Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2022 Issue

Artists' Books, Bindings, Calligraphy, and Typography from the Veatchs Arts of the Book

Artists' books and more from the Veatchs.

Artists' books and more from the Veatchs.

The Veatchs Arts of the Book has published their Catalogue 98 New Acquisitions, including Artists' Books, Bindings, Calligraphy, and Typography. That makes describing what's in this selection easy, especially since their name points out the focus is on the book arts. So, we will move right ahead to a few specific examples of items to be found herein.

 

We will begin with some deep philosophy, though the philosophy is secondary in this edition to the production. The book is Also Sprach Zarathustra. Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen (Thus spoke Zarathustra. A book for all and none). Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, was the ancient Persian teacher whose followers once dominated that part of the world. His teachings were focused on how to live a good life. This book was written by Friedrich Nietzsche and it illuminates his teachings, particularly his concept of the perfect being or ubermensch (superman). It was published in the 1880s, but this edition is from 1908 and the focus is on its production. Quoting the Princeton University Library Chronicle, the Veatchs notes, “In scale, sumptuousness, and significance, this book brings to mind the other two masterpieces of the early private-press movement, the Kelmcott Chaucer and the Doves Bible.” Considering that those are the two most highly praised private press books, that is quite a compliment. The book was commissioned by Harry (Count) Kessler, a German involved in the arts and follower of Nietzsche who later opened his own private press. He worked with Georges Lemmen to develop the type for this book. However, the primary force in its creation was Henry van de Velde. Van de Welde was a Belgian artist and designer, one of the founders of Art Nouveau and an admirer of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. It is a spectacular book, this being copy 521 of 530 on handmade paper. Item 46. $6,800.

 

Item 4 is the first Bible/New Testament in Greek published in America. That is significant as Greek was the language in which the New Testament was written. The Veatchs ascribed the printing to Isaiah Thomas Jr., son of the legendary American printer, newspaper publisher and patriot. Thomas moved his press from Boston to Worcester just before the Battle of Concord, in which he participated, sparing it from confiscation by the British. He continued printing until his death in 1831 and was then succeeded by his son. Thomas, Sr., was one of the founders of the American Antiquarian Society. $900.

 

The Veatchs introduces this book by saying, “A garden is a living collaboration of nature and art.” That is a collaboration that marks the work of this artist, Nancy Leavitt. Item 36 is her The Inner Garden, published in 2007. It is a one-of-a-kind hand-lettered and painted artist's book. Leavitt's background is a degree in biology along with a love of gardening combined with being a talented artist. With this book, along with the text are five double page nature prints. Nature printing was popular in the 1850s but there hasn't been much of it since. It is where some natural object, perhaps a leaf but it can be anything, is used to create a plate for printing. What Leavitt has done is not quite the same. She has laid plants on paper coated with inks, then covered them with glass and baked them in the sun. When the glass is removed, the ghost-like images are left in place. $3,800.

 

Here is an unusual item. You might call it a message in a bottle. The title is Any Number of Things, text and art by Rebecca Harvey. The story is that of the events which led up to the death of explorer Captain James Cook in 1779. On the way back from his third voyage, Cook stopped in Hawaii for some R&R (or perhaps a little more exploring) but ran into a misunderstanding with the natives. They took it too seriously. They killed him. In her text, Harvey concludes any number of things could have contributed to Cook's demise. The format is most unusual, though appropriate for a seagoing man. The text and art is on a scroll that opens to 10 ½ x 113 inches. It is housed in a glass bottle, 17 inches tall. There is a stopper in the top, but even open you would have a heck of a time getting this scroll into the bottle, and probably no chance of getting it back out. To make up for this, the bottle has no bottom. It has been placed on a saucer with micro-calligraphy by Ann Alaia Woods. The work was created in 2013. Item 25. $1,350.

 

This is a Livres d'Heures (Book of Hours) from Paris in 1889. It was used for a special ceremony on September 19, 1892, the wedding of Charles Lattemand and Charlotte Capitain. I have not been able to find anything more about the happy couple but hopefully they had a wonderful life since they certainly aren't with us anymore. The miniatures were designed by Madame L. Rousseau. The Veatchs notes this is “an exceptional copy, apparently unused since the happy couple's wedding day.” Item 53. $3,500.

 

The Veatchs Arts of the Book can be reached at 716-648-0361 or veatchs@veatchs.com. Their website is www.veatchs.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Gonnelli
    Auction 59
    Antique prints, paintings and maps
    May 20th 2025
    Gonnelli: Pietro Aquila, Psyche and Proserpina,1690. Starting price 140€
    Gonnelli: Jacques Gamelin, Memento homo quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris, 1779. Starting price 300€
    Gonnelli: Giorgio Ghisi, The final Judgement, 1680. Starting price 480€
    Gonnelli
    Auction 59
    Antique prints, paintings and maps
    May 20th 2025
    Gonnelli Goya y Lucientes Francisco, Los Proverbios.1877. Starting price 1000 €
    Gonnelli: Domenico Peruzzini, Long bearded old man, 1660. Starting price 2200€
    Gonnelli: Enea Vico, Leda and the Swan,1542. Starting price 140€
    Gonnelli
    Auction 59
    Antique prints, paintings and maps
    May 20th 2025
    Gonnelli: Andrea Del Sarto [school of], San Giovanni Battista, 1570. Starting price 25000€
    Gonnelli: Carlo Maratta, Virgin Mary and Jesus, 1660. Starting Price 1200€
    Gonnelli: Louis Brion de La Tour, Sphére de Copernic Sphere de Ptolemée / Le Systême de Ptolemée. Le Systême de Ticho-Brahe…, 1766. Starting price 180€
    Gonnelli
    Auction 59
    Antique prints, paintings and maps
    May 20th 2025
    Gonnelli: Marc’Antonio Dal Re, Ville di Delizia o Siano Palaggi Camparecci nello Stato di Milano Divise in Sei Tomi Con espressevi le Piante…, Tomo Primo, 1726. Starting price 7000€
    Gonnelli: Katsushika Hokusai, Bird on a branch, 1843. Starting price 100€
  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Th. McKenney & J. Hall, History of the Indian tribes of North America, 1836-1844. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Biblia latina vulgata, manuscript on thin parchment, around 1250. Est: €70,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. Beckmann, Fanferlieschen Schönefüßchen, 1924. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: A. Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1574. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. S. Merian, Eurcarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis, 1717-18. Est: €6,000
    Ketterer, May 26: PAN, 9 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: €12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: €15,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Quran manuscript from the Saadian period, Maghreb, 16th century. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer, May 26: E. Hemingway, The old man and the sea, 1952. First edition in first issue jacket. Presentation copy. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De re militari libri quatuor, 1553. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer, May 26: K. Marx, Das Kapital, 1867. Est: €30,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000
  • Leland Little, May 21: Signed Artist Proof of the Monumental G.O.A.T.: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali.
    Leland Little, May 21: Assorted Rare Publications Related to H.P. Lovecraft, Including The Recluse Signed by Vincent Starrett.
    Leland Little, May 21: Two Issues of The Vagrant, Including the First Appearance of H.P. Lovecraft's "Dagon" in Number Eleven.
    Leland Little, May 21: Rare First Printing of Anne of Green Gables, With ALS from the Author.
    Leland Little, May 21: First Edition of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, In First Issue Jacket.
    Leland Little, May 21: The Limited Paumanok Edition of The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman.
    Leland Little, May 21: Beautifully Bound Limited Flaubert Edition of The Works of Guy de Maupassant.
    Leland Little, May 21: First Edition of Bonaparte's Celebrated American Ornithology, With Spectacular Hand-Colored Plates.
    Leland Little, May 21: A Rare Complete Set of Jardine's The Naturalist's Library, With Hand-Colored Plates.
    Leland Little, May 21: Invitation to the Lincoln-Johnson National Inaugural Ball, March 4th, 1865.
    Leland Little, May 21: A Scarce Inscribed First Edition of James Baldwin's Nobody Knows My Name.
    Leland Little, May 21: Picasso's Le Goût du Bonheur, Limited Edition.
  • 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

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions