ELEGANT TREASURES FROM AN AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTION. China Guardian Hong Kong Auction Catalog, for the auction that took place in Hong Kong on October 2, 2018. Beautifully produced and fully illustrated. Softcovers, 8.5x10.5 inches,, unpaginated (approximately 125 pages). Text in Chinese and English. Estimated prices are in HKD and USD. 45 lots (numbered 585 to 629) of exquisite and very rare Chinese Artifacts are fully described and catalogued. Each item is illustrated with one or more color photographs. The China Guardian Auction catalogues are beautifully produced. This catalogue is a true gem and an important reference. Hard to find in the United States. NEAR FINE condition, a bit of sunning to the spine, a slight bump at the bottom of the spine, overall looks and feels barely used. A lovely, solid copy.

CHRISTIAN JANKOWSKI - STRIP THE AUCTIONEER at CHRISTIE'S.

SIGNED and INSCRIBED by JANKOWSKI on the first page: "For Marcher / Christian Jankowski / 4.3.10".

Softcovers, 8.5" x 10.5", 48 unnumbered pages PLUS a bound-in 48 page booklet, with 36 pages in English and German that describe the auction, and 12 pages of reactions by the winning bidders of the various items.

VERY GOOD condition, some light creases to the covers from handling, overall just lightly used and still tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A solid, very nice copy.

Shows the actual AUCTION EVENT that took place at CHRISTIE'S, Amsterdam, where the LONGTIME AUCTIONEER ARNO VERKADE stripped and auctioned off much of his clothing, piece by piece, with the last piece being his personal Auctioneer's Hammer. (If you are wondering, yes, he left his pants on.)

The auction was incorporated into a PERFORMANCE PIECE / EXHIBITION put together by the CONTEMPORARY GERMAN ARTIST CHRISTIAN JANKOWSKI. The Christie's "STRIP THE AUCTIONEER" was broadcast live into the Jankowski Exhibition on its opening day, as part of the exhibition. It was then shown on video repeatedly during the life of the exhibition. Published by Walther König, Köln, Germany, 2011.

Looks like a Christie's Auction Catalogue, but is actually a photographic revisiting of the auction, with photos by a Christie's photographer. It was published after the auction took place, showing, through photographs, how it took place, how the auctioneer stripped, the items sold, and the prices they obtained. There is also a bound-in booklet that shows the winning bidders and gives their reactions to the items they won, the high prices they paid, and to the event as a whole.

The pieces of clothing that the auctioneer removed and then auctioned included his shoes, socks, shirt, jacket, etc. Each item (i.e. one left shoe) went for approximately two thousand euros, blurring the line between what is art, what is collectible, and what is just a dirty sock that the auctioneer has just taken off his foot.

SCARCE SIGNED and INSCRIBED by JANKOWSKI.

You can read about the Contemporary German Multi-Media Artist CHRISTIAN JANKOWSKI on Wikipedia.

ARTICLES pour CONFISEURS et CHOCOLATIERS - CARTONNAGES FANTAISIES (FANTASY BOXES for CANDIES and CHOCOLATES). CATALOG issued by E. DUMOULINNEUF, Paris, France, 1906.

Textured (faux leather) paper covers, 6.5x10 inches (16x25 cm) oblong, bound with 2 brass brads, 15 stiff leaves / 30 pages. Each of 29 pages has a mounted portion of a printed candy/chocolate box, showing the illustration and the type of textured card used for that particular box. Quite delicious imagery! Tissue guards are between each leaf. A printed ORDER SHEET is laid-in.

FAIR condition, the examples have varying degrees of soiling and foxing, wobbliness and some browning to their corner areas from the aging glue on their backsides, and the tissue guards have all browned and are foxed. There is also a musty smell. NONETHELESS, the examples are all present, and all are quite lovely. The laid in order sheet has toning, soiling, and several folds that are tender, but remains solid and fully legible.

Rare French Fine Chocolate Box Design Examples from 1906. Chocolate, is there nothing it can't do?

LUCIO FONTANA : CONCETTO SPAZIALE, LE CHIESE DI VENEZIA (SPATIAL CONCEPT, THE CHURCHES OF VENICE) 1961. Sotheby's catalog for the auction that took place in London on 26 June 2013.

Single Item Auction Catalog. The art work had an estimate of 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 GBP and sold for 4,450,500 GBP.

Softcover Auction Catalog, 9x11.5 inches, 36 unnumbered pages. Single lot auction, with essays about the painting, Fontana, and Fontana's works. Fully Illustrated.

NEAR FINE condition, a touch of shelf wear to the covers, corner tips lightly worn, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

About this auction (from Sotheby's website):

******A supreme example of Lucio Fontana's tireless conceptual and artistic exploration, Concetto Spaziale, Le Chiese di Venezia exists as undeniable proof of the artist's critical and innovative role in the history of art. This work belongs to the extremely rare and highly venerated Venezia cycle of paintings, which collectively form the crescendo of the Olii corpus that spanned over a decade of his career. Famously created in an inspired burst of artistic activity, the Venezia paintings have acquired a mythic aura within Fontana's oeuvre. Having remained in the most respected private collections since its creation, the appearance of this work for auction denotes an exceptional event. Indeed, though standing alongside fellow constituents of the Venezia Corpus that belong in the prominent collections of the Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museo Thyssen Bornemisza, Madrid; and Fondazione Lucio Fontana, Milan; the present work stands out for its intensely evocative composition; one intrinsically linked with the physical landmass and opulent ornament conjured by its namesake.******

Bolon was established in 1949 and is a third generation family owned Swedish design company that created woven vinyl flooring. Their products are designed and produced in Sweden and are quite expensive.

Published by Bolon AB, Ulricehamn, Sweden, no date, circa 1980s. Folded portfolio, paper covered heavy board, 12" x 8.75", metal front corner guards, folds open to 33" x 12", there are 54 different color samples pasted down, and 26 pages of technical data at the rear in English, German, French, and Spanish. The swatches range from 1.5" x 1.5" squares to 2.25" x 1.75" rectangles and two large 6.5" x 4.75" rectangles. VERY GOOD CONDITION: some small scrapes to the front cover, silver label from Floor Designs, Inc., At Showplace Square, San Francisco on the rear cover, a few penciled notations otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Uncommon.

The Roy Davids Collection, Part III: Poetry: Poetical Manuscripts & Portraits of Poets, Volumes I and II

Auction catalogs for the auction that took place in London at Bonhams & Butterfields on April 10 and May 8, 2013.

Two large catalogs. Softcovers, 8.25x10.5 inches. The two volumes are: Part III: Volume I: A-K, 285 pages, 263 lots. Part III: Volume II: L-Y, 289 pages, 263 lots (numbered 264-526).

Illustrated throughout with photographic reproductions of handwritten poems, letters, marginalia, and the like; as well as numerous portraits, mostly photographic, of the various poets.

Both volumes are in FINE unused condition.

An important and useful reference to the handwriting of many English poets.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: These two catalogs are heavy and will require substantial additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

CUSTOM PHOTOLETTERING ALPHABETS

Published by Timely Typography, San Francisco, California, no date circa early 1960s, first edition. A contemporary specimen catalogue of Photoset Display Type. Softcover, staple bound, 12" x 9", 12 pages. The Custom Alphabetical Index showcases over 200 graphic alphabet specimens from A to Z. With two sheets of relevant advertising ephemera laid in. NEAR FINE Condition: a top outer corner-tip bump, otherwise, tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Scarce, none held in OCLC collections.

"Custom Photolettering Alphabets presenting exclusive handlettered alphabets and Zenographic selections which are set photographically and include Early American to Art Nouveau, plus Modern Gothic, Interlocks, Swash Alphabets, Contours, Scripts, Casuals and Outlines."

Timely Typography's original typefaces helped to define San Francisco's iconic counterculture graphic design and greatly influenced psychedelic poster art.

Timely Typography was a prominent San Francisco mid century type foundry and typesetting house. They provided professional typesetting services and type specimens to local advertising agencies and specialized in custom type designs for graphic designers, print shops, top ad agencies and publishers across the Bay Area. They produced specimen catalogues and even created their own proprietary dry transfer lettering system called Modi-Film, a unique local alternative to London based Letraset. Timely was at its peak in the 1960s and early 1970s making the transition from metal type to photo typesetting, but computer technology was growing and agencies began doing their typography in house leading Timely to shutter.