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Articles - June - 2008 Issue

The Art Of The Book: The Book As Art

- by Bruce E. McKinney

Collectible material comes in many forms / Oak Knoll

Collectible material comes in many forms / Oak Knoll

The book arts are thriving. This is a field with a history that is also experiencing a vibrant present. There are so many ways to participate, as a collector or artistic contributor. No doubt the skills to create and the judgment to acquire are dispersed around the globe so that whether you live in Johannesburg, Moscow, Paris, Melbourne, Phoenix or New York there are opportunities to see material at local libraries and at dealers, online for sale and upcoming at auction. This material enjoys broad support. It makes it a very exciting collecting area. So, to whoever said you can not tell a book by its cover they perhaps have not collected in this small but appealing slice of book collecting. It turns out you can. Who knew.

Links:

This month the AE Comet focuses on this area of collecting: The Art of the Book: The June AE Comet.

A Reference Auction for those interested in the Book as Art [Sotheby 5699]

The Guild of Book Workers: http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/gbw/index.shtml

The Guild of Book Workers 100th Anniversary Exhibition: http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/gbw/gallery/100anniversary/index.shtml

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>Sotheby's<BR>Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s:</b> The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> William Blake | <i>Songs of Innocence and of Experience.</i> Sold: 4,320,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD <b><center>Sotheby's<BR>Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.</i> Sold: 1,920,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Machiavelli | <i>Il Principe,</i> a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Leonardo da Vinci | <i>Trattato della pittura,</i> ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Henri Matisse | <i>Jazz,</i> Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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