Collection of four (4) 'Blue Books', circa 1982-1986

Signed first editions, limited to 100 copies. Titles include:

The Blue Edition of Catalogues Raisonnés and Other Misreadings (1982) ; The Blue Edition of Teaching a Carolina Dog to Say Mama (1983) ; Index of the Alphabetic Rebus (1984) ; and Other Doors to Bookland (1986).

Oblong 4to to small folio. Very good. various - stab stapled and comb bound. [1659]

Gary Richman's 'Blue Book' project has resulted in an ongoing series of publications since the early 1980s. According to a page for the artist on Printed Matter's website. "The works are characterized by surreal combinations of black and white collages of 50's-style diagrammatic images, original line drawings, and found photographs interact with text that is direct and bold not only in voice but also in visual presentation, often printed in serif type, all capitals, or both. Images and text drawn from or referencing an authoritative context have their power undermined by Richman's unique collaging sensibility; individually, images and phrases remain striking, but when presented in combination, viewers are compelled to draw connections and extract their own meanings. The assemblages may seem at once stream-of-consciousness and carefully constructed, random yet woven intricately by the artist with a specific but inaccessible meaning in mind. In the artist's own words, "Content is always construed, translated and often condemned to misapprehension. Like Santayana's beauty in the eye of the beholder, it is sometimes coincidental but not entirely unintended." Richman's works are in the collection of the Tate, MoMA, Yale, Brown and NYPL. Early editions scarcely turn up in the marketplace.