The Sacrilege of Alan Kent / Le Sacrilège d'Alan Kent (Photos!) by Alexander Calder, Erskine Caldwell - 1976

Undated. 16" x 13". Oil on wood. Framed. A portrait of Cummings' wife, Marion Morehouse, reclining on a bed in a position reminiscent, presumably deliberately, of Goya's "The Naked Maja." Goya's painting was considered scandalous in its day, in a way that some of Cummings' artwork -- especially his erotic paintings of strippers, lovers, and sensuous nudes -- were in his own time, or at least he seems to have intended them to be. A stylized image, foreshortening perspective and thus alluding to Cummings' origins as an abstract, rather than realist, painter. Fine. Letter of provenance provided. No Binding. Fine.

Paris: Charles Gosselin, Libraire, 1831. NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS- Victor Hugo- Illustrated Title Vignettes by Tony Johannot- Charles Gosselin, Libraire- Paris 1831- 1st Edition-1st Impression-4th Issue- The publishers own statement on May 10th 1831 in the Journal des Débats that the first impression of 1100 copies were divided into 4 groups of 275, designating Premiere to Quatrieme edition- He did this to lure people into believing that the novel was popular due to the many editions already out there- This one is falsely designated as Quatrieme Edition as stated on the title page- errors as per the first issue- Vol II pagination errors 339 instead of 439 and 391 instead of 491.- original publishers 1/2 leather and marbled boards rubbed at extremities, but sound and clean- 5 smooth gilt compartments on spine with some legibility of titles and volume- Vol I: 4ff un-numbered, 1-404, Vol II: 2ff un-numbered, 1-536.-no tears, no writing-small amount of foxing especially towards endpapers- A nice set in… Read More

This east coast watercolorist and children's book artist illustrated and often also wrote a wide array of children's books from the 1930s into the 1960s -- including "Wilderness Pet," "Wiggly and Giggly the Little Twin Bears," "Whitetail: King of the Forest," "The Three Puppies," "The Small One," "The Nutcracker of Nuremberg," "The Bluebird," "The Night Before Christmas," "The Enchantment of Santa Claus," "The Christ Child," "Pussy Cat Talks to Her Kittens," "Polly Parrot," "Piccolino," "Is There a Santa Claus" as well as some "Dick and Jane Basic Readers." Offered here is the near-complete original illustration art for Smock's 1937 children's book "Jocko," written by Dorothy Winchell and published by Albert Whitman & Co. of Chicago. Represented here is almost the entire book, from front cover art through closing "The End" image -- lacking only 3-4 pages (front board graphic, frontispiece, pages 21 and 31). Most are in the form of ca. 10" X 15" heavy stock art boards, most with typeset text blocks,… Read More

Paris, Edition Jeanne Bucher., 1928. Drawings in color by Joan Miró. 8 color pochoirs after drawings by Miró, colored by Jean Saudé on Arches paper. 4to, published in a folio of 14pp. One of the limited edition of 300. Enclosed in the ORIGINAL LINEN FOLIO in pearl grey background, with black numbers and green sun. Interior lined with black paper. 11 5/8 x 10 5/8 x 5/8. Housed in a new black clam shell case. Signed and dedicated by Lise Hirtz to Jane de Margerie. RARE. Miro created one of the most imaginative books for children and far beyond its time. Joan Miró was studying art in Barcelona and moved to Paris in 1919, He was introduced to a surrealists group in 1924 by his neighbor Andre Masson, who shared his studio. He found among these artists the inspiration necessary for his work. But it was his humor that dominated his creations, especially the black humor of the surrealists.
In August 1927 Paul Eluard sent Miro the poems by Lisa Hirtz (born Ann - Marie Meyer), a friend of Breton.… Read More

ca. 1928. A large portrait by Cummings of his stepdaughter, Diana Barton, with one of her dogs at Joy Farm in New Hampshire, sometime between 1927 and 1930. Diana was born in 1921; Cummings met Anne Barton in 1925 and they spent several summers at Joy Farm beginning in 1927. Diana is standing outside, with her dog at her side and Mount Chocorua in the background. One of the best-loved American poets of the 20th century, Cummings was also a prolific visual artist: he considered writing and painting to be his "twin obsessions." He exhibited his work in the annual Society of Independent Artists shows from 1916-1927, and he was the art editor of The Dial magazine, the preeminent Modernist literary journal in the U.S., in the 1920s. In 1933, Cummings published a book of his artwork in a limited edition. Called CIOPW, it took its title from the media he used in his art: charcoal, ink, oil, pencil and watercolors. In his early years he emphasized abstract painting; from the 1930s on he tended toward… Read More

Oil on canvasboard. 19-3/4" x 15-3/4". No date. A cityscape looking out the back of Cummings' apartment in Greenwich Village. No Binding.

1942. A portrait by Cummings of his mother, Rebecca Clarke Cummings, immortalized in Cummings' words: "if there are any heavens my mother will(all by herself)have one." Oil on canvas. 15" x 20". Dated on verso, September 1, 1942. No Binding.

1955. Oil on canvas. 15" x 20". Portrait of fellow Harvard alumnus and fellow New Hampshire painter William James, Jr. On the verso: "w.j." and "10-01-55." No Binding.

New York: Scribner's, 1944. SIGNATURE GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC, Personally SIGNED BY RAYMOND CHANDLER & DATED on Blank Endpapers Hollywood ,MARCH 30, 1944, IN FRONT OF BOOK Written BY BEN HECHT A Guide for the Bedeviled , Chandler also added "From // Dr. Sam Hirshfeld" on Endpapers, BOOK Written BY BEN HECHT ,HARDBACK NODustjacket, NOJACKET, BK GOOD CONDITION, 1944, SIGNED BY RAYMOND CHANDLER & DATED Hollywood ,MARCH 30, 1944, IN FRONT OF BOOK BY BEN HECHT A Guide for the Bedeviled GREEN CLOTH LIGHT RUB WEAR, Hirshfeld was a Hollywood physician active in the 1940's and a good friend of Hecht's & CHANDLER - he is mentioned in "Harpo Speaks" as attending a Marx dinner with Hecht, and Hecht gave his funeral oratory. The cloth boards are worn and the dust jacket is missing. Interior sound. BOOK Written BY BEN HECHT . Signed by Author. Hard Cover. Good/No Jacket.

Oil on cardboard. 10-1/2" x 16-1/4". No date. No Binding.