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
1899. Etching showing the head of a dozing cat in profile. Above him, a dream floats: a small mouse, enclosed in a circle partially formed by its own tail. Executed with exquisite detail and full of character, from the mouse's slightly frightened eyes to the cat's regal but lazy bearing..... More
Paris: Didot, Typographie de Firmin, (c. 1810). 125pp., + (8)ff. Eight engravings on beige paper. The absurd adventures of Pierrot, born from a turkey's egg to La Fee Gourmande, and dedicated to gourmandise from that moment on, until his gluttony proves too much and dooms him. An extremely rare cautionary..... More
(Paris: Didot, Firmin, c. 1870). Folio. 72ff., consisting of the first 24 gatherings repeated three times. With fine steel engravings by Jules Jean Marie Joseph Huyot. Printed on vellum in red and black. It appears this work, a late collaboration between Ambroise Firmin Didot and Huyot, was never published and..... More
Chicago: Wilcox & Follett, 1945. Oblong 24mo. (8)pp., accordionfold. Each page richly illustrated in color with scenes of firemen patrolling the streets, operating safety equipment, and caring for civilians in a variety of locales, including cities, plains, and ships. A charming historical look into the operation of fire safety. Bound..... More
Texas: (c.1940s). (1)ff., measuring 9 7/8 by 8 inches. Black & white photograph of the Texan writer and folklorist standing at his desk. On the wall hangs a longhorn skull, and books are piled high on the desk. A few fingerprint smudges, likely from the developing process, are present at..... More
(Dublin): Dolmen Press, 1954. Tall octavo. 32pp. One of 225 copies. Printed in black with red initials and with a decorative title-page spread, two full-page illustrations, and six pictorial headpieces by Mia Cranwill. The tragic myth of Deirdre and the sons of Usnech, who were slain by the jealous Conchobor..... More
Paris: Jacques-François Chereau, (c. 1747). Large folio. (1), (25)ff., plates. A reissue or reimpression published after the artist, Charles-Antoine Coypel, was named "Premier Peintre du Roi" in 1747; this series of twenty-five engravings was first presented as a deluxe portfolio in Paris, in 1724. The engravings were done after a...... More
Paris: H. Piazza, (1919). Quarto. 148pp., + (27)ff. plates. French edition. One of 1,500 copies. The twenty-seven color plates by Edmund Dulac are tipped-in with tissue guards. Floral and foliate borders in yellow surround the text and plates, referencing Eastern illuminated manuscripts. According to White, the "bright, enamel-like" colors of..... More
London: Hodder and Stoughton, (1909). Quarto. (3), (74)ff. One of 750 deluxe copies, signed by the illustrator. Complete with twenty enchanting tipped-in color plates surrounded by decorative borders printed in bronze ink. The text is also enclosed by ornamental borders. Bound in decorative gilt-stamped vellum, bearing the title in Arabic-inspired..... More
(Germany: c. 1511). Woodcut measures 12 1/4 by 9 inches, in a handsome 18 1/2 by 15 1/4-inch frame. This original woodcut print by one of the masters of the Northern Renaissance is part of a series of illustrations depicting scenes from The Life of the Virgin. According to Meder..... More
N.P. n.d. Black & white photograph measuring 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 inches. A posed portrait showing a younger William Addison Dwiggins, likely in his early 40s, standing in front of a garden holding a hoe. The photographer is credited on the verso as C. H. Marble. Very fine. More
(Hingham, MA: Püterschein-Hingham, 1952). One of 100 copies. A woodcut in four colors cut by W. A. Dwiggins in 1921 and printed for the first time by Dorothy Abbe in 1952 from the original blocks. The lovely woodcut, in blue, yellow, orange, and black, illustrates Stravinsky's ballet Petrouchka, which tells..... More
(Hingham, MA): c. 1930s. A black & white photograph of a marionette made by W. A. Dwiggins, measuring 10 by 10 1/2 inches. The marionette is a likeness of F. Morton Smith, a Boston lawyer who was married to Margaret Coatsworth, the sister of the children's book author and illustrator..... More
(Istanbul: Ebristan, 2004). Marbled paper with calligraphy measuring 23 3/4 by 32 inches. Ebru, or marbling, is one of the oldest arts in Turkey. In addition to being used in book binding and design, it was often used as a background for calligraphy and is considered high art. In this..... More
(Istanbul): Ebristan, 2008. Original marbled paper art by Turkey's premier paper marbler, Hikmet Barutçugil, with dusky swirls of pale peach, green, blue, and mauve. Signed and dated by the artist. Emerging from the center of the marbling is a small, detailed drawing in brown ink of the entrance archway to..... More
(Istanbul: Ebristan, c. 2003). Original marbled paper by the premier marbling artist in Turkey, Hikmet Barutçugil. Signed by the artist. Barutçugil has developed his own technique for creating flowers within his marbled patterns, inspired by his wife, Füsun Hanim. In this delicate example, two carnations grow from the same root..... More
(Istanbul): Ebristan Yayinlari, 2003. Original marbled paper by the premier marbling artist in Turkey, Hikmet Barutçugil. Signed and dated by the artist. Ebru, or marbling, is one of the oldest arts in Turkey. In addition to being used in book binding and design, it was often used as a background..... More
(Istanbul: Ebristan, 2008). Marbled paper measuring 23 3/4 by 32 inches, with elegant marbled calligraphy in Arabic. The script translates to say "One who conducts business in a Halal fashion is the beloved servant of Allah." This superb example of Ebru, the ancient Turkish art of paper marbling, has a...... More
Peking, China: Lotus Court, 1943. Quarto. (xvi), 46pp. Illustrated with forty-six tipped-in woodblock reproductions of traditional Chinese embroidery patterns, printed in red on handmade paper, tipped in. Frontispiece is a real tissue embroidery pattern backed with red paper for support. A fascinating reference book on Chinese symbolism. The Foreword lists..... More
Cambridge, MA: Agassiz Theatre, (n.d.). Broadside. Signed by Gorey. Illustrated with figures arising from coffins and floating in the air. The poets at the event included Wiliam Alfred, Donald Hall, Felicia Lamport, and Alison Lurie. Fine. More
San Francisco: Cartoon Art Museum, 1993. Square octavo. (8)pp. Signed by Gorey. A catalog of Gorey's works shown at the Cartoon Art Museum from April to September of 1993, along with a brief biography and summation of his books and art. Fine in gray printed wrappers with price sticker on..... More
NY: Gotham Book Mart, (n.d.). 24mo. (6)ff. accordion-fold, printed on both sides. Signed by Gorey. One side of the sheet provides a catalog of the works present in the exhibit. The other features illustrations from Gorey's works. Fine in blue covers. More
Minneapolis: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1985. Quarto. (2)ff. + (1)ff. insert. Signed by Gorey. Upper cover illustrated with a woman reading in bed. A selection of Gorey's books and drawings. The insert provides the "Gorey Details" of the themes and patterns of the exhibit. Slight bumps at corners else near..... More
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
NY: St. Martin's Press, 1977. 16mo. Single-folded card inviting the recipient to a celebration of the publication of Allegra Kent's Water Beauty Book at a club at One Lincoln Plaza. Illustrated by Gorey with a woman and a frog floating along, with the frog also on the upper cover supporting..... More
