Minneapolis, MN — Established in 2009, the biennial MCBA Prize is the first award to recognize excellence in new work from across the eclectic spectrum of book art. The 2020 prize coincides with MCBA’s 35th anniversary—and will draw submissions from across the globe. The submission window is open February 1-March 31, 2020.

This year’s juror is Betty Bright—curator, historian, and 30-year veteran of contemporary book art. She will select 20-30 semi-finalists, four finalists, and one winner to be featured in an exhibition in MCBA’s Main Gallery, on view June 18-August 23, 2020. The winning artist will receive a $2,000 cash prize, an essay written by Dr. Bright, and a travel stipend to attend the opening reception. The opening reception on June 25 will feature a VIP meet-and-greet with the prize winner and a conversation between the prize winner and curator. Four finalists will receive cash prizes of $500 apiece.

Once the exhibition opens, the public will have the opportunity to vote for the People’s Book Art Award, casting ballots for their favorite works either online or in person. Voting will continue until the exhibition closes, and the winner will receive a $500 cash prize.

“MCBA is thrilled to shine a spotlight on the most compelling work being produced in the book arts field today through the 2020 MCBA Prize,” says Executive Director Elysa Voshell. “This international award recognizes and supports contemporary artists working in the book form, and invites audiences to explore this thought-provoking medium.”

What will the winning work look like? That’s the exciting part. Broadly defined, book art revels in narrative, and due to its interdisciplinary nature, the approach of any one book artist will be thrillingly unpredictable: it may include letterpress printing, screen printing, relief printing, hand-lettering, papermaking, marbling, various binding techniques, boxmaking, calligraphy, or origami. The winning object may be a zine that serves as a map, an altered book that documents an experience, or a sculpture that departs from a bound book structure entirely. 

Where will the winning work come from? That’s the other exciting part. Past winners and finalists have hailed from Japan, Germany, Spain, and the UK, as well as from across America. Peruse galleries of images of past prize-winning work and learn more about the submission process at mcbaprize.org.

Chicago — Potter & Potter Auctions is pleased to announce this exciting sale to be held on Saturday, February 8th starting at 10am at the company's gallery, located at 3759 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60613. All lots from this event will be on display and available for public preview on Thursday, February 6th and Friday, February 7th from 10:00am to 5:00pm in the Potter & Potter facility, or anytime on line at www.potterauctions.com.

The park decorations and focal points on offer present enthusiasts a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring their favorite Disney memories into their own homes forever. Many come from legacy rides that span generations. Lot #469, a 1969 Haunted Mansion coffin drape, is estimated at $1,000-2,000. This decorative triangle is made from purple velvet and detailed with a hand-beaded silver face, border trim, and large tassels. It covered the coffin where X. Atencio yelled “Let me outta’ here, let me out!” Lot #269, a plaster skeleton hand from Snow White’s Scary Adventures, is estimated at $1,000-2,000. It was originally located on the ground early in the ride. It was later removed during refurbishment and given to retiring employee as a gift. And lot #265, the contents of a Pirates of the Caribbean treasure chest from the ride is estimated at $1,000-2,000. It includes faux gems and other blingy "booty" meant to be viewed at a distance. It was removed during the refurbishment of the ride years ago, and includes a certificate of authenticity from the Walt Disney Company.   

Original Disney parks outdoor signage and materials are well represented in this comprehensive sale. These promotional, operational, directional, and instructional examples help to document the history of the Disney empire. Lot #212, an original three pane WDW Main Street window, dedicated to Charlie Ridgeway - the original publicist for the park - is estimated at $5,000-10,000. It promotes, “Ridgeway and Company, Public Relations, Charles Ridgeway President, No Event Too Small,” and is newly pointed and caulked. This rarity retains its original lettering and paint. Lot #206, an all steel Epcot Spaceship Earth loading sign, is estimated at $2,000-4,000. This iconic sign, from one of the park's signature attractions, is decorated with a lenticular image of a ride vehicle. And lot #302, a silk-screened metal Disneyland operating hours park sign is estimated at $1,000-2,000. It dates from the c. late 1960s/early 1970s and includes two different magnetic panels with different park operating hours.

It's a clothes call with the full range of cast member uniforms available at this mid-winter event. Lot #333, a WDW Tower of Terror costume, is estimated at $1,000-2,000.  This rare, complete ensemble includes the coat, shirt, pants, hat, epaulets, and aiguillette with a faux whistle. Lot #18, a “Pecos Bill” costume owned by clown/magician Bev Bergeron (American, 1930-) is estimated at $1,000-2,000. It was used by Bergeron at the Diamond Horseshoe Revue in the character of Pecos Bill in the 1970s. The costume includes full-length woolly leather cowboy chaps decorated with a metal buckle, a braided leather belt with a holster and loops, and a pair of massive brown leather clown shoes. And lot #44, a Disneyland Pinocchio character costume headpiece - made from hand-painted thick rubber, mesh, and Velcro - is estimated at $500-700. It includes its original felt-covered hat, foam padding and interior neck brace.

Park concept art offers a firsthand perspective behind the evolution of the Disney brand and experience. Lot #239, the original Walt Disney color art for the famous Enchanted Tiki Room exit sign, is estimated at $2,000-4,000. This extraordinary, one of a kind piece is dated 1963, partly colored and partly penciled, and matted and framed with a window on the rear of the frame to reveal the original WED specifications. Lot #134, original hand drawn concept art for Tokyo Disneyland's World Bazaar 1, is estimated at $2,000-6,000. It pictures the overview of the intersection of Main Street with East and West Center Streets in World Bazaar, Tokyo Disneyland’s version of Main Street. It is rendered in colored marker and includes handwritten notes by the artist, Herb Ryman. And lot #643, pencil art for Disneyland's 1958 Hi-Lites booklet, is estimated at $6,000-1,200. This original pencil sketch, by Imagineer Jay Gould, is signed by him and was produced for a souvenir brochure. It features the notation, “OK’D by Walt for Disneyland.”

This Disneyana sale features wall to wall selections of handsome, eye-catching, and delightfully designed park, destination, and travel posters. Lot #99, a Splash Mountain attraction poster, is estimated at $500-2,000. This WDW version, created by Larry Nikolai in 1992, is numbered 20/90, untrimmed, and silk-screened on Tyvek in over 30 colors. Lot #25, United Air Lines Presents Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. Disneyland from 1968 is estimated at $800-1,200. This color offset lithograph, designed by James Jebray, spotlights Jose the Macaw, one of the four masters of ceremonies and the main Tiki Bird at the attraction. Potter & Potter sold a similar example in 2018 for $4,320.  And lot #84, a Skyway poster by Rudy Lord for Tokyo Disneyland, is estimated at $500-2,000. This pristine example is dated 1987, untrimmed, and silk-screened on Tyvek in 8 colors.

Now let's turn the spotlight on this event's robust selections of memorabilia produced to honor Disney related anniversaries, accomplishments, and customer and employee loyalty. Lot #205, an Art of the Haunted Mansion signed six giclee set, is estimated at $2,000-4,000. This set, drawn by artist and animator Marc Davis (American, 1913-2000) was produced for the first Haunted Mansion Event in 1999 and is limited to ten sets, of which this is number 1. It consists of an enormous rosewood box with a hinged lid and brass fittings and six lithographs individually signed by the artist. Lot #260, a one of a kind “April Showers” Marc Davis tribute painting by Imagineer and animator Larry Nikolai is estimated at $2,000-5,000. This framed, acrylic on illustration board piece was painted in 2009 and was inspired by the April to December concept art for a changing portrait in the Haunted Mansion. And lot #292, a Main Street miniature one-of-a-kind window, is estimated at $2,000-4,000. Each person who is commemorated with a window on Main Street receives a miniature of that window. This window was given to Howard Roland, who worked for U.S. Steel in the construction of the Contemporary Resort and thereafter for The Walt Disney Company. His full size window appears on Main Street in WDW just past Casey’s Corner.

Disney themed ephemera, animation art, maps, and other collectibles that bridge conventional categories round out this can't miss sale. Lot #29, a well rendered and appealing Disneyland color souvenir map from 1961 is estimated at $700-900. It features an inset detail of the park's monorail service at its lower left as well as the debut of the Flying Saucers attraction. Lot #74, 17 blueprints for the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, is estimated at $500-2,000. They are from the early 1990s, include hand-written engineering notes, and were used by Walt Disney Imagineering in the creation of the ride featuring the famous fictitious explorer.  And bird's the word with lot #1, a Walt Disney inscribed and signed production cel from the 1951 animated short “Out of Scale.” It is estimated at $1,000-2,000, depicts Donald Duck riding atop a train, and is inscribed, “To Bayard/All Best Wishes/Walt Disney.”

According to Gabe Fajuri, President at Potter & Potter Auctions, "The sheer scope of this auction is mind-boggling. If you are one of the countless Disney fans in the world, there is something in this sale that will be of interest to you. From park-worn costumes and park used signs (and even parts of rides!), to one-of-a-kind maquettes, and limited-edition artwork and souvenirs, the auction covers the waterfront (quite literally of more than a few Disney parks worldwide). A home filled with these treasures would be a monument, if not its own private museum."

Falls Church, VA – Quinn’s Auction Galleries will ring in the new year and new decade with a Thursday, January 23 auction comprising 348 lots of rare books, antique maps and Americana.

The auction features more than 150 maps, atlases, and natural world prints, including examples by Hondius, Visscher, Blaeu, Bessler, and Blackwell. Within the book selection, there are early printings, fine bindings, travel and exploration, plus books signed by Virginia Woolf and Andy Warhol.

The sale also contains small press illustrated books, including Frankenstein and Through the Looking Glass by Moser; Dorothy Lamour’s Life as a Phrase Book by Janaczweska and Hudson; and Verve: Revue Artistique with pochoirs by Henri Matisse.

A large collection of Presidential and historical items will cross the auction block, as well. Highlights include appointments and grants signed by Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and others. Additionally, there is a second-edition copy of The Federalist Papers from 1802, and a historically significant letter from Mary Custis Lee (Robert E. Lee’s wife) to the Rev. R. Gurley discussing her final days at Arlington House before the impending Civil War.

The two-volume, second-edition set of The Federalist Papers – written by Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay – includes Pacificus (on the Proclamation of Neutrality) and the Federal Constitution (with all the amendments). Published by George F. Hopkins (N.Y., 1802), the lot is estimated at $5,000-$7,000.

A Civil War-era military appointment dated April 6, 1864, signed by President Abraham Lincoln and promoting Elliot Loues to Assistant Surgeon, could reach $4,000-$6,000. The appointment, measuring 19¾ inches by 15¾ inches, is also signed by the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. It was engraved by J.VN and C.H. Throop (Washington, D.C.).

The large-folio illustrated book Dorothy Lamour’s Life as a Phrase Book, written and signed by Noelle Janaczweska, number 18 of 25 copies, is expected to sell for $3,000-$5,000. Published by Wayzgoose Press, 2006, the book was conceived, designed and illustrated with multi-colored linocuts by Mike Hudson, who also signed the book.

A limited-edition, large-folio copy of Lewis Carroll’s classic Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (Pennyroyal Press, West Hatfield, 1982) carries an estimate of $2,000-$3,000. The book is illustrated and signed by Barry Moser and is number 21 of 50 special patron copies from the limited edition run of just 350 copies.

An early engraved map of the New York area, rendered in 1656 by Nicolas Visscher, should make $2,000-$2,500. The framed second-state map, 21¾ inches by 18¼ inches (sight) includes Fort Kasimier but does not mention Philadelphia. It has contemporary hand-color outlines and insets, and a colored cartouche and inset of “Nieuw Amsterdam.”

Another engraved map – this one a double-hemisphere map of the world created in 1720 by Johann Baptiste Homann (Nuremburg, Germany), has text in Latin and is estimated at $1,500-$2,000. The hand-colored, 20¾- by 18½-inch (sight) map is vividly engraved and embellished with images of celestial hemispheres and natural phenomena.

A near-life-size mannequin view of the human body titled White’s Physiological Manikin (James T. White & Co., N.Y., 1886), has an estimate of $800-$1,200. The two folding wood panels open vertically to 68¾ inches by 23½ inches, with chromolithographed flaps for both halves of the torso, arms, hands, legs, feet, the head, large ear and large eye. Also depicted are the muscles, tendons, arteries, bones, joints, heart, lungs and stomach.

A letter written and signed in 1861 by Mary Custis Lee, the wife of Confederate general Robert E. Lee [who also signed the letter] and granddaughter of Martha Washington) carries an $800-$1,200 estimate. Written to a minister, the letter speaks of Mary’s final days at Arlington House and the anticipated Union Army occupation there.

An influential book from 1624 on witchcraft, magic of all forms, divination, prophecy and how to persecute witches, written by Martin Antoine Del Rio and titled Disquisitionum magicarum libri sex (J. Albinus Mainz, 1,070 pages), is estimated at $300-$500. The contemporary full vellum book weighing 3.2 pounds shows the title in ink on the spine.

Gallery previews will be held on Jan. 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET); Jan. 20 from 10-5; Jan. 21 and 22 from 10-6; and on auction day, Jan. 23, from 10-6.  

For additional information about any item in the auction, call Catherine Payling at 703-532-5632, ext. 575; or e-mail catherine.payling@quinnsauction.com View the online catalog and register to bid absentee or live online at LiveAuctioneers.com. Visit Quinn’s online at www.quinns.com. Quinn’s is always accepting consignments for future auctions.

Boston — The Ronnie Paloger JFK Memorabilia + Photograph Collection is arguably the finest, most comprehensive, and historically significant JFK Collection assembled by a private collector in the 21st Century. 

It’s an Exhibit Waiting to Happen!

The two major components of the collection (memorabilia and photographs including original negatives) individually would stand alone as the finest ever assembled and this combination separates this collection from any other JFK collection in the world today.

Paloger assembled this collection as a 'tribute' to John F Kennedy.

Ronnie would have to be included on any short list of the greatest memorabilia collectors in the United States over the past 30 years.

The Paloger Collection will be the first major JFK collection to be offered intact, which was Paloger's intention when he started assembling this collection as a 'tribute' to the life and times of JFK. It is his belief that a JFK collection of this magnitude should be permanently housed, maintained, and exhibited for current American and foreign visitors, academics, researchers, authors, and historians and future generations.

Boston-based RR Auction is proudly honoring his wishes in an online auction later month.

The enormity and span combined with the high level of significant and unique artifacts in this collection will take your breath away.

The collection begins with JFK's Choate Academy French textbook from 1931 used when JFK was 14 years old that includes an incredible 77 signatures in a variety of formats. This textbook also shows an early example of JFK's fine wit and sense of humor that is sprinkled across this collection as he writes on the frontispiece a warning not to steal his book by declaring: "This book is not an orphan, do not adopt it!" This textbook is part of a major 'Young Jack Kennedy' grouping that has phenomenal Kennedy artifacts from his years at both Choate Academy and Harvard University, including his senior year thesis which became the foundation for his first book, "Why England Slept" in 1940.

JFK's World War 2 exploits as a 'war hero' aboard the PT-109 have taken on iconic status over the years as one of the most singular events in JFK's life, that certainty propelled his chances in winning his first political office in 1946 representing the Eleventh Congressional District of Greater Boston. But what was not known to the public until recently was an extraordinary correspondence spanning over 18 years from 1943–1961 as president between Jack Kennedy and the mother of Harold Marney, one of two sailors who was killed aboard the PT-109 in the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 1943 in Blackett Strait in the Solomon Islands. What makes this archive so special is the fact that despite knowing Harold Marney for only one week, Jack Kennedy felt such loyalty to his shipmate and empathy and compassion to his mother to continue to correspond with Harold's mother over this length of time is remarkable.

Highlights include three handwritten letters from JFK to Marney's mother from 1943 + 1944 that are arguably the most historically significant handwritten letters that JFK ever wrote showing the incredible character of a future president of the United States as a 26 year old Lieut. jg (junior grade) officer displaying such compassion and honesty to a mother in agony whose son was MIA (missing in action). JFK writes about what happened aboard the PT-109 that night and that Harold did not survive. Nobody can read these letters now and be surprised that they were written by a future president of the United States.

The collection covers JFK's years both as congressman and senator and features the rarest and most historically significant photographs from these periods in existence, and JFK's original handwritten manuscript draft for his announcement speech of his intention to run for the presidency in 1960.

There are many significant artifacts from JFK's time as a candidate and as president including two beautiful watercolors of sailboats, never exhibited and signed "JFK 1960," JFK 's monogrammed necktie travel case with two raw silk hand-woven ties, the only known JFK back brace used by Kennedy that was gifted by Rose Kennedy to their family physician, JFK's personally owned and used wooden cigar box with presidential seal emblem inlaid on top with an engraved silver plaque on the front reading "John F Kennedy, My Cigars 1962" with two of the president's cigars still in the box, accompanied by a used JFK lighter from the Dave Power's Estate, a great JFK handwritten letter on White House stationery showing JFK's great wit to his brother-in-law Peter Lawford who was staying at the White House when this letter was left in Lawford's breakfast tray telling Lawford to be prepared that morning to go over JFK's script from PT-109 with him signed Louis B. Mayer. The entire letter in JFK's hand getting a rise out of his brother-in-law who was then having contract problems with the studio and particularly with Louis B Mayer. This is just a sampling of what makes the Paloger Collection so unique. The collection also includes photographs and personal artifacts of Jackie Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr., Caroline Kennedy (public domain), Robert Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Dave Powers, and Jack Ruby.

The Paloger Collection is so unique that LIFE Magazine featured photographs from this collection in their JFK 100-Year Commemorative Edition, 'John F. Kennedy...The Legacy' in May 2017 in an 'exclusive gallery' over the first 12 pages of this magazine after the introduction which was the photographic highlight in this issue. Paloger was the only individual contributor who is mentioned either in the 'contents' page or in the text as he is noted on the opening pages of his gallery 'Portraits of a Young Politician.' It is important to note that Paloger owns not only the original 4" x 5" negatives from these images but also more than 400 others from this time period of mostly unseen images of JFK. These would have to be considered the rarest and most historically significant and valuable original negatives extant which represent by far the largest collection in the world with even combining the inventories of all photo stock agencies and museums.

The most distinguishing element in this collection from all other JFK collections is the extraordinary archive of mostly unseen photographs (and most importantly the original negatives ) from JFK's 1946 Congressional campaign, 1952 Senatorial campaign and his Sept. 12, 1953 wedding to Jacqueline Bouvier. This includes 434 original 4" x 5" negatives all in their original glassine sleeves, 231 original 4" x 5" contact prints also in their original sleeves, and 405 first generation 5" x 8" photographs from these negatives most with contemporaneous background commentary written on the backs adding to their historical significance. These rare images (over 1,000) detail JFK's earliest and most critical political campaigns in his career as well as his wedding day to Jackie.

It should be noted that all of these images are in the public domain and as such there are no copyrights passed from Ronnie Paloger to the future owner of these negatives. However there are numerous revenue streams that could be pursued from these public domain images which could derive potentially hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in perpetuity in the 'lease for use' revenue based on the current dollar amounts agencies charge for single uses of JFK images from 1946–1953, many of which are poor quality 'rental' prints from inferior resolutions when compared to the highest possible resolution and quality that would come from Ronnie Paloger's original negatives.

The Paloger JFK Collection is truly a treasure trove of artifacts from the life and times of John F. Kennedy and RR Auction is proud and pleased in offering this once-in-a-lifetime collection to the public.

The Ronnie Paloger JFK Memorabilia + Photograph Collection is open for phone bids, online bidding runs January 17 - 23.  For more information go to www.rrauction.com.

Dallas, TX – Auction sales for the Comics & Comic Art Department at Heritage soared to a record $79,332,770 in 2019, with sell-through rates exceeding 99% as measured both by value and by number of lots. The total was the highest ever in the 18-year history of the department, and represented a jump of more than 35% above the department's previous record of $58,544,323 which was set in 2018.

Numerous records fell in 2019, further strengthening Heritage's position as the largest comic books and comic art auctioneer in the world.

“Our Comics team continues to amaze me with their knowledge, work ethic, teamwork, honesty and dedication to client satisfaction," Heritage Auctions Co-Founder Jim Halperin said. "I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Among the records that fell in 2019:

Egyptian Queen, Frank Frazetta’s 1969 masterpiece, published first as the cover for Jim Warren’s popular comic magazine, Eerie, issue #23 in mid-1969, tripled the previous price record for any piece of American published comic book art when it sold for $5,400,000 at Heritage's May 16-18 Comics & Comic Art Auction in Chicago. The previous record been set in 2018 by Heritage for another fantastic Frazetta cover, Death Dealer 6, at $1,792,500. After that sale, many experts had speculated that it could be many years before that 2018 record, which had nearly tripled the previous record for a piece of comic book art, would be broken. Yet barely a year later, Egyptian Queen smashed the previous mark.

That total of $15,121,405 in realized sales at the Chicago auction in May also set a new world record for any individual comics auction, besting the previous $12,121,036 record, which had been set by Heritage in the May 2108 auction. Amazingly, Heritage nearly broke the record again when its Nov. 21-24, 2019 Comics & Comic Art Auction in Dallas realized $14,744,367.

Heritage Auctions’ Dec. 13-15 Animation Art Auction was the highest-grossing Animation Art Auction of all time, with sales totaling $2,965,596. The total blew away the previous record of $2,086,451, which was set by Heritage Auctions in June 2019.

The Comics Department has enjoyed a boost from the popularity of video games, which a sold in the Comics Department’s signature and weekly auctions. The highlight video game for 2019 was, Mega Man [“Dr. Wright” First Release] – Carolina Collection Wata 9.4 A+ Sealed NES Capcom 1987 USA, which broke the record for the most ever paid at auction for a video game when it sold for $75,000 in Heritage’s November auction.

“Our bidder base of collectors, both seasoned and new, has been expanding at a rate beyond our most optimistic expectations,” Heritage Auctions Comics Consignment Director Aaron White said. “Comic books, comic art and related memorabilia have never been more popular. Characters originally popularized by Marvel, DC and other publishers have become the basis of some of today’s most popular streaming shows, movies, toys and games, enjoying an unprecedented international appeal among all age groups and demographics, especially Millennials and younger.”

“Our latest market upturn might be just the beginning, because the total market size for comics is still just a tiny fraction of the value of more developed Fine Art and Collectibles markets such as Contemporary Art, Diamonds and other Gemstones, Numismatics and Vintage Automobiles, among others,” Heritage Auctions Comics Grader Brian Wiedman said. “Time will tell.”

Other Heritage Comics Department highlights include:
    •    Marvel Comics #1 Windy City pedigree (Timely, 1939) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white pages: $1,260,000
    •    HERGÉ (1907-1983) Les Aventures de Tintin, Tome 1 Tintin au Pays de Soviets Couverture: $1,125,000
    •    Captain America Comics #1 San Francisco Pedigree (Timely, 1941) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages: $915,000
    •    Robert Crumb Your Hytone Comix #nn "Stoned Agin!" Inside Back Cover Original Art (Apex Novelties, 1971): $690,000
    •    Neal Adams Batman #251 Cover The Joker Original Art (DC, 1973): $600,000
    •    Superman #1 (DC, 1939) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Cream to off-white pages: $456,000
    •    Jack Kirby and Chic Stone Fantastic Four Annual #2 Splash Page 1 Doctor Doom Original Art (Marvel, 1964): $288,000
    •    Jack Kirby and Syd Shores Captain America #103 Cover Red Skull Original Art (Marvel, 1968): $288,000
    •    Frank Frazetta Creepy #17 Cover Painting Original Art (Warren, 1967): $264,000

New York — Les Enluminures will be exhibiting a variety of art works at the Winter Show, January 24 to February 2, including illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, works of art, and medieval and Renaissance jewelry.

llluminated manuscript leaves and cuttings exhibited at the show include a sparkling example by Attavante degli Attavanti, a High Renaissance artist who worked side-by-side important panel painters in Florence for the Medici court. Here the illuminator depicts two warrior saints, Sergius and Bacchus, in an initial A from a Choir Book. Once belonging to a former curator of the Louvre, Paul Durrieu, this illumination has a sterling provenance and validates Va-sari's praise of Attavante in his "Lives of the Painters" as one of the most "celebrated and famous of miniaturists.”

The same artist, or his active workshop, was responsible for a diminutive Book of Hours with a stunning sequence of pictures made for the Calcagni family in Florence and dated 1508. Numerous Books of Hours survive as captivating artistic expressions of daily medieval life, but dated Books of Hours associated with known patrons are rare. ln the case of the Calcagni Hours, archival research on the family evokes the small elite world of Florence during the period: Michelangelo and the papal secretary corresponded about the Calcagni properties, which they hoped to purchase in order to suppress the family's participation in a project they opposed.

ln the Middle Ages, as today, public areas in civic centers often mounted Christmas tableau of the Nativity story. Les Enluminures is bringing two such sculptures from Lombardy. Entirely unique, they depict the Ox and the Ass from the Nativity story sculpted by the De Donati brothers, artists active for the princely Sforza family. With original polychrome (although the ox has restored horns), the pair of animals are ubiquitous in Christmas scenes of the Nativity and are lauded in many more recent Christmas carols: "the ox and ass before him bow, and he is in the manger now; Christ is born today."

Another work of art highlighted at the show is a Gothie box, "a mysterious coffret" as the current exhibition in Paris calls it. This is an interesting example, not only because of the rare image by Jean d'Ypres of Saint Roch, who protected against the plague, but because of the typology of the Coffer, which is distinctive from others in the group. Recent research confirms the unique importance of these prints for a reconstruction of the early history of the graphic arts in France, but also reveals that the boxes themselves must have served to carry manuscripts along with other precious devotional objects. Representative of a new generation of French artists, Jean d'Ypres tried his hand at a variety of media in addition to these prints, images in printed Books of Hours, stained glass, and ivories, he was also responsible for the designs of the famous Unicorn Tapestries.

Founded by Dr. Sandra Hindman more than twenty-five years ago and with locations in Paris, Chicago, and New York, Les Enluminures has forged long-standing relationships with major museums and prestigious private collections throughout the world. lt exhibits at TEFAF Maastricht, Masterpiece, and Frieze Masters. The gallery is well-known for the level of its scholarship but also for the diversity, high quality, and provenance of the works it offers for sale.

Sandra Hindman states: "We are delighted to be returning once again to the Winter Show, which has consistently been one of our most successful venues. We look forward to this year with much enthusiasm."

New York — Swann Galleries will open the new decade in style, with a sale of African-American Art from the Johnson Publishing Company on Thursday, January 30. The collection—which hung in the publishing house’s historic offices on 820 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago—will feature paintings, sculpture and works on paper from diverse periods over the last century, with 75 artists represented. Hung together in a single exhibition for the first time, the Johnson Publishing Company’s art collection makes a powerful statement, demonstrating the company’s longstanding recognition and support of visual artists.

The earliest work in the sale comes from 1912: Henry Ossawa Tanner’s beautiful oil-on-canvas Moonrise by Kasbah (Morocco) depicts figures outside the stark, steep exterior walls of a Moroccan Kasbah. The significant midcareer painting carries the highest estimate of the collection, at $150,000 to $250,000.

A suite of seven framed photographs with etched glass, 1996-97, by Carrie Mae Weems, commissioned by the City of Chicago Public Art Program marks a high-point of the offering. One of an edition of only three, the suite comes block estimated at $100,000 to $150,000. Further contemporary works include Richard Mayhew’s 2006 oil-on-canvas Departure, a large landscape with saturated colors ($50,000-75,000).

The cover lot of the sale is The Last Farewell, a significant 1970 oil on canvas painting by Dindga McCannon, made as she first began to define her aesthetic ($30,000-40,000). Additional abstract works from the 1970s include Kenneth Victor Young’s color field painting in greens and yellows, Upper Egypt, 1971, ($80,000-120,000) and Francis A. Sprout’s Azo, 1971, from the artist’s Moslem Tile Patterns series ($15,000-25,000).

Richmond Barthé and Elizabeth Catlett lead a remarkable run of sculpture with two cast bronze works: Barthé’s 1944 The Negro Looks Ahead and Catlett’s 1973 Sister are expected to bring $50,000 to $75,000 each. Also of note are Homage to Marion Perkins, a circa 1961-63 carved granite work by Margaret Burroughs as a tribute to her fellow Chicago artist and friend ($8,000-12,000) and Rufus, a circa 1961 cast “Montizini” plastic by Valerie J. Maynard ($3,000-5,000).

The collection features a strong selection of landscapes, as well as images of day-to-day life. Walter H. Williams’s oil on canvas White Butterfly, 1969, from his Southern Landscape series, depicts a pensive young girl picking wildflowers in a field ($30,000-40,000), while William Edouard Scott’s 1929 impressionist-style oil on canvas features a young boy picking a pumpkin ($15,000-25,000). Also of note is The Builders (The Family), a 1974 color screenprint by Jacob Lawrence, available at $5,000 to $7,000, and Barbara Johnson Zuber’s circa 1970 oil on canvas Jump Rope, which depicts a group of girls with red bows in their braids playing Double Dutch, expected to bring $1,000 to $1,500.

An offering of oil on canvas works by Loïs Mailou Jones includes Bazar Du Quai, Port Au Prince, Haiti, 1961 ($20,000-30,000), Vielle Rue, Montmartre (Rue Pinteau), 1965 ($15,000-25,000), and Boats at Théoule, 1965 ($10,000-15,000).

Exhibition opening in New York City January 25. The complete catalogue and bidding information is available at swanngalleries.com and on the Swann Galleries App.

Additional highlights can be found here.

Stuttgart, Germany — The Rare Book Fair Stuttgart is proud to announce the patronage of the Lord Mayor of Stuttgart. 75 German and international dealers will present a variety of material from illuminated manuscripts, and incunabula to rare books, autographs, illustrated works and graphic art of the 20th century.
 
The German Antiquarian Booksellers Association, Verband Deutscher Antiquare, welcomes the new and returning exhibitors including Librairie Clavreuil, Librairie Lamort, Paris Rare Books, Librairie Yvinec (Paris), Peter Harrington (London), Bernard Quaritch (London), Antiquariaat De Roo (Zwijndrecht, Netherlands), Erasmushaus (Basel), Treptower Bücherkabinett (Berlin) and Stefan Müller (Mönchengladbach).
 
To compliment the 2020 fair the organisers have announced an exhibition in the field of book art: "Internationale BilderBuchKunst der Gegenwart" (International Contemporary Picture Book Art) and have expanded this year's events programme significantly by introducing a series of talks at the fair, "The Red Sofa" ("Das Rote Sofa").

Amongst the invited guests are one of Germany's and a worldwide leading literary institution, Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach. Its archive holds around 1,400 papers and collections of authors and scholars, archives of literary publishers and over 450,000 images and objects; its library being the largest special collection of modern German literature.

Sibylle Wieduwilt, Chairwoman of the organising Verband Deutscher Antiquare e.V.: "We dealers spend our daily lives searching and often finding such interesting works, people and backgrounds. This is a not inconsiderable reason why many of my colleagues take on the ever new challenges that make their profession a vocation. We would like to share some of these stories with a wider audience. It is important to us to capture people's enthusiasm for the beauty of the printed book, language and works on paper, even in the multimedia age, just as we are".

New this year: The announcement and awarding of the €1000 prize for young collectors in cooperation with the Bibliophile Maximilian Society and the German rare book magazine Aus dem Antiquariat.

The number and also the quality of applications were a clear testimony to the organisers: books have not lost their appeal even for the younger generation!
The award ceremony will take place on Sunday, 26 January at 15h00 at the fair.

The fully illustrated catalogue - with a total sales value of around 5.25 million Euro - is available on the Internet or as a print version from the Verband Deutscher Antiquare e.V.  Please contact the organizer's office: buch@antiquare.de  

Link to the online catalogue: https://www.antiquariatsmesse-stuttgart.de/en/catalogue/catalogue-as-pdf

The fair runs from 24th to 26th of January 2020 at the Kunstverein in the heart of the city.

Stuttgart welcomes the book trade, book lovers and collectors from around the world!

All information about the fair is available on the website: https://www.antiquariatsmesse-stuttgart.de/en/

West Vancouver, Canada — Spencer W Stuart, Collections Advisor, is excited to announce a three-part lecture series that he will be delivering at the West Vancouver Art Gallery entitled Lifecycles: Collecting & Collections. The Series focuses on collecting art (prints, photography, and painting) and building private libraries. It will cover both sides of the coin, discussing the initial attractions that move one to collect and the steps one must take to ensure a collection’s legacy beyond one’s very personal time and place.

Saturday, 2:00 PM, February 1, 8, 15, 2020; West Vancouver Art Gallery, 680 17th Street, West Vancouver; Free

About Spencer W Stuart, Collections Advisor

Spencer provides advisory services to collections both private and institutional, helping to facilitate collection development, cataloguing and deacquisition strategies. His specialities include rare books, prints and photography. For more information go to spencerwstuart.ca.

Spencer holds a master’s degree in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute in London, England (recipient of the Director’s Award). Upon graduation he took a position with Bonhams Auctioneers where he worked closely with the North American Rare Books and Manuscripts department in Toronto and New York.

He is also an alumnus of the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminars and the Rare Book School (University of Virginia).

In concert with his advising, Spencer presents a monthly segment on Sheryl MacKay's CBC Radio program North by Northwest as a Book Historian.