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Rare and Antiquarian Books

Book Arts

Book arts go far beyond the cover art on the dust jacket. Words are not the only kind of content in books, and illustrations, photographs, and inserts are just a few of the differing types of artistic expression that can be found in books. The bindings and and typography of books are also considered book arts, as are zines and how-to guides. Fore-edge paintings, or the illustrations that can be found on the very edges of the pages themselves, are an excellent example of book art. Additionally, books that are bound in unusual materials, such as jewels or even human skin, can be considered book art.

And of course, unique books like miniatures are also some of the best-known examples of collectible book art. Handcrafted or hand-painted illustrations almost always raise the value of books, and they can be a fun and vibrant addition to any collection.

Results 1 - 15 of 450
La Sombra del Aguila [Napoleonic Age]

La Sombra del Aguila [Napoleonic Age]

by Ediciones Dos Amigos. Perez-Reverte, Arturo

  • Used
  • Signed
Condition
Used
Seller
Kennebunkport, Maine
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A$7,731.50
A$15.00 shipping to USA

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Buenos Aires: Ediciones Dos Amigos, 1991. One of 30 copies, all hors commerce, each numbered and signed by Samuel Cesar Palui, Ernesto Lowenstein and Ruben R. Lapolla, this copy #12, all on velin d'Arches paper. Page size: 15 x 11 inches; 14pp. Bound: loose as issued in original white paper wrappers, housed in publisher's red cloth clamshell box, with cork on front and back panels and spine title in black on spine, in red with author's name in black on front panel, fine. llustrated with four original etchings by Jorge Simes that were printed by Mirta Ripoll. The initials that open each chapter are designed by Amelia Rigon. The text was printed at the Artesanias Graficas Printing Plant by Ruben Lapolla with the supervision of Samuel Cesar Palui in 14 Aster. The literal translation of the Spanish title is "Eagle's Shadow." This is the first book written by the well-known Spanish writer, Artura Perez-Reverte - although it is not the first published. An historical novel, it centers on the Russian… Read More
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A$7,731.50
A$15.00 shipping to USA
Journeys to the Moon and Sun
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Journeys to the Moon and Sun: text by Cyrano De Bergerac translated by Timothy Hampton

by [Hazelwood, Art] Cyrano De Bergerac.

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used
Edition
Edition of 20
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
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A$8,504.65
A$14.35 shipping to USA

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Sonoma, California:: Eastside Editions,, 2004.. Edition of 20. 22 x 17"; 28 pages. Letterpress printed. Twelve multiple-plate color etchings with linocut borders. 11 text pages with decorative linocut border. Printed on handmade Abaca paper. Bound in cloth covered boards. Slipcased. Edition of 20: 10 portfolio sets; 10 book sets. Colophon: "Cyrano De Bergerac was the true life inspiration for the romantic figure of Edmond de Rostand's 19th century plan and one of the more curious thinkers in early modern Europe. He was a satirist, swordsmen, poet, and philosopher who indeed had a prodigious appendage. The book, excerpts of which are translated here under the title Journeys to the Moon and Sun, consist in equal parts of sci fi, philosophical speculation, metaphysical drama, theological humor, and freak show satire. The scales of the world are turned upside down and found to be wanting. " David Berona, Image & Narrative, "Art Hazelwood: A Graphic Witness of… Read More
Item Price
A$8,504.65
A$14.35 shipping to USA
INSECTA.

INSECTA.

by [Broadfoot, Linda] A. S. Byatt.

  • Used
Condition
Used
Edition
Edition of 50
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
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A$7,731.50
A$14.35 shipping to USA

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Atlantic Beach, Florida:: Linda Broadfoot,, 2005.. Edition of 50. A combination of handset letterpress and computer generated work. Letterpress was used to print the text using metal type on a flat bed press on a Vandercook Universal III using Hahnemuhle Biblio and Copperplate papers at the Letterpress & Foundry of Michael and Winifred Bixler. Then digitally reproduced small Giclée prints of the artist's original 20 x 24" Polaroid image transfers were printed archivally on Crane's Museo paper using an Epson 4000 printer. A modern day Cabinet of Wonders. Broadfoot uses A. S. Byatt's "Things Are Not What They Seem" to accompany her images as "a numinous guide to viewing" these wonders of nature. The insects shown were selected from the Florida State Collection of Arthropods. Broadfoot: "In the spring of 2001, I began to borrow insect specimens from the Florida State Collection of Arthropods. Carefully transporting this delicate cargo to… Read More
Item Price
A$7,731.50
A$14.35 shipping to USA
HIVE.
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HIVE.

by [Broadfoot, Linda] Carol Ann Duffy.

  • Used
  • Signed
Condition
Used
Edition
Edition of 30
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
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A$7,731.50
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Atlantic Beach, Florida:: Linda Broadfoot,, 2014.. Edition of 30. Box 6.5 x 7 x 9.5" containing ten 5 x 7.5 x .5" double-sided panels. Poems letterpress printed on Hahnemühle Ingres paper using Perpetua type cast by Michael & Winifred Bixler. Text overprinted with a transparent honeycomb pattern. Archival pigment print images on Hahnemühle Photo Silk Baryta paper. Images and poems mounted on Russian birch plywood, foreedges coated with beeswax, and encased within a fabricated one-half scale maple Langstroth beehive box structure. Title and bee image engraved on the cover. Title page mounted on the interior side of the lid. Signed and numbered. Hive was produced over the course of two years and contains nine poems from The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy with images and design by Linda Broadfoot. Linda Broadfoot: "Hive was created to reveal the wonder of sunlit bees in the air and the mystery of the hive. The images and the physical structure of the book came from my… Read More
Item Price
A$7,731.50
A$14.35 shipping to USA
Abraham Lincoln.
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Abraham Lincoln.

by [Fore-edge Painting. Signed] [Miss C. B. CURRIE] CHARNWOOD, Godfrey Benson, 1st Baron [Lord] (1864-1945).

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Montreux, Switzerland
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Item Price
A$10,437.52
A$28.00 shipping to USA

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London:: Constable & Company, Ltd., 1916., 1916. Series: Makers of the nineteenth century, edited by Basil Williams. Crown 8vo. viii, 479, [1] pp. Frontispiece portrait of Abraham Lincoln (at Springfield), index, large folding map. Specially bound for Sotheran by Riviere & Son in full black gilt-stamped morocco, all edges gilt; neatly rebacked preserving the original spine. Preserved with the original chemise and cloth slipcase with gilt-stamped calf spine label: "ABRAHAM LINCOLN - LORD CHARNWOOD - 1916 - FORE-EDGE PAINTING". This is also a very rare specimen with the original chemise and box extant. Provenance: ownership names of R. Joseph Rich, Margaret Rich Carr; Joseph Sampsell Carr. Fine. WITH A FORE-EDGE PAINTING BY MS. C. B. CURRIE, showing "a view of Harper's Ferry, W. Virginia." "This is No. 145 of the Books with Fore-edge Paintings by Miss Currie. . . " Painted ca. 1928/9. See: Weber, p. 341 [#145 was previously unknown]. Currie painted a scene of Harper's Ferry on the Life of John Brown,… Read More
Item Price
A$10,437.52
A$28.00 shipping to USA
The Instinct Never Dies (with Bateman signed letter)
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The Instinct Never Dies (with Bateman signed letter)

by Bateman, Ed W.

  • Used
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
First
Seller
Kanab, Utah
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A$29,379.70
A$6.00 shipping to USA

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First edition. Quarto, full limp cowhide. One of the finest and rarest of Texas imprints, and one that has been referred to as the 'black tulip' of western fine printing. Of legendary rarity and highlighted in Al Lowman's The Printing Arts in Texas, this copy is accompanied by a letter from the author to Dudley Dobie concerning the book's origins and the great expense required to print it. The book and letter were owned by W. Thomas Taylor, author of Texfake, a book which exposed the theft and forgery of early Texas documents in the 1970s; the publisher of Bookways, a quarterly devoted to book arts; and the designer/printer of over fifty books. Printed recto only, the book was written, designed and the type set by Ed W. Bateman, a one time newspaper reporter (hence the title) and a wildcatter of great success and failure. This book was created during one of his periods of great success. The text and illustrations are printed in two colors and the subject matter ranges from a father's implacable… Read More
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A$29,379.70
A$6.00 shipping to USA
The Fables of Aesop.
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ILLUSTRATED WITH 66 POCHOIR WOODCUTSThe Fables of Aesop. Printed from the Veronese Edition of MCCCCLXXIX in Latin Verses and Italian Version by Accio Zucco, with the Woodcuts Newly Engraved and Coloured After a Copy in The British Museum. (With) The First Three Books of Caxton's Aesop containing the Fables Illustrated in the Verona Aesopus of MCCCCLXXIX.Epilogue by Giovanni Mardersteig. Illustrated with 66 full-page woodcuts by Anna Bramanti. Woodcuts are pochoir colored by Daniel Jacomet to recreate the illuminated miniature effect of the British Library copy of the Veronese Aesop of 1479 (upon which the present edition is based). The fleurons, first adopted in 1479, were engraved by Charles Malin. 8vo. Publisher's ¼-green morocco; decorated boards; top edges gilt; acetate dust wrappers; enclosed in morocco-tipped slipcase.Officina Bodoni, Verona, 1973. Limited to 160 numbered copies set in Centaur types, printed on Magnani mould made paper with goose watermark. 2 volumes. Volume I contains the… Read More
Item Price
A$10,824.10
A$20.00 shipping to USA
Natursystem aller bekannten in- und ausländischen Insekten: Schmetterlinge; Nach dem System des...
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Natursystem aller bekannten in- und ausländischen Insekten: Schmetterlinge; Nach dem System des Ritters Carl von Linné bearbeitet

by Jablonsky, Carl Gustav & J.F.W. Herbst

  • Used
  • near fine
  • first
Condition
Used - Near fine
Edition
First Edition
Seller
Middletown, New York
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Item Price
A$17,782.45
A$8.00 shipping to USA

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Berlin: Ben Joachim Pauli, 1783. First Edition. Near fine. Ludwig Schmidt and others. Oblong 4to, 8 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (211 x 260 mm), 117 fine hand-colored engraved plates, printed on handmade laid paper. Contemporary half calf with marbled paper boards and a handwritten paper label on the spine, chipped; binding rubbed and corners bumped but binding is square and firm; all edges red; light water stain to the cover and fly sheets, not affecting the plates. Very light foxing on a few of the plates. The copy offered here does not include the plate relating to the entomologist's instruments, which is included in some copies. [Nissen, ZBI 2078]. An exceedingly rare and beautifully-illustrated work by Carl Gustav Jablonsky and JFW Herbst, whose Natursystem is one of the first attempts at a complete survey of exotic and European butterflies, and edited following the system of Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778), the father of modern taxonomy, as stated in the subtitle of the work. Carl Gustav Jablonsky (1765 -… Read More
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A$17,782.45
A$8.00 shipping to USA
Nova arte de escrever offerecida oa Principe Nosso Senhor, para instrucção da mocidade...
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Nova arte de escrever offerecida oa Principe Nosso Senhor, para instrucção da mocidade...

by AROÚJO, ANTÓNIO JACINTO DE.

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Lavardin, France
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Item Price
A$7,553.25
A$9.24 shipping to USA

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Lisboa, (Na officina de Antonio Gomes), 1794. 25 pages letterpress text and 25 engraved plates (including the allegorical frontispiece of Lisbon after a design by Jeronymo de Barros-Ferreira, and engraved second titlepage). Engraved armorial device on letterpress title, 1 engraved figure and 13 wood-engraved initials in the lettepress part showing architectural motifs. Oblong folio. Contemporary full calf (slightly rubbed and some damage to bottom of spine). Some light ink stains and two bits of paper missing from the margin without touching the engravings. A good copy of a beautiful work.Aroujo was a Portuguese calligrapher and a Professor of Writing and Arithmetic as is stated on the titlepage. He also was a Correspondent of the Imperial Academy of Science in St. Petersburg. The plates are dated from 1783 to 1790. The majority were engraved by José Lúcio da Costa; four were engraved by Manuel da Silva Godinho. Xavier Costa, Bibliografia Artistica Portuguesa, 124 says: "The 25 prints that it… Read More
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A$7,553.25
A$9.24 shipping to USA
[A magnificent copy of an «Édition magnifique» (Brunet) by Bodoni] Fables […] tome premier...
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[A magnificent copy of an «Édition magnifique» (Brunet) by Bodoni] Fables […] tome premier [- second]

by La Fontaine Jean de (Château-Thierry, 1621 – Parigi, 1695)

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good+
Seller
Milan, Italy
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Item Price
A$16,785.00
A$25.00 shipping to USA

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Due tomi in-folio; cc. (7), pp. IV, c. (1), pp. LXXXI, 211; c. (1); pp. 366, c. (1). Cartonatura editoriale originale. Qualche abile restauro ai dorsi delle legature, leggermente allentate, tuttavia splendida copia a pieni margini. A splendid copy with uncut margins, preserved in its original editorial orange boards.Iniziata da Bodoni e portata a termine dalla vedova del celebre stampatore, Margherita Paola Dall'Aglio (Parma, 1758 – Parma, 1841), quest'edizione reca nelle pagine precedenti il frontespizio: "Imprimé par ordre de Sa Majesté Joachim Napoleon Roi des Deux Siciles pour l'instruction de son Fils Ainé S.A.R. le Prince Achille Napoleon". Brunet, III, 754: "Édition magnifique"; Brooks, 1149: "E' una delle più belle edizioni bodoniane"; De Lama, II, p. 213.
Item Price
A$16,785.00
A$25.00 shipping to USA
Starry Night
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Starry Night: Paintings and book design by Barry McCallion / Text excerpts by Vincent van Gogh

by [McCallion, Barry] Vincent Van Gogh.

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
Condition
Used
Edition
Edition of 3 variants
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
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Item Price
A$8,813.91
A$14.35 shipping to USA

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East Hampton, New York:: Barry McCallion,, 2021.. Edition of 3 variants. 9.25 x 12.25"; 78 pages (57 numbered, 11 unnumbered). 9 folders of original paintings and excerpted text. Laid in relief-carved/ acrylic painted folder with star cutouts ion front cover accented in blue and red outlines as well as gold foil accent in center of each. Materials: unbleached Abaca paper; Old Holland oil paint, Richard de Bas paper. Housed in black cloth clamshell box with handwritten paper title on spine and starry night illustration on front cover. Signed and dated by McCallion. Text excerpts from publication: Nienke Bakker, Leo Jansen and Hans Luijten, editors "'Vincent van Gogh A Life in Letters". London, Thames & Hudson, 2020. Barry, McCallion, Colophon: "Within twenty years of his death in 1890, extracts from Vincent Van Gogh's letters appeared in magazine articles, accompanied exhibitions, and were published as an edition by Ambroise Vollard. In 1914, Theo's widow, Jo van… Read More
Item Price
A$8,813.91
A$14.35 shipping to USA
We Saw A Flood - A no-Nonsense Book.
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We Saw A Flood - A no-Nonsense Book.

by Hagner, Dirk].

  • Used
  • Signed
Condition
Used
Edition
Edition of 6
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
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A$12,215.77
A$14.35 shipping to USA

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San Juan Capistrano, California:: Inkswine Press,, 2022.. Edition of 6. 9.5 x 15 x 3" (24 x 40.6 x 7.5 cm) closed extends to 9.5 x 64 x 1 inches (24 x 162.6 x 2.5 cm); 76 pages. 32 multi-color woodcuts, plus relief etchings and vignettes. Hand-printed on rag paper. Letterpress printed text using Cromwell and Metropolis types. Signed and numbered. Dirk Hagner: "'We saw a flood' is about our ignorance and complicity we exhibit in the destruction of this world brought on by human caused climate change. Its underlying verse structure is based on the anonymous 17th-century British verse 'I saw a peacock, with a fiery tail', an example of a nonsense or 'trick' poem part of a rich tradition of verses rooted in Anglo-Saxon riddles. "This work has been a year in the making. It consists of two facing books of 76 total pages, which are to be viewed and read in tandem. The odd pages of the left-hand book show changing groups of faces with the first half of a verse,… Read More
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A$12,215.77
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home and back
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home and back: a journey

by Gomez Bas, Eleonora.

  • Used
Condition
Used
Edition
Edition of 3
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
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A$7,654.18
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New York:: Eleonora Gomez Bas,, 2003.. Edition of 3. 6 x 9" closed; extends to 114". Text in Spanish and English. Inkjet printing on archival paper. Concertina binding. Numbered. Includes separate colophon "a brief note on the content of this book". Eleonora Gomez Bas: "'Home and Back / Entrehogares' combines a poem in Spanish and English throughout the book, with accompanying photographs taken during my life in Caracas (Venezuela), and New York City. "Having left my home country to move to Venezuela at 10, and later on moving to the United States at 24, attachment, separation, impermanence and adaptation have been major themes in my life since an early age. In my work 'Home and Back / Entrehogares', I use images and poetry to explore my journey of adaptation over the course of the past twenty years. Images blend into each other, depicting a process where I flow from place to place, sometimes more seamlessly than others. Words reflect my search… Read More
Item Price
A$7,654.18
A$14.35 shipping to USA
Habeas Corpus.
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Habeas Corpus.

by Kokin, Lisa.

  • Used
  • Signed
Condition
Used
Edition
One-of-a-Kind
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
Seller rating:
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Item Price
A$8,968.54
A$14.35 shipping to USA

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El Sobrante, California:: Lisa Kokin,, 1992.. One-of-a-Kind. 7 x 9.5 x 3" closed; 20 panels Materials: shoe last, gameboard pieces, ribbon, grommets. Text embossed into board game pieces. Wooden shoe last hinged. Pages created from gameboard pieces with ribbon binding. Title board nailed to shoe last base. Signed and dated on the bottom of the base by the artist. Lisa Kokin: "A Jacob's ladder-type book with a humorous poem that I wrote after being verbally harassed on the street. … The shoe last is kind of a metaphor. I was being sexually harassed for my weight by some guys leaning out of a car -- symbol of oppression, crushed under the weight of sexism...something to that effect. As always I try to do when talking about serious subjects, I use humor as a vehicle for accessibility.
Item Price
A$8,968.54
A$14.35 shipping to USA
PMS Handbook.
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PMS Handbook.

by Kokin, Lisa.

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used
Edition
One-of-a-Kind
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Hoover, Alabama
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$7,422.24
A$14.35 shipping to USA

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El Sobrante, California:: Lisa Kokin,, 1993.. One-of-a-Kind. 7.5 x 9.5 x 4"; 16 pads making 32 pages. Materials: rubber; latex-coated mini-pads; leather; photo transfers; found objects. Mixed media collage. Bound with leather run through two holes in each leaf sewn to rubber glove. Covers made of rubber glove, rubber balloons and top of rubber hot water bottle. Includes cloth pathology bag. Lisa Kokin, Mixed Media Books: "My definition of 'book' is open-ended, a freedom which is in many ways attributable to my lack of formal book art training. I am blissfully unaware of all the rules I am breaking as I go about my routine of sewing, stapling, riveting and otherwise reassembling objects to transform them into something readable. My books address themes which have preoccupied me for many years -- loss, the rescuing of memory, cultural and sexual identity, and a critique of the prevailing social values." In this mixed media book Kokin uses text from a Scientology… Read More
Item Price
A$7,422.24
A$14.35 shipping to USA