Search Results: Authors starting with G from Ursus Books

1931. KRULL, Germain. Confort. Text by G. Lenotre, Paul Reboux, Marcel Prevost & Pierre Mac-Orlan. Illustrated with 30 black-&-white photographic plates attributed to Germaine Krull. 4to, publisher's wrappers, in a new cloth folding box. Paris: Soc, pour la Société générale de fonderie, 1931. A fine copy of this rare and stunning trade catalogue with photographs attributed to Germaine Krull in the Bibliotheque Nationale catalogue. The texts consist of Le Confort au Palais et dans les appartemens, qui contient beaucoup de particularitez de l'histoire de Louis XIV, by Lenotre; Le Confort, ou la Toilette de Julie by Paul Reboux. Lettre a Francoise sur le confort by Marcel Prevost and Confort 1931 by Pierre Mac-Orlan. Gernaine Krull is listed as the photographer in OCLC.

1940. MEXICO. Seis anos de gobierno al Servicio de Mexico, 1934-1940. xxv, 459 pp., illustrated throughout with Isotypes. Small folio, bound in publisher's green gilt-stamped cloth. [México]: [La Nacional Impressora], 1940. A massive and seemingly little-known work, which is illustrated with a vast profusion and variety of Isotypes on almost every page, making it one of the largest examples of this brilliant form of book illustration. The use of the Isotypes creates a visually stunning book. It would be hard to imagine a more perfect example of the practical use of Neurath and Arntz's invention than this massive compendium of Mexican government statistics. Printed on good quality paper, this is a fine copy of an extremely rare work.

1810. GAITTE, Antoine Joseph. Recueil des plus belles Maisons et des plus belles Edifices de la Ville de Paris. 24 numbered leaves with 136 engraved oval or circular views, the whole surrounded by an engraved neoclassical frame. Oblong folio, 401 x 280 mm., contemporary half green vellum over paste paper boards. Paris: n.p., [ca. 1810]. The only edition of this interesting suite of twenty-four plates, illustrating 136 views of public buildings, squares, and gates in Paris. The most important component of this suite is the series of 45 engraved views of the barrières, or toll-gates, which once surrounded the city of Paris. These barrières were designed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux, the visionary French architect, and built from 1785 to 1789 according to an act passed by the Fermiers-Généraux. At each entry to the city, Ledoux planned one or sometimes two dignified pavilions which were simultaneously Neoclassical in form and Romantic in spirit. Of the 45… Read More

1937. GARATTI, Celso Maria. Italiani di Mussolini in A.O. 569 pp., illustrated throughout. Large folio, 405 x 305 mm., bound in publisher's cloth with spine made from copper tubes, with onlaid metal axe on the front cover. Bologna: L. Cappelli, 1937. A stupendous object, in a binding that is completely over the top. Fascist bombast at its most preposterous. The binding mimics the fascist fasces, and even though this copy bears the number 1127, presumably, it was not produced in a large quantity, and represents one of the few bindings which could be melted down and put to a more useful existence. The layout shows the surprising influence of the avant-garde of the twenties and thirties, which is at variance with the subject matter, namely the conquest of poorly armed Africans by Mussolini's military might. Surely one of the most striking and rarest of photobooks. Waterstain on front cover, endpapers foxed, otherwise a fine copy. Very rare, with OCLC recording just fives copies in the… Read More

1747. GARCIA BERRUGUILLA, Juan. Verdadera Práctica de las Resoluciones de la Geometría sobre las tres Dimensiones para un perfecto Architecto: con una total Resolución para medir y dividir la Planimetría para los Agrimensores. Title, [30], 135 pp., illustrated with 18 folding engraved plates. 8vo, 225 x 150 mm., bound in contemporary vellum. Madrid: En la Imprenta de Lorenzo Francisco Mojados, 1747. First edition of this rare and richly illustrated manual on applied geometry for the use of architects and land surveyors. It also deals extensively with the instruction of drawing architectural plans and perspective. The book consists of six short treatises, each dealing with a given problem and its solution, all nicely illustrated with 18 engraved plates. OCLC lists just two copies in the U.S. at Columbia and John Carter Brown. Some scattered, minor marginal wear and staining, plate 15 with some repairs, overall a fine, unsophisticated copy.

1903. [GEFFROY, Gustave]. La Vie Artistique. Préface d'Edmond de Goncourt. Eight volumes (all published). xvi, 375; 396; xx, 395; xviii, 334; 408; 462; 368; 483 pp. With an original etched frontispiece to each volume (by Carrière, Rodin, Renoir, Raffaelli, Fantin-Latour, Pissarro, Vierge, and Willette). 12mo, 167 x 110 mm., bound contemporary silk over boards, original wrappers preserved. Paris: Dentu [and Floury], 1892-1903. Only edition, a beautiful unique and complete set of La Vie Artistique which was one of the most influential of the late nineteenth-century art periodicals. Volumes 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are inscribed from Geffroy to the noted poet, art critic and journalist Leon Roger Miles. Geffroy (1855-1926) was one of the earliest supporters of the Impressionists. A founding member of the Academie Goncourt, he was, in the words of Edmond de Goncourt, "dispensateur d'une culture nouvelle." All of his writings about Impressionism are significant and remain… Read More

1989. GERZSO, Gunther. The Besieged/El Sitiado. By Octavio Paz, translated by Eliot Weinberger. With an etching by Gunther Gerzso. 4to., cloth covered board in cloth covered slipcase. San Francisco: Limestone Press, 1989. Gunther Gerzso has created a stunning frontispiece color etching for Octavio Paz's poem. Printed in letterpress, Paz's poem is presented in both English and Spanish. The English is printed in black while the Spanish is printed in scarlet red creating a very dramatic visual effect since the two languages are each printed on the same page. Signed on the colophon by Gerzo and Paz. One of an edition of 200.

1900. J. G. SCHELTER and Giesecke. Schriften nebst Zierat fuer Anschlaege, grosse Druckarbeietn usw... 126 pp., including 3 a/b and 96/ab. Folio, bound in publisher's decorated cloth. Leipzig: J.G. Schelter and Giesecke, [ca. 1900]. A magnificent turn of the century type specimen book. Marginal staining to the title-page, but overall in excellent condition. Schelter and Giesecke were one of the great German type founders and survived from 1819 until 1951 when the firm was merged with several others. Slight bowing to the binding but otherwise a fine copy. Rare with OCLC listing only Yale and Newberry in the US.

1985. GILMAN COLLECTION. Photographs from the Collection of the Gilman Paper Company. Curated by Pierre Apraxine, with plates by Richard Benson, and notes to the plates by Lee Marks. 480 pp. Illustrated with 199 offset lithographs after photographs plus offset lithographic frontispiece. Large folio, bound in original half maroon calf over linen covered boards, in a slipcase. [Verona: Stamperia Valdonega for] The White Oak Press, 1985. A superbly printed book, presenting, for the first time, two hundred images from one of the world's important photography resources. These images, selected by Pierre Apraxine, curator of the Gilman collection, illustrate the work of over one hundred photographers. The scope ranges from the experimental daguerrotype of the early 1840's (by Samuel F. B. Morse et al.), to the pioneering photographs by Robert Frank and Diane Arbus of the mid 1950s and 1960s. The edition was limited to 1200 copies, and has been described as "a tour-de-force of… Read More

1941. SAN GIORGIO Societa Anonima Industriale GENOVA - SESTRI. Panorama di produzione. 152, [2] pp., photographically illustrated throughout. Small folio, 240 x 170 mm., bound in publisher's embossed tan wrappers. Genova: S.I.A.G., 1941. (#171086) A splendidly printed and designed trade catalogue for the San Giorgio factories devoted to the construction of machines. The book was lovingly produced with elaborate layout, multiple colours and some quite avant-garde photographs. Extremely rare with OCLC listing only one copy worldwide, in Germany.

1807. GOFFAUX, Francois-Joseph. Époques Principales de l'Histoire, pour server de précis. (4), VIII, [2], 134 pp., with folding plate [960 x 620 mm. unfolded] signed by Bocquet, printed on thick paper, and finished in hand-color as issued. 8vo, 212 x 127 mm., contemporary green vellum. Paris: Arthus Bertrand, 1807. The second edition of a spectacular work, for which the first edition was published in 1805 with slightly fewer pages. The printed text is accompanied by a large folding panorama showing the rise and fall of world civilizations, all vividly depicted with contemporary hand-colouring. The author would seem to have just been a minor politician and academic, but who has left us this stunning work as his one claim to fame. Of the greatest rarity. For the 1805 edition OCLC lists copies at Princeton and 4 in Europe, and for this edition complete copies only at the BN and the Mediatheque Valais. The vellum slightly bowed and cracked at the head of the spine, but… Read More

2021. GOGOL, Nikolai. The Nose. Illustrated by William Kentridge. Oblong 4to., Publisher's cloth-backed boards and clamshell box. San Francisco: Arion Press, 2021. This edition of The Nose is a new original translation by scholar and author Stanislav Shvabrin. William Kentridge provided 16 altered and collaged images for the book, composed on tear sheets of the 19th-century tabloid The Illustrated London News, which have been reproduced in full-color offset lithography on tinted backgrounds. One of an edition of 190 copies.

1944. GOLDFINGER, Erno and Ursula BLACKWELL. Planning your Neighbourhood for Home, for Work, for Play. 20 colored pictorial boards. Folio, 490 x 355 mm., loose, in a new cloth folding box. [London: Air Ministry Directorate of Educational Services, 1944.] A spectacular set of designs by the Hungarian-born architect Erno Goldfinger and his wife Ursula Blackwell, assisted by Martin Cobbett, with cartoons by Sheila Hawkins and landscaping by Peter Shepheard. They were prepared for exhibitions put on by the Army Bureau of Current Affairs and depict plans for the rebuilding of the East End of London after the war. The set is made up as follows: the first plate is the title-page, 2 and 3 contrast village and town life, 4-10 describe what planning means: "Shops, Schools, Work and Recreation within east reach of our home." 9 and 10 are about different types of homes (houses, flats or maisonettes) and the space needed to supply accommodation for different sized families. 11-20 show the site… Read More

2007. GOLDYNE, Joseph. The Invisible Collection. By Stefan Zweig. Illustrated with an original etching by Joseph Goldyne. 8vo, 230 x 140 mm., bound in original black morocco-backed sepia-coloured paper over boards. New York: Ursus Books, 2007. A handsome new edition of this classic fable about collecting. Zweig's story, set in Germany in the aftermath of the First World War, is timeless. It eloquently evokes the magic of collecting, the excitement of dealing and the pleasures and complexities of ownership. Joseph Goldyne, the distinguished California artist who is himself a renowned collector, has thoughtfully produced an illustration which successfully solves the problem of how to illustrate a book, which on first reading would seem to defy the concept of illustration. Peter Koch has designed and printed as elegant a version of Zweig's story as one could hope for. One of an edition of only 50 copies elegantly printed by Peter Koch in San Francisco, and containing a signed etching by… Read More

GONCOURT, Edmond de. Portrait for La Galerie Contemporaine by Nadar. Woodburytype print with artist's information printed on mount, matted and framed in polished dark wood. [Paris: Nadar, ND]. A visually arresting portrait of Edmond de Goncourt by famed portrait photographer Nadar (Gaspard-Felix Tournachon 1820-1910). "Nadar's notoriety in photography came after successful careers first in writing and publishing and then in caricature. Nadar's turn to portrait photography appears to be a natural progression from his work in caricature." "Galerie Contemporaine, stands out due to its ambitious scope, as well as for the quality of the photographic imagery it contained. Underpinned by a certain patriotic sentiment and a more sophisticated approach to celebrity, the subtitle Litteraire Artistique declares the work's focus of interest to be high art. In fact Galerie Contemporaine evolved into the most impressive set of celebrity portraits published in… Read More

1915. GOVONI, Corrado. Rarefazioni e Parole in Libertà. 50, [4] pp., illustrated throughout with various typographical elements and drawing reproductions. Folio, 320 x 245 mm., bound in publisher's printed wrappers, preserved in a new cloth folding box. Milan: [Edizione Futuriste di "Poesia"], 1915. First edition. One of the rarer and more unusual works of Futurist poetry and typography by poet Corrado Govoni (1884-1965), who only briefly experimented with the movement. Rarefazioni e Parole in Libertà emphasizes Futurism's interest in the freedom of childhood with its mixture of the usual typographical elements in concert with naive illustrations throughout. The result is both charming and arresting. An exceptionally fine copy. The Avant-Garde Applied 1890-1950, L50.

1929. GRAFF, VON WERNER. Es Kommt Der Neue Fotograf! 126 pp., with over 100 black and white photographs by various artists. 4to, publisher's cloth and dust jacket. Berlin, Reckendorf, 1929. A fine copy of this landmark publication with the incredibly rare dust jacket. "An early important exhibition featuring the best of the modern modernist photographers in Europe and the U.S. Showcase for diverse photo-imagery and treatise for an all-inclusive modernist photography". Contains photographs by Willi Baumeister, Herbert Bayer, John Heartfield El Lissitzky, Man Ray, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter and Sascha Stone. The dust jacket is remarkably fresh with just a tiny bit of damage at the head of the spine. Parr The Photobook I p. 83

1848. GRANDVILLE, J.J. L'Ingénieux chevalier Don Quichotte de la Manche... Traduction nouvelle, illustrée par J.J. Granville. By Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Two volumes in one. viii, 552 pp., with steel engraved frontispiece, 6 steel engraved plates, and 24 woodcut engravings, all executed after designs by Grandville. 8vo, 2350 x 150 mm., bound in original publisher's polychrome binding, a.e.g. Tours: A. Mame et Cie., 1858. A pristine copy of this edition of Grandville's illustrated edition of Cervantes reissued in the same format as his other books, with the original publisher's polychrome binding in fine state. The 32 illustrations by Grandville are a continual source of delight, for which many of Quixote's classic mis-adventures are immortalized with characteristic humour and charm. Without any of the foxing found in most copies. Overall an exceptional copy, the gold and polychrome on the binding very bright and fresh.

1842. GRANDVILLE, J.J. Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux. Two volumes. [8], 386, [6]; [4], 390, [6] pp., with 201 engraved plates and 120 vignettes illustrating the text. Large 8vo, 261 x 180 mm., uniformly bound in publisher's green cloth with gilt vignettes of Grandville designs on the covers and spine. Paris: Hetzel et Paulin: 1842. First edition of a Grandville masterpiece, bound in the publisher's gilt-stamped cloth. A fantastic example of anthropomorphic illustration and an important precursor of surrealism. These illustrations represent some of Grandville's most memorable creations. Many of the plates are of single figures, but there are also satirical scenes of everyday life, monsters, animals looking at politicians caged at the zoo, etc. The texts contained herein were written by such notable authors as Balzac, Charles Nodier, George Sand, Louis Viardot and even J. Hetzel, the publisher (under the pseudonym of P.J. Stahl). Hetzel was the… Read More

1854. GRANDVILLE, J.J. Les Métamorphoses du Jour. [4], xxviii, 283 pp., with 70 hand-coloured wood engravings after designs by Grandville. Large 8vo, 262 x 163 mm., bound in publisher's illustrated polychrome boards. Paris: Havard, 1854. First edition in book form, comprised of 67 designs from the excessively rare 1829 suite, 2 lithographs from La Silhouette and 1 woodcut from the Musée Philipon. The Métamorphoses du Jour was the work which established Grandville's reputation as a brilliant satirical critic of social manners, institutions and prejudices. "Throughout the series Grandville's choice of beastheads is inspired, and the force of his conceptions and the wit of his captions rarely falter. Occasionally he produces a design of universal application that calls Goya to mind" (Ray). Charles Blanc described the Métamorphoses du Jour as "the most original and most remarkable series in Grandville's oeuvre." The text for this… Read More