Claes Oldenburg Drawings and Prints First Edition - Claes Oldenburg - Bauman Rare Books

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Claes Oldenburg Drawings and Prints

Claes OLDENBURG | Gene BARO

Item#: 70454 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Claes Oldenburg Drawings and Prints

CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ OF CLAES OLDENBURG, WITH ORIGINAL INITIALED ETCHING

(OLDENBURG, Claes) BARO, Gene. Claes Oldenburg Drawings and Prints. Lausanne: Paul Bianchini (Editions I.R.L.), (1969). Quarto, original brown cloth gilt, original slipcase. Original etching laid in.

Limited first edition of Oldenburg’s work, number 70 of 100 copies (out of a total edition of only 126), with an initialed original etching.

Oldenburg is best known for his public art installations typically featuring very large replicas of everyday objects. In this collection of his drawings and prints, many are preliminary sketches for his sculptures. “With Claes Oldenburg the act of drawing seems wholly natural, a reflex to his inner life and to the world about him. Of course, he draws also quite deliberately, in preparation for his work in sculpture; but his preoccupation with drawing— or, rather, the ways in which drawing serves his preoccupations— goes well beyond this practical necessity… They are the essential visual means by which he confronts and masters the physical world.” Of a successful drawing Oldenburg observes, “it shows the family relationship of forms, the unity of things in general.” The accompanying original etching is initialed and numbered “70/100, CO 70.”

Fine condition.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
Association Copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
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Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
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Colophon Printed note at the end of a text containing information about the printing of the book.
Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
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Lithograph Illustration produced by transferring an image drawn on a carefully prepared stone to paper. The process allowed illustrations to more closely resemble the original drawings, paintings or sketches, as it gave the lithographer a freedom of line impossible to achieve in earlier intaglio and relief processes. It does not require the same sort of pressure as an engraving to transfer the image, but still has to be printed on separate stock from the text
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