At Bromer Booksellers, we focus on the visual book, with fine images that both enhance narrative and stand alone as independent creations. Among our holdings in this area are costume books, emblem books, examples from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods, the fantasy illustrators in the tradition of Arthur Rackham, and modern books with original graphics. We look for the successful fusion of picture with text from any century, any country, and across a variety of artistic movements and media. We are especially fascinated with books of other cultures, and you will occasionally find items such as Japanese illustrated woodblock books and Eskimo tales without words ...
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London: Ward, Marcus & Co., (c. 1880). (8)pp., accordion-fold. A New Year's card consisting of a four-panel panorama brilliantly printed in bright colors with gold backgrounds. The card allegorically depicts the year in the stages of its "life": as a child, dreaming of pudding and music-filled fun; a young man..... More
(Germany: c. 1856). Charming keepsake box, holding 14 items: three handwritten notes dated 1856 and 1858, eight additional blank sheets of note paper, a colorful floral print, a religious print of an angel guiding a child by the hand, and an image on paper over cardboard of a woman with..... More
Paris: Meynial, 1923. Small quarto. 12pp., + (12)ff. colored plates. One of 600 copies. Art Deco legend George Barbier contributed fashion plates to several albums and almanacs starting in 1912 before finally, in 1922, starting his own publication titled Falbalas et Fanfreluches. Each annual issue included an almanac for the..... More
Bruxelles: Ets. Guy Onkelinx, 1924. Small quarto. (40)pp. Illustrated with ten color plates of Art Deco jewelry design and six allegorical color plates, a full-page black & white unattributed image, and a small vignette by American artist Lawrence Sterne Stevens. The jewelry designs by Devos, an important Belgian jeweler, are..... More
Ipswich, UK: Cowell's Anastatic Press, (c. 1850s-1860s). Quarto. (8)ff., final leaf blank. Lithographed throughout, and hand-colored in red, green, and blue, heightened with gold. Photographic reproduction of a madonna and child pasted to the title page as part of the decorative border. Each page shows a Christmas verse surrounded by..... More
Offenbach am Main: Gebr. Klingspor, 1930. Oblong 32mo. 24pp., frenchfold. Illustrated with elegant silhouettes of men and women dressed in the height of fashion, each framed by a colorful border. Facing each silhouette or pair of silhouettes is a passage of German verse. This particular copy is specially bound as..... More
London: John and Arthur Arch, 1816. Small quarto. Two volumes. xxii, 478, 478*pp. + (9)ff. plates; (479)-836pp. + (13)ff. plates. A valuable reference on the history of engraving in Europe, illustrated with numerous examples throughout the text and on inserted plates. Handsomely bound in full red straight-grain morocco, decorated with..... More
(c. 2009). Quarto. Eight-panel, life-sized self-portrait of fiber artist Sheryl Jaffe. Numbered "1/1" and signed by Jaffe to the interior of the box. In this "sculptural artist book," Jaffe is drawn lying on her back, nude, against a background of earthy greens, sunny yellows, and liquid blues. Climbing over the..... More
(Japan: Sûzan Shobô, 1816). Small quarto. (19)ff. A Japanese book of color woodblock prints by Kameda Bôsai (1754-1826), one of the leading painters of the Nanga or Bunjinga (literati) schools of painting. The seventeen full-page illustrations, five of which extend across the page spread, are landscapes depicting mountainous terrain, comprised..... More
(Japan: c. mid-nineteenth century). Small quarto. (27)ff. A handmade book of delicate Japanese brush paintings of common birds, ranging from sparrows and songbirds to ducks and other fowl. The paintings are executed in a style similar to sumi-e. They are predominantly monochromatic with subtle gradations of black ink, accented with..... More
Sydney, Australia: Beacon Press, 1948. Folio. 53pp. One of forty deluxe copies, signed by the author. A lovely production, illustrated with thirty-six color plates. The plates are genuine prints: beautifully made modern reproductions of the originals, done in Japan. The text traces the rise and fall of the Ukiyo-ye school..... More
Kyoto: Geisodo Yamada Naosaburo, 1911. Small folio. Folding album consisting of twelve ink wash and color prints on thirteen sheets, each bearing Seiho's chop mark. One of the key figures of modern Japanese painting, Seiho (1864 - 1942) absorbed elements of European-style painting -- Impressionism, in particular -- and successfully..... More
(London): Sotheby's Publications, (1987). Quarto. 2 volumes. 1-608; 609-1131pp., numbered continuously. Illustrated with 225 color plates and numerous black & white illustrations throughout. This detailed reference work also contains a glossary and indexes of works and authors. Hillier was the leading authority in Europe on the Japanese woodblock print, working..... More
Tokyo: Kodansha International, (1966). Folio. 274pp. Illustrated with 107 tipped-in color plates. A beautiful reference work tracing the Japanese print from the fifteenth century all the way through the ukiyo-e period into the nineteenth century. Adapted into English by C. H. Mitchell. Fine in black cloth, with fine dust wrapper..... More
Tokyo: privately published, 1933. Quarto. XIII, 122pp. + 93 plates, four of which are in color. Of a total edition of 1000, this is one of 500 copies of the English edition sold in Europe and America, numbered and signed by the author. With a fold-out frontispiece wood engraving, "Woman..... More
1935-1938. Six original paintings, all signed by the artist. This set of paintings vividly depicts six different puppets, each with caricatured features reminiscent of the traditional style of Punch and Judy: rosy cheeks, mitten-hands, and large eyes and mouths. The six images display a nurse with an infant, a jester..... More
(London: c. 1928). Small quarto. 33pp. Signed by Alberto Sangorski. A unique manuscript on vellum, designed, illuminated, and calligraphed by Sangorski. A stunning work containing the title poem and five others: "To the River," "Dream Land," "The Sleeper," "To One in Paradise," and "Fairy Land." With an illuminated full-page frontispiece..... More
London: Clover Hill Editions, 1979. Quarto. 19pp. One of 100 copies, printed on Barcham Green’s RWS handmade paper by Will Carter at the Rampant Lions Press, with an extra set of the engravings on japon. Illustrated with thirteen wood engravings by David Jones, several of which frame the text. Jones..... More
(Wales): 1980. Print measuring 20 by 17 inches. One of 50 copies. A delicate eight-pointed star radiates light, in shades of blue and tan. Signed by the artist. A renowned Welsh book artist, Jones has dedicated herself to the art of printing both words and images. With a blue mat..... More
(Wales): 1980. Print measuring 20 by 17 inches. One of 50 copies. A luminous print in green and violet of a hyacinth, signed by the artist. The flower blooms against layers of overlapping leaves, which lighten into transparency as they extend upwards. A renowned Welsh book artist, Jones has dedicated..... More
(Brecon: Red Hen Press, 2001). Folio. One of forty copies signed by the author/artist, Shirley Jones. A tribute to the cats and dogs of Jones's family, consisting of eleven essays illustrated with twelve grey and black mezzotints. The velvety tones of the mezzotints perfectly capture the softness of a tabby's..... More
(Wales): 1980. Print measuring 20 by 17 inches. One of 50 copies. A bold color aquatint in brown, yellow, and tan, signed by the artist. This slightly abstracted sunflower is subtly shaded and textured. The flower's head is cradled within two outstretched leaves. A renowned Welsh book artist, Jones has..... More
Fairfax, CA: Jungle Garden Press, 1994. Quarto. (18)ff. One of only three copies, signed by the illustrator, Carl Dern, and the printer, Marie Dern. A portfolio of eight pieces of original art by Carl Dern, mixing printing, watercolors, pen drawings, and collage. Playing with the concept of the livre d'artiste..... More
Dordrecht: A. Blusse & Zoon, (c. 1794). 24mo. 24pp., + 8 plates. The engraved plates depict the marvels of a fair and the street performances therein, including dancing, singing, and a magician, all hand-colored. Particular highlights include a hurdy-gurdy man and a magic lantern show featuring a naval battle. The..... More
(Portland, OR): The Chamberlain Press, 1987. Small quarto. (28)pp. One of 200 copies. Signed by Chamberlain. Beautifully illustrated with color linoleum cuts by Chamberlain, many of which cover three-quarters of a page. All are printed with the rhymes within a color decorated border. Very fine in blue cloth-backed boards. Two..... More
