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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(c. 1965-1975). Folk art chess set and table. This non-traditional chess set is based on the theory of evolution, with dinosaurs facing off against mammals. The field is alternating squares of brown earth and green & blue ponds. The pawns on each side grow through the early evolutionary stages: the..... More
(Berkeley, CA): Foolscap Press, 2019. Quarto. (x), 64pp., + 5 full-page maps. One of 90 copies, signed by the printer, Lawrence G. Van Velzer, and the illustrator, Peggy Gotthold. The pages feature elaborate borders of gilt vines and all manner of creatures and vessels: hippos, parrots, Eastern ships, giants, dwarfs..... More
Leipzig: Robert Crayen, n.d. (c. 1830). Two oblong octavo volumes comprising seven parts. (118); (120); (122); (122); (120); 120; (ii), 120; (iv), (124)pp. A collection of sheet music and lyrics for pianoforte gathered from a variety of composers, including Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. This set features wrap-around fore-edge paintings by..... More
London: W. Bulmer, 1795; 1796. Quarto. Two books bound together in one volume: xx, 76; xv, vii, 126pp. First editions thus. With a fore-edge painting by the "double-line" painter depicting the pastoral village of Lissoy where Oliver Goldsmith spent his youth, standing in for the pseudonymous town of Auburn in..... More
NY: Dodd, Mead, 1899. Three quarto volumes. xxvi, 330pp. From an edition of 268, this is one of thirty copies on Imperial Japon. In addition, this is a unique copy with an extra set of the 126 color photogravure plates printed on white satin and backed in celadon silk. The..... More
Cincinnati, OH: Press on Scroll Road, 2002. Octavo. (22)pp. One of 102 copies. Inscribed by the author. Three engravings by Abigail Rorer accompany Colin Franklin's compassionate and pastoral account of beekeeping activities. One five-line initial and two three-line initials, printed in red. Bound in quarter silk with decorative paper covers..... More
(NY: Henry Holt, 1924). Single sheet folded once to make a four-page pamphlet. First edition. One of 2000 copies printed for distribution at Frost lectures at East Coast colleges. With two woodcut vignettes by J.J. Lankes. Signed by Frost below "The Pasture," which appears on the first page. Paper evenly..... More
London: Ganymed Original Editions Limited, 1963. Folio. 109pp. One of 275 copies. Signed by the illustrator on the limitation page. Illustrated by Oskar Kokoschka with sixteen black & white lithographs. Kokoschka's expressionist interpretations of Shakespeare's text successfully translate the psychology of the text into image. The shadowy lithographs, set against..... More
1896-1905. A collection of nine color Christmas cards for the years 1897 through 1905, designed by Georgie Gaskin for Laurence W. Hodson and his family. The cards feature delicate vining borders intertwined with banners that extend the Christmas greeting for that year. The subjects of the cards include the Hodson..... More
1896-1905. 5ff. An original pen & ink drawing and two proofs, one hand-colored and one printed, plus a final printed copy of a Christmas card designed by Georgie Gaskin for Laurence W. Hodson and his family. The card is for the year 1896 and depicts Santa Claus, heavily laden with..... 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
Northampton, MA: Gehenna Press, 1964. Quarto. 84pp + 21 inserted plates. One of 300 copies. Signed by Cornell twice at the colophon and under each illustration, and by Leonard Baskin, who designed the book. The plates, printed on blue paper, bear twenty-one different portraits of the major players in Babeuf's..... More
Victoria, Australia: 2010. Square 32mo. (14)pp., accordion-fold, decorated on both sides of the page. An original artist's book by Jennifer Gibney, with hand-drawn text and pen illustrations in black, sepia, and sanguine ink, housed within a hand-painted and decorated wooden box. The story concerns a jester-like character who is overwhelmed..... More
1924. On paper measuring 6 1/4 by 5 3/8 inches (159x137mm), mounted to a bifolium sheet. One of six copies signed by Gill in graphite at the lower corner. This is one of eight of Gill's delicate white line engravings that is featured in Enid Clay's Sonnets and Verses, published..... More
Capel-y-ffin, Abergavenny: Francis Walterson, 1927. Octavo. (vii), 46pp. One of 200 copies printed at the Shakespeare Head Press for Francis Walterson, signed by both Eric Gill and David Jones. This was the only book to be issued signed by the two. Illustrated with a frontispiece engraved by David Jones titled..... More
London: Jonathan Cape, 1931. Octavo. viii, 200pp. Illustrated with ten wood engravings by Eric Gill: three full-page, five half-page, and an ornamental device. Spine faded, else very good in green cloth. Laid in is a silhouette woodcut, signed by Gill, titled "Dumb-Driven Cattle." First produced in 1915, the woodcut was..... More
London: Sheed & Ward, (1931). Octavo. iv, 121 pp. First edition. One of 500 copies signed by Eric Gill and Rene Hague and printed by Hague & Gill. This is a presentation copy, inscribed on the colophon. Illustrated with twenty-five figures, including ten type specimens and four illustrations from wood..... More
(Ditchling: St. Dominic's Press, 1929). 32mo. (5)pp. With a cover illustration, dragon headpiece, and four square vignettes by Eric Gill, depicting a child's encounter with night-time fears. In this poem by Press founder Hilary Pepler, a boy asks his nurse if dragons, ghosts, and goblins exist as he is tucked..... More
Boston, David R. Godine, 1971. Quarto. (54)pp. First edition. From an edition of 1000 copies, this is one of 100 specially bound and signed by the artist. Printed in blue, red, and black, and bound in blue, morocco-backed marbled boards with matching slipcase. Light scuffs to slipcase, else a fine..... More
London: Gogmagog Press, (1965-66). Four small octavo volumes, each (26)pp. One of 100 copies printed on Hosho paper, signed by the artist/printer Morris Cox. Each volume contains a colorful panorama of nature printed from heavily textured blocks, which give the offset prints an embossed effect. The changing seasons appear in..... More
Pinner: Private Libraries Association, 1991. Two octavo volumes. 184pp; (26)ff. From an edition of 1650 copies, this is one of three special copies printed for the authors, signed by Morris Cox and with a second volume of twenty-six specimen leaves. Inscribed by Colin Franklin. Contains a selection of the writings..... More
Berkeley, CA: Pacific Film Archive, 1973. Broadside measuring 24 by 18 1/4 inches. One of 500 copies. Designed by California artist David Lance Goines and printed in 10 colors, this advertisement for a film series at the Pacific Film Archive features an image of Veronica, daughter of Solome, who took..... More
Oakland, CA: Karl Kardel Co., 1974. Broadside measuring 24 by 18 1/4 inches. One of 1,850 copies. Designed by California artist David Lance Goines and printed in 8 colors, this advertisement for Karl Kardel Co. features a bumblebee over an ochre background. The design was inspired by an unknown philosopher's..... More
Waltham Saint Lawrence: Golden Cockerel Press, 1926. Small quarto. 15pp. One of 250 numbered copies. The text is illustrated with six wood engravings by Eric Gill. The engravings are beautifully rendered interpretations of scenes from the last day of Jesus's life, from his vigil at the Garden of Gethsemane, to..... More
