Arcana:

(LANG, CHARLES B.). Starr, Frederick. Chicago, IL: Printed for the Author by the Lakeside Press, 1899. First Edition 1/560. Oblong Small Folio. Gilt-Debossed Cloth in Jacket. Photography Monograph. Very Good -/No Jacket. xxxii + cxli (350pp), 141 monochrome gravure illustrations. "Indians of Southern Mexico: An Ethnographic Album" is Frederick Starr's beautifully illustrated ethnographic survey of the indigenous peoples of the southern states of Mexico at the close of the nineteenth century. It was printed for the author in 1899 utilizing letterpress and gravure in an edition of five hundred and sixty copies only at Chicago's fabled Lakeside Press. Reproducing photographers Charles B. Lang and Bedros Tartarian's albumen images from the author's 1896 and 1898 expeditions amongst the Aztec, Chontal, Cuicatec and Chinantec, Juave, Mixe, Mixtec, Otomi, Tarascan, Tehuantepecano, Tlaxcalan, Triqui, and Zapotec tribes along with a descriptive text, to this day it remains a standard work in the field. A handsome copy of this elegant tome NUMBERED (440/560) AND SIGNED "Frederick Starr" in black ink on the front colophon, as issued, showing only minor wear to the extremities and tips of its still bright, navy blue gilt-debossed cloth along with a few insignificant surface abrasions to the front and rear boards. With one hundred and forty-one photographic plates and weighing nearly eleven pounds, this title's binding and hinges are notoriously fragile. The massive textblock exhibits some typical play and slight pulling to the signatures, however it remains remarkably sturdy given its age and weight. The rear hinge is well preserved but for two small starts, with the front hinge revealing some separating along its length that has been securely repaired using archival adhesive without the need for reinforcement. The endpapers and edges show light wear and soiling, while the plates are bright and crisp with the occasional minor blemish to the margins. This particular example from the edition of five hundred impressions on "heavy plate paper" was exhibited in the 1993 Museum show "Mexico Through Foreign Eyes: 1850-1990" curated by Carole Naggar and Fred Ritchin, and is reproduced in its comprehensive catalogue published by W.W. Norton. All in all, it is a spectacular age-appropriate copy of this exceptionally striking and important Mexican ethnography. Inventory Number: 019354

(MEISELAS, SUSAN). Meiselas, Susan. Göttingen, GERMANY & New York. 1976 (2003).: Steidl & The International Center of Photography, 2003. First Edition. 4to. Pictorial Boards. Photography Monograph. As New/No Jacket - As Issued. 96pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. "In her most recent body of work, acclaimed photographer Susan Meiselas pieces together verbal and visual traces of encounters with the Dani - an indigenous people of the West Papuan highlands of New Guinea from the nearly six decades since their "discovery" by the West. In this subjective, fragmentary history, Meiselas draws from the experiences of missionaries, colonists, anthropologists and modern-day ecotourists, all of whom have come to the Dani's Baliem Valley and transformed the conditions under which they live. The ambiguous relations between power and representation - whether in the form of Dutch colonial patrol notes from the 1930s, the sensationalized media accounts of the survivors of a downed U.S. army plane in "Shangri-La" from the 1940s or a tourist’s snapshots from the 1990s - become visible in Meiselas's book, through both the contradictions and unexpected continuities of the gathered materials". Published in conjunction with the 2003 exhibition "Strangers: The First ICP Triennial of Photography and Video", this is a beautifully produced collage-like companion to the photographer's 1997 work; "Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History". A brand new, pristine example of the 2003 first edition (cited on page 245 of Fred Ritchin and Carole Naggar's "Magnum Photobook: A Catalogue Raisonné") additionally SIGNED AND DATED by Susan Meiselas in silver marker on the title page. 3-88243-930-0 Inventory Number: 007334

(MORTENSEN, VIGGO). Mortensen, Viggo, Mike Davis, James Mooney & Sonny Richards. Santa Monica, CA: Perceval Press, 2003. First Edition. Oblong 4to. Printed Boards. Photography Monograph. As New/No Jacket - As Issued. 64pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. "Miyelo is comprised of a series of large-scale, panoramic photographs of a Lakota Ghost Dance, taken from a single roll of film in March of 2003. The images record a re-creation of the dance that was originally performed by members of Chief Big Foot's band on December 29, 1890 near Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. The intent was to capture the event as a delirious remembrance, an ephemeral dream. Accompanying these and other related images is extensive literary and historical documentation of the period during which the Ghost Dance originated, leading up to and beyond the tragic massacre at Wounded Knee. With selected first-hand accounts of the event, as well as modern-day commentary and a comprehensive bibliography, Miyelo gives the reader an overview that otherwise might only be gained from examining a myriad of sources". A brand new, most handsome example of the unavailable first hardbound edition of actor/artist/musician/poet/all-around renaissance guy Viggo Mortensen's compelling cultural document still in the publisher's shrinkwrap. 0-9721436-7-X Inventory Number: 021066

(MORTENSEN, VIGGO). Mortensen, Viggo, Mike Davis, James Mooney & Sonny Richards. Santa Monica, CA: Perceval Press, 2003. First Edition. Oblong 4to. Printed Boards. Photography Monograph. As New/No Jacket - As Issued. 64pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. "Miyelo is comprised of a series of large-scale, panoramic photographs of a Lakota Ghost Dance, taken from a single roll of film in March of 2003. The images record a re-creation of the dance that was originally performed by members of Chief Big Foot's band on December 29, 1890 near Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. The intent was to capture the event as a delirious remembrance, an ephemeral dream. Accompanying these and other related images is extensive literary and historical documentation of the period during which the Ghost Dance originated, leading up to and beyond the tragic massacre at Wounded Knee. With selected first-hand accounts of the event, as well as modern-day commentary and a comprehensive bibliography, Miyelo gives the reader an overview that otherwise might only be gained from examining a myriad of sources". A brand new, most handsome example of the unavailable first hardbound edition of actor/artist/musician/poet/all-around renaissance guy Viggo Mortensen's compelling cultural document still in the publisher's shrinkwrap. 0-9721436-7-X Inventory Number: 018335

(OCTOBER). Copjec, Joan, Douglas Crimp, Rosalind Krauss, Annette Michelson & Christopher Phillips, Editors. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Journals, 1985. First Edition. 8vo. Printed Wrappers. Journal. Good +.. 120pp, illustrated in b&w. At the forefront of contemporary arts theory and criticism, "October" has for over thirty-five years focused critical attention on the contemporary arts and their various contexts of interpretation: film, painting, music, photography, performance, sculpture, literature. Contributions to this issue include: On Poetry and Trans-Sense Language - Viktor Shklovsky; Chapters from an Artist's Autobiography - Kazimir Malevich; The "Primitive" Unconscious of Modern Art - Hal Foster; Sly Civility - Homi K. Bhabha; Photography and Fetish - Christian Metz; An Interview with Bill Viola - Raymond Bellour. A most presentable example showing some light overall soiling and handling along with two diagonal soft creases to the covers. It has been priced accordingly. 0-262-75184-4 Inventory Number: 021672

Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. Canberra, AUSTRALIA: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 1972. First Edition. 4to. Printed Stapled Wrappers. Journal. Very Good -.. 36 + 14pp. This is the May 1972 installment of the Newsletter of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. A most presentable example bearing the neat ink ownership inscription of well-known ethnomusicologist Dr. Elizabeth May on the front cover, with the first published Index to the Newsletter (covering the years 1963-1970) laid in, as issued. Inventory Number: 004965

Barbier, Jean Paul. Los Angeles & Geneva, SWITZERLAND: Los Angeles County Museum of Art & Musee Barbier-Muller, 1984. First Edition. 4to. Pictorial Self-Wrappers. Ethnographic Art Monograph. Fine.. 88pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Text in English. This is the English language version of the lovely catalog published in conjunction with a 1984 touring Museum exhibition of works from the renowned Barbier-Muller collection in Geneva. Featuring all new photography by Pierre-Alain Ferrazzini, it illuminates the work of the tribal Naga - former practitioners of head-hunting - that inhabit the sub-Himalayan border region of India, China, and Burma whose wooden sculptures, textiles, and jewelry pictured here bear a striking similarity to Oceanic, and in particular Indonesian Art. A brand new, most handsome example. 2-88104-006-3 Inventory Number: 024263

Chaffin, Alain & Francoise. Meudon, FRANCE. ND (circa 1979).: Alain et Francoise Chaffin. First Edition. 4to. Cloth in Pictorial Dust Jacket. Art Monograph. Very Good/Very Good. 354pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Text in French and English. With a bibliography. This beautiful volume by noted African art scholars Alain and Francoise Chaffin is the first comprehensive stylistic study of the wood and metal reliquary statues of the Kota-associated peoples of Gabon and the Congo. It covers the comparative aesthetic and technical aspects of these sculptures as well as the historical and cultural aspects of their creation. A handsome, lightly used example of this exceedingly uncommon, authoritative reference bearing a few nicks to the foredge of the first few pages, a slight dent at the beginning of the top edge of the textblock, and whose dust jacket shows a diagonal soft crease through the inside front flap along with some light wear and creasing along the top and bottom edges. It has been priced accordingly. Inventory Number: 024771

Cole, Herbert M.. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1983. First Edition. 8vo. Stapled Pictorial Wrappers. Near Fine.. 28pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. With a bibliography and exhibition checklist. Published in conjunction with a 1983 Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition of forty-one objects, this is noted art historian and curator Herbert M. Cole's study of the horse and rider motif in the sculptural art of Sub-Saharan Africa. A handsome example showing a bit of light overall wear and patination to the covers. Inventory Number: 021993

Cole, Herbert M.. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1983. First Edition. 8vo. Stapled Illustrated Wrappers. Very Good +.. 29pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. With a bibliography and exhibition checklist. Published in conjunction with a 1983 Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition, this is noted art historian and curator Herbert M. Cole's study of matched pairs of male and female sculptural figures in the art of Sub-Saharan Africa. A handsome example showing a bit of light overall wear and patination to the covers. Inventory Number: 018964

Cole, Herbert M.. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1983. First Edition. 8vo. Stapled Illustrated Wrappers. Good -.. 29pp, profusely illustrated in b&w. With a bibliography and exhibition checklist. Published in conjunction with a 1983 Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition, this is noted art historian and curator Herbert M. Cole's study of matched pairs of male and female sculptural figures in the art of Sub-Saharan Africa. A presentable example only showing a discoloring dampstain (but with no sticking or tearing of the pages) running through the covers and textblock from the heel of the spine along the lower edge. It has been priced accordingly. Inventory Number: 018963

Cole, Herbert M. & Doran H. Ross. Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1977. First Edition. 4to. Pictorial Wrappers. Ethnographic Art Monograph. Fine.. 230pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. "The Arts of Ghana" is the vibrant, authoritative catalogue for a 1977 touring exhibition of Ghanaian Art curated by two of the preeminent scholars in the field; Herbert Cole and Doran Ross. The assembled pieces include domestic, utilitarian, cult, and state objects demonstrate the variety and complexity of the tribal arts of Ghana as well as the skills of the makers. A brand new, most handsome example of the paperbound edition of this still vital reference. LC-77-89769 Inventory Number: 024264

Donnan, Christopher B.. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin America Center Publications / University of California, 1976. First Edition. 4to. Boards in Dust Jacket. Very Good/Very Good -. 146pp, 128 b&w and 16 color illustrations. With a bibliography. Published by the UCLA Latin America Center in 1976, this is the second monograph devoted to Moche material culture written by the preeminent American researcher on the subject, Christopher Donnan. A handsome example bearing a bold ink ownership inscription of the noted late Los Angeles artist and collector Emerson Woelffer in his hand on the first preliminary whose dust jacket shows a short closed tear with some attendant creasing on the front near the crown of the spine. 0-87903-033-X Inventory Number: 016169

Dupree, Nancy Hatch. Kabul, AFGHANISTAN: The Afghan Tourist Organization & The Afghan Air Authority, 1967. First Edition. 12mo. Illustrated Wrappers. Travel Guide. Good +.. 123pp, 53 b&w illustrations. With a bibliography. Written by Nancy Hatch Dupree, renowned for her documentation and description of Afghanistan's many art, archaeological, and natural wonders, this volume covers the sights and historical events starting from Kabul, through Istalif, Koh Daman, Salang, Pul-i-Khumri, Surkh, Kotal, Samangan, Tashkarghan, Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh, and on to Qunduz. No guides written before or since match these "indispensable 1970s books by Afghanistan expert Nancy Hatch Dupree" (Dominic Medley in "Kabul: The Bradt Mini Guide", 2003) for historical accuracy, completeness, readability, and quality. A most presentable example whose textblock and interior are bright and tight showing some light overall wear to the covers along with a bit of creasing, chipping, and paper loss to the spine. It has been priced accordingly. LC 67-29074 Inventory Number: 011617

Frazer, Sir James George. London: Percy Lund Humphries & Co., 1938. First Edition. 4to. Buckram in Dust Jacket. Ethnographic Monograph. Very Good -/Good +. xii, 578 pp, 2 b&w photographs, 8 full-page maps. Subtitled "A Copious Selection of Passages for the Study of Social Anthropology from the Manuscript Notebooks - Arranged and Edited from the MSS. by Robert Angus Downie", this is one of four volumes of Frazer's "Anthologia Anthropologia" - the fruit of half a century's labours compiling source material about the world's "Native Races" into ethnographic studies of each continent. An internally handsome example showing some age-toning at the edges of the textblock along with discreet mending to the front hinge and a small tear at the spine. Its fragile, typically lacking dust jacket bears some light soiling, abrading, age-toning, and a few chips missing at the top and base of the spine. It has been priced accordingly. Inventory Number: 001048

Jones, Ruth. London: International African Institute, 1961. Later Printing. 4to. Spiral Bound Wrappers. Good +.. 61pp, no illustrations. Devoted entirely to South-East Central Africa and Madagascar, this is one of a series of four bibliographies compiled by librarian Ruth Jones from the comprehensive card indexes of London's International African Institute. A most presentable example of this important reference showing some overall wear and soft creases to its cardstock covers as well as some typical slight discoloration to the extremities. It has been priced accordingly. Inventory Number: 005398

Jones, Ruth. London: International African Institute, 1959. First Edition. 4to. Spiral Bound Wrappers. Good +.. 51pp, no illustrations. Devoted entirely to North-East Africa, this is one of a series of four bibliographies compiled by librarian Ruth Jones from the comprehensive card indexes of London's International African Institute. A most presentable example of this important reference showing some overall wear and soft creases to its cardstock covers as well as some typical slight discoloration to the extremities. It has been priced accordingly. Inventory Number: 005396

Lehuard, Raoul. Arnouville, FRANCE: Arts D'Afrique Noir, 1980. First Edition. 4to. Cloth in Pictorial Dust Jacket. African Art Monograph. Fine/Fine. 268pp, 139 b&w illustrations. Text in French. With a bibliography. Published as part of the "Arts D'Afrique Noir" monographs, this substantial volume by noted African art historian Raoul Lehuard is a comprehensive stylistic study of the wood and metal fetish figures of the Kongo and Nkonde peoples of Southern Zaire. A most handsome example of this uncommon, authoritative reference. Inventory Number: 019528

Salvat, Manuel, Ricardo Martin & Amancio Fernandez, Editors. Barcelona SPAIN & Bogota, COLOMBIA: Salvat Editores Colombiana, S.A., 1977. First Editions. 4to. Pictorial Boards. Very Good/No Jackets - As Issued. 240 + 240 + 240pp, profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Test in Spanish. With bibliographies for each chapter. These three volumes are comprised of twenty-two essays by leading scholars on selected chronological and stylistic aspects of Colombian art history extending from Prehistoric indigenous artifacts through ancient Meso-American material culture, to Post Colonial art and architecture. The vast majority of material presented here is on Pre-Columbian ceramics, carved stone and gold work. A most presentable set bearing the ink ownership signature of the noted late Los Angeles artist and collector Emerson Woelffer on each of the front pastedowns showing a bit of overall wear and slight delamination to the covers. 84-345-3776-1 Inventory Number: 009653

Stone, Ruth M., & Frank J. Gillis. Foreword by Alan P. Merriam. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1975. First Edition. 8vo. Cloth. Ethnomusicology Monograph. Fine/No Jacket - As Issued. 412pp, no illustrations. This is a comprehensive, hardbound scholarly catalogue based on the African Field Recordings Survey that provides concise summaries of collections of phonorecordings of music and oral data held by individuals and institutions throughout the world. A brand new, most handsome example. 0-253-30262-5 Inventory Number: 004980