The Most Fascinating Finds at the 65th New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

Among those finds was a rare Duchamp-designed catalog of 1947’s groundbreaking Le Surréalisme en 1947 exhibition at Galerie Maeght at Ursus Rare Books. The breast made out of foam rubber adorns the cover of the release which inside features illustrations by the likes of Andrè Breton, Wilfredo Lam, and Yves Tanguy. “At the time, they didn’t think that this material would eventually disintegrate,” says the New York gallery’s owner Peter Kraus. He also adds that this rare find comes with a separate cover of a limited edition which was eventually never produced. “I wouldn’t say this is not the only one but probably one of two which comes with this additional prototype and a breast that is still intact,” he Kraus adds about the item which featured a $100,000 price tag.

At Les Enluminures’s booth, the visitors jump back to 1460’s Florence with a parchment manuscript created for Pope Pius II to celebrate his second return from the small Lombardy town of Mantua. Vespasiano da Bisticci, who was considered as the “king of booksellers” in the early Renaissance period, commissioned the three-text manuscript to humanist author Girolamo Aliotti with inscriptions by the Florentine artist Filippo di Matteo Torelli. London’s Sims Reed offered the first edition of Goya’s 80-print set masterpiece Los Caprichos, which dates back to 1797 for $375,000. The gallery senior bibliographer Rupert Halliwell notes that this very copy once belonged to Vincent van Gogh who was the namesake book dealer cousin of the The Starry Night painter. The first hours of the vernissage saw the gallery selling an edition of Duchamp’s seminal portable museum sculptures, titled La Boîte-en-Valise, which features miniature versions of some of his works, including a urinal, for $150,000.

New York’s James Cummins presents a less-known side of Andy Warhol’s career with a leather color chart which he designed for leather merchants Fleming Joffe in 1966. The amusing creation which is inscribed by the Pop Art master in his recognizable flamboyant handwriting breaks down twenty-two shades of reptile skin leather with undeniably Warholian color name creations, such as Sailor Boy and Naked Pink. At Harper’s Books, a standout item was the glass vitrine featuring New York retailer Dianne B’s Christmas postcards shot by none other than Peter Hujar. Artists Greer Lankton, Ethyl Eichelberger, and David Wojnarowicz who were Hujar’s lover poses in the boutique’s inventory that features silk suede gloves and a blazer by Jean Paul Gaultier. The eight black and white cards came with the shop’s order forms and another set of colorful shots by Neil Winokur.

“There are so many ways to read a book today but we remind people why objects, such as books, are still so important,” adds Steinkirchner whose gallery offers one of 800 copies of Orlando’s first edition, signed by Virginia Woolf herself. “And for some, a first edition is even more important because they want to hold the book that its author inscribed or even signed.”