Recent Arrivals from Johnson Rare Books & Archives

New York: IGT, 1984. Inaugural issue of the first periodical devoted to New York street and subway art. The front cover captures the zine's rebellious sprit with an image of a bloated Mayor Ed Koch, the sworn enemy of "graffiti", covered with "tags". Inside is news about Michael Stewart, a street artist killed by police, and interviews with Sak… Read more about this item

London: Macmillan, 2007. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. This is Number 172 of 600 copies signed and dated by Ronnie Wood and accompanied by a numbered and signed print by the English rock guitarist. A fascinating portrait not just of the Rolling Stones, with whom Wood (b.1947) has played since 1975, but of the greatest musicians of the 1960s… Read more about this item

Baltimore: J. Robinson, 1830. Wraps. An early American edition, presumably issued in conjunction with the 1830 stage production in Baltimore. The first appearance of the vampire as an image of sophistication and nobility, this play is an adaptation of the French drama by Charles Nodier, itself an adaptation of the popular 1819 short story by Dr. Polidori, Lord… Read more about this item

London: George Tucker, 1891. Hardcover. Very good. Featured in the March 6, 1891 issue, this is the first appearance in the United Kingdom of this early Tesla article, which appeared in a slightly different form in the February 21, 1891 issue of the American periodical Electrical World. This work informs and provides context to his development of the… Read more about this item

New York: Charles H. Nicoll, 1893. First Edition. This early football program is notable for featuring William H. Lewis (1868-1949), the first African American to earn First Team All-America honors, who is seen here at the center of the Harvard team portrait. After graduating from Amherst and enrolling at Harvard Law School, he played two seasons for the Crimson,… Read more about this item

New York: Vrej Baghoomian, Inc, 1989. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Limited to 1,000 copies, this is number 539. Facsimile of Basquiat's composition notebook, issued a year after the iconic artist's death. Octavo: [52] p. Original printed boards with a black paper spine. A fine copy.

Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1939. First Edition. Wraps. The catalog from the first major museum exhibition of African-American art. Among the listed artists are Richmond Barthé, Robert Blackburn, Aaron Douglas, Loïs Mailou Jones, Norman Lewis, Dox Thrash, and many others whose work is celebrated today. Includes an introductory essay by Alain Locke. Octavo: [24] p. with 6… Read more about this item

Hannover: Kestner-Gesellschaft, 1986. First Edition. Wraps. Scarce catalogue for the solo exhibition held November 28, 1986 to January 25, 1987 at the prestigious Kestner-Gesellschaft. Then only 25 years old, Basquiat (1960-88) became the youngest artist to ever showcase his work there. Text in German. With a small handbill for the exhibition laid in. Oblong octavo: 105 p. with color… Read more about this item

Malmo, Sweden: Rooseum, 1989. First Edition. Wraps. Fine. Illustrated catalogue published in conjunction with a 1989 show of 40 works by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88) and 12 by Julian Schnabel (b.1951) held at noted Swedish contemporary art collector Frederick Roos' then-exhibition space, The Rooseum. Text in English and Swedish. Quarto: 84 p. with 50 color illustrations. Original printed paper… Read more about this item

Tokyo: Akira Ikeda Gallery, 1987. First Edition. Wraps. Fine. Limited to 1,000 copies. Published only in Japan, this is the catalogue issued in conjunction with a 1987 Tokyo gallery exhibitions of seven Jean-Michel Basquiat collaged paintings and constructions on wood executed during 1985 and 1986. Text in English and Japanese. Quarto: [28] p. with 7 color illustrations. Original… Read more about this item

New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed on the title page by William S. Burroughs, who added above his signature the phrase "French Canadian Bean Soup", a reference to his closet screenplay The Last Words of Dutch Schultz (1970). A bizarre apocalyptic fantasy in which time is telescoped as the world suffers the effects of… Read more about this item

Salzburg: Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, 1986. First Edition. Wraps. Near fine. Limited to 1,500 copies. The catalogue of a solo exhibition featuring 25 of the iconic artist's best paintings and collages from 1984 to 1986. Text in German. Quarto: 36 p. with 11 color plates and 4 black-and-white illustrations. Original printed red paper wrappers. Near fine.

Paris: Galerie Jerome de Noirmont, 1998. First Edition. Wraps. Fine. A lavishly production, this catalogue was published in conjunction with a 1998 gallery exhibition. Features candid photos of the iconic artist and tributes by Andy Warhol, Madonna, Maripol, Francesco Clemente, Rene Ricard, Klaus Kertess, Anthony Haden-Guest, A.R. Penck, Jeffrey Deitch, Bruno Bischofberger, Henry Geldzahler, and Ted Joans, among… Read more about this item

Knoxville, Tennessee: Knoxville Museum of Art, 2020. First Edition. Wraps. Fine. Examination of the 38-year relationship between painter Beauford Delaney (1901-79) and writer James Baldwin (1924-87) and the ways their ongoing intellectual exchange shaped each other's creative output and worldview. This full-color publication documents the groundbreaking exhibition organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) and is drawn… Read more about this item

New York: Cheim & Read, 2005. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Limited to 1,500 copies. This catalogue was published in conjunction with a 2005 exhibition presenting paintings, drawings, and notebooks that feature only Basquiat's written words. The artist is well know for large, colorful works dense with gesture, collage, figures, symbols, and words; but this exhibition will be the… Read more about this item

Chicago: The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Limited to 1,000 copies. Signed and dated by Kara Walker on the title page. Artist's catalogue produced on the occasion of Walker's exhibition "Presenting Negro Scenes Drawn Upon my Passage through the South and Reconfigured for the Benefit of Enlightened Audiences Wherever Such… Read more about this item

Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: The MIT Press, 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Celebration of two decades of work by artist David Hammons (b.1943), who has risen to prominence while at the same time consciously ducking the attention of critics, galleries, and museums, preferring to "do things in the street". A recipient of both a MacArthur Foundation "genius"… Read more about this item

New York: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, 1988. First Edition. Hardcover. Scarce catalogue published in conjunction with an exhibition celebrating the life and work of the American sculptor and educator who battled racism to secure a place for African American women in the art world. Associated with the Harlem Renaissance, Savage (1892-1962) is… Read more about this item

Los Angeles: California Museum of Afro-American History and Culture, 1983. First Edition. Wraps. Very good. Signed by John Biggers on the front flyleaf. The catalogue of a major exhibition examining Biggers' growth as an artist over forty years. A muralist who came to prominence after the Harlem Renaissance and toward the end of World War II, Biggers (1924-2001)… Read more about this item

Edinburgh: The Fruitmarket Gallery, 1984. First Edition. Wraps. The scarce and much-sought-after catalogue of Basquiat's first solo museum exhibition and UK debut, which debuted at The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh and traveled to the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and the Boymans-van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam. Quarto: unpaginated with a portrait of the iconic artists and 16 color… Read more about this item