten designations. A copy of this wallpaper book is in the collection of Stedelijk Museum. Tineke Reijnders, 2017

 

 

First edition:

ULISES CARRIÓN, Dancing With You, 1973 [artist’s book]

ULISES CARRIÓN, Dancing With You, 1973
20,6 x 15,6 cm
30 pp., SC, artist’s book, Japanese binding, ink stamped pages with name stamp on cover
numbered 42/100
cover with obvious age toning
condition: inside excellent
published by In-Out Productions, Amsterdam, Netherlands
extremely rare

 

added:
This artist’s book comes with a receipt of purchases at ‘Other Books and So’ at Herengracht 227, Amsterdam, handwritten receipt by Ulises Carrión. French folded pages, hence visible elevation on the right side. An unsigned copy is in the collection of Stedelijk Musuem Amsterdam.

 

Added:

History of price:
The Idea of the Book, Portland, OR, USA May 2022 US$ 4,500.-

ULISES CARRIÓN, Arguments, 1973 [artist’s book, signed]

ULISES CARRIÓN, Arguments, 1973
22,4 x 15,3 cm
52 pp., SC
signed
edition 400 of which 200 are printed on Strathmore Grandee (colour) paper
published by Beau Geste Press, Cullompton, Devon, England
condition excellent, scuffing on top of front cover
here signed
signed as such extremely rare
€ 2.900,- plus € 18,- Track & Trace regisytered EU mail
inv.UCar 000-pr

Each of the 25 Arguments is hand numbered, with corrections by the artist on the last three pages. Although the cover shows some scuffing this copy is extremely rare. It has been hand signed by Ulises Carrión. On the title page the artist’s book is signed in print, so here hand signed on the fly leave in the front. When I bought this at Other Books and So Ulises Carrión offered me to sign his book. KvG

An unsigned copy is in the collection of Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

History of prices:
Jonathan Hill Books, New York, USA February 2026 US$ 3,500.- (not signed)
Jonathan Hill Books, New York, USA October 2023 US$ 2,500.- (not signed)
Zwiggelaar Auctions, Amsterdam € 1.700,- 6 June 2021 (not signed, hammer price)
Amazon, US$ 2,793.83 25 August 2018 (not signed)

MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO, Le Ultime Parole Famose, 1967

MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO, Le Ultime Parole Famose, 1967
7,6 x 12,6 cm
artist’s book, letterpress, stapled
text in Italian and English
edition 60
published by the artist
naturally discoloured due to its wood-containing paper, light bump top right
good, uncommon in this condition
€ 395,- plus € 18,- registered mail
inv.MPis 155

 

This booklet is the first artist’s book by Michelangelo Pistoletto in a limited edition of 60 copies as is stated by him in a publication of Musée d’Art Contemporain in Lyon in France: “Michelangelo Pistoletto Continenti del Tempo”, 2001.
The text is both in Italian and English, the latter being very uncommon at the time! The first line in the book may be considered as the kernel of the whole manifesto and states what it means to be an artist:

“When a man realizes that he has two lives – an abstract one for his mind and a concrete one which is also for his mind – he ends up either like a mad-man, who, out of fear, hides one of his lives and plays the other as a role, or like the artist, who has no fear and who is willing to risk both of them.”

History of prices:
Bruno Tonini/Tonini Editore, Rome, Italy December 2025 € 350,- (poor condition with rusted staples)
Bruno Tonini/Tonini Editore, Rome, Italy February 2025 € 1.000,- (rusted staples)
Tim Byers Art Books, Richmond, UK GBP 650.- April 2023 (discoloured)
eBay-vetiver62, Firenze, Italy US$ 1,800.- April 2023 (poor and discoloured)
Ellis Bierbar, Milano, Italy € 700,- April 2022 (condition unknown)
Tim Byers Art Books, Richmond, UK GBP 650.- October 2021 (discoloured)
eBay-vetiver62, Firenze, Italy US$ 1,800.- October 2021 (poor and discoloured)
eBay-many-giochi, Rome US$ 550.- October 2008 (tear and discoloured)
Barneby’s US$ 850.- January 2018 (discoloured)