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 ...
Read more about Illustrated Books
1860. Single leaf measuring 5 by 7 3/4 inches. A drawing of a young man and woman glancing shyly at each other, with their noses drawn in an angular fashion so as to point at each other. Below the figures is penned words “i cant [sic] stop long this time.”..... More
(N.p. c. 1850). Small broadside with a hand-colored diagram of a pyramidical maze. The route leads the viewer from Despondency, through Chagrin and Hope, to Cheerfulness, with the final goal at the very top of the pyramid being a temple. Below the labyrinth sits a four-stanza poem on the transience..... More
(The Netherlands: c. 1890). A late nineteenth-century chromolithographed and embossed Dutch postcard, measuring 5 3/8 by 3 1/2 inches (137x88mm). The postcard is made up of two layers, between which spin three wheels printed with the days of the week, dates, and months. The front of the card shows three..... More
Boston: Damrell & Moore, 1854. 12mo. (8)ff. An 1850’s advertising pamphlet, printed by Damrell & Moore for the Oak Hall Clothing House in Boston. Contains a group of poems about the advantages of shopping at this “unrivalled emporium for gentlemen’s, youth’s, & little children’s ready-made clothing.” With seventeen wood engravings..... More
(London: Essex House Press, 1901). 16mo. 400pp. One of 250 copies printed under the care of C.R. Ashbee. With a wood-engraved pictorial frontispiece by Reginald Savage, and numerous initials surrounded by flowers called "pinks," designed by Ashbee. Woolman, an eighteenth-century New Jersey Quaker, advocated the simple and unostentatious life, and..... More
(Decorah, Iowa: Solmentes Press), 2013. Folio. (39)ff. From an edition of thirty copies, this is one of ten deluxe copies in a stunning designer binding of full white pigskin. At the center of the spine extending over both covers sits an acrylic-painted bowl of chili, garnished with spicy sour cream..... More
California: Ettan Press, 1978. Octavo. 17pp. One of 90 copies. Six color engravings by von Mengershausen, all numbered and signed with the artist's monogram. These illustrations, with earthy colors washed over classical imagery - a bas-relief, an amphitheater, statuary, and geological outcroppings - emphasize Holderlin's belief in the connection between..... More
(Oakland: Eucalyptus Press, 1989). Folio. (6)ff. One of seventeen copies. Illustrated throughout with linoleum block prints altered so that the images in each book are slightly different. One two-page spread depicts the foolish villagers peeking over the edge of the soup pot with surprised expressions on their faces. Printed, illustrated..... More
Milan: Ing. C. Olivetti & C., 1978. Quarto. lxx, (36), 109, (5)pp. One of 250 copies. From the series "Documenti sulle arti de libro", of which this is number twelve. A studious discussion of manuscripts, with Bussi's introduction in Italian followed by facsimile manuscript pages and transliterations in Latin. Bound..... More
Zurich: Quaterino Verlag Luzern, 2013. Small quarto. 286pp. With facsimile illustrations of the manuscript, which is Zentralbibliothek Zurich, Ms. Rh. 167, along with close-up shots and other diagrams relevant to the particular essays on the manuscripts various features and history. Bound in full burgundy cloth with gilt stamping, along with..... More
Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1971. Oblong quarto. 154, (7)pp. One of 1500 copies. A thorough academic and artistic discussion of the Genji Scroll, which is generally considered the Eastern equivalent in historical significance and exemplary craftsmanship to the Bayeux Tapestry. The production of the book reflects, as much as it..... More
Leipzig: Pavla Riube, (c. 1880). Small quarto. 8pp., + six plates laid in throughout. The chromolithographed images illustrate the major events of the story commonly known to English-speaking audiences as "Sleeping Beauty," from the princess's birth, to the pricking of her finger on the spindle, and, finally, to her reawakening..... More
NY: Smith & Haas, 1933. Octavo. First edition. Faulkner's last poetry collection published during his lifetime has a title-page vignette and dust wrapper illustration by Lynd Ward. In A William Faulkner Encyclopedia, Stephen Hahn writes that "The poems in A Green Bough are remarkable for the degree to which they..... More
New Orleans: Pelican Bookshop Press, 1926. From a total edition of 400 copies, this is one of 250 numbered copies. First edition, first issue. With illustrations of Sherwood Anderson and other famous Creoles, by William Spratling. Bound in green boards. This copy bears the white label, one of three variants..... More
(N.p. Ferguson, William, n.d.). Print measuring 10 1/4 by 13 inches. One of 76 copies. A windmill design in green and brown, with the words "arena," "monte," "cielo," and "nieve" on the four blades. SIgned by the artist. Fine. More
Ditchling: St. Dominic's Press, 1923. Quarto. (ii), 75pp. One of 220 copies, printed in red and black with musical notations. Contains twelve wood engravings by Eric Gill and two by Desmond Chute. The book was printed for actual use by Dominican novices. A copy was displayed in the permanent exhibition..... More
NY: Macmillan and Company, 1894. 12mo. 274pp. A unique copy with beautifully executed original pen and ink drawings throughout showing the sights and landmarks of Shakespeare's country. Profusely illustrated with hand-drawn vignettes of the thatched cottages of Stratford-upon-Avon, landscape vistas of Warwick and Windsor, and other known British locations. The..... More
Northampton, MA: Gehenna Press, 1969. Folio. (70)pp. From an edition of 200 copies, this is an out-of-series printer's copy inscribed by Leonard Baskin to Arno Werner, who bound the book. One of the major productions of Baskin's Gehenna Press. Illustrated with ten etchings by Baskin, nine of which are signed..... More
Flansham: Greenleaf Press, (1915). 16mo. (16)pp. Inscribed, "With best wishes from the folk at Flansham. Xmas 1915," and illustrated with nine tipped-in engravings. The publication and illustrations were done by Stuart, Robin, and John Guthrie, the sons of James Guthrie of the Pear Tree Press. This is the first book..... More
(Boston: Godine Press, c. 1970). Framed etching measuring 11 by 8 inches. One of an unknown number of copies; the edition was probably no greater than 200. An image of an early flying machine crashed and abandoned in a field of clover, printed in green with a caption printed in..... More
(N.p.): Cheloniidae Press, 1991. Quarto. (89)pp. One of 210 copies, inscribed by Harold McGrath. Signed sheet with autographs of contributors laid in. Illustrated throughout with head- and tail-pieces by Robinson, as well as an example of calligraphy by Suzanne Moore and one by Elizabeth Curtis. A celebration of McGrath upon..... More
Alford, MA: 1962. Small quarto. 28ff. One of forty copies. Etched title page and twenty-six fine etchings by Fink, ranging thematically from portraits to botany to insects. Many of Fink's etchings have a decidedly Baskinesque aesthetic, but Fink's circle centered primarily in New York, where he was friendly with Jack..... More
(Nutley, N.J.): Gianettino & Meredith, Inc., 1977. 12mo. (24)pp. From an edition of 275, this is one of fifty lettered copies in a cloth binding, signed by the artist, Jill Karla Schwarz. This humorous holiday list of thirteen "recipes" for turkey was appropriately filed by the author under the heading..... More
NY: Vincent FitzGerald & Co., 1987. Quarto. (17)ff. One of 75 copies, signed by the translator, Michael Feingold, and the artist, Neil Welliver, whose five color etchings and double-page fold-out lithograph were printed by Shigemitsu Tsukaguchi. The translator served as the lead drama critic for the Village Voice until it..... More
NY: Vincent FitzGerald & Co., 1989. Folio. (32)pp. One of fifty copies, signed by the artist, Susan Weil. Throughout the text are scattered collages, papers, and etchings that work together to create an interactive, multimedia experience for the reader. In this way, the reader physically engages with the work in..... More
