Unique collection of 281 silver gelatin prints of Chinese miniatures [WITH] Chinesische Kleinbildnerei in Steatit [FROM THE ARCHIVES OF KARL WITH]

Oldenburg: Gerhard Stalling Verlag, 1926. First published. Loose_leaf. g- to vg. Unique collection of 281 original silver gelatin prints (Size varies from 2 x 1 3/4" to 9 x 7") used for the 1926 publication of Karl With's* "Chinesische Kleinbildnerei in Steatit."

The collection contains 281 photographs depicting striking Chinese miniatures in jade, rock-crystal, onyx, etc. Some of the characters featured are variations of Buddha, Buddhist monks, scholars, children, actors wearing large opera masks, women in traditional dress, fishermen, etc.

Most of the photographs are stamped with the publisher's name "Gerhard Stalling Verlag" and contain references, mostly in pencil, to their placement in the book, e.g. Tafel 28 (plate 28). Sixty two of the silver gelatin prints are photographs of the twenty four sculptures reproduced in-text from various angles, 137 of the original prints depict the eighty sculptures in the full-page section at rear either exactly or from different angles, and 82 images represent sculptures of the same genre paired with other objects or not used at all to illustrate the publication (not including additional alternate angle shots of previously used images). Eight of the in-text images, eighteen from the section at rear and five of the seven color images are not represented in our collection of prints. Sporadic light to moderate oxidation of photographs throughout, photographs bent.

[WITH]

With, Karl. Chinesische Kleinbildnerei in Steatit. Quarto. 142 (1)pp., 7 color plates with tissue guards, 80 b/w plates. Color frontispiece. The small Chinese soap stone statuettes from the 16th to 18th century are mainly held in Dutch private collections as well as museums in Berlin, Munich, Gotha, Rotterdam, Leiden, Hoorn and Paris. Due to the high quality of statuettes in Dutch possession, they were the only ones used to illustrated this volume. Steatite sculpture is a relatively new phenomenon and is mainly attributed to the folkloristic rural peasantry and the urban middle-class. Profusely illustrated with b/w in-text photographs, augmented by seven color photographs tipped onto heavy umbra paper stock, with tissue guards, and eighty full-page b/w illustrations at rear. Contains descriptive listings of plates and bibliography at rear. Laid in handwritten letter. Text in German. Light sunning of spine with light wear along edges of binding and minor stain on front cover, else in very good+ condition.

[WITH]

Two additional publications by Karl With: Buddhistische Plastik in Japan. Wien, Anton Schroll, 1919. First edition, and Java: Buddhistische und Brahmanische Architektur und Plastik auf Java [Geist, Kunst und Leben Asiens, Band I]. Hagen, Folkwang Verlag G.M.B.H., 1922, 2nd edition. Both publications with poor binding and good interior. * Karl With was a German art historian, author, and museum director. He received his doctor degree under Josef Strzygowski on "Buddhist Sculpture in Japan" in 1918, and was the director of the Folkwang Museum from 1919 to 1921, followed by a guest professorship in Bonn. In 1925 the then mayor of Cologne Konrad Adenauer appointed With to be professor for art history at the Cologne Werkschulen. In 1928, he became director of the Museum for Applied Art in Cologne and in 1931, in a double function, director of the Cologne Werkschulen. Deemed a "panderer of degenerate art" by the Nazis, Karl With was dismissed from all public offices prompting him to move to Berlin where he worked for the Ullstein Verlag. Freiherr von Heydt invited him to the Ascona Artist Colony in 1936 and in 1939 With emigrated to the USA. In 1950 he became professor at UCLA until 1966. Karl With is the author of numerous art books on Far Eastern art.