Ursus Rare Books Catalogue 329 Marcel Duchamp Catalogue 329 URSUS RARE BOOKS, LTD. Marcel Duchamp 699 Madison Avenue, Third Floor New York, New York 10065 Tel: (212) 772-8787 Fax: (212) 737-9306 e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Please visit our website at: www.ursusbooks.com Shop Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 - 6:00 Saturday 11:00 - 5:00 All prices are net. Postage, packing and insurance are extra. Ursus Rare Books Cover Images: No. 5 Rotoreliefs New York City Please inquire for further images 2. Combat de Boxe By Marcel Duchamp Photomontage, 225 x 265 mm, photograph mounted on brown cardboard surrounded by a black painted rectangle, with eight strips of photographs mounted to the right and one to left of the central image. New York, ca. 1916. $ 550,000.00 A photomontage created by Duchamp based on his 1913 drawing, which had been intended to be a part of the Large Glass, but which was not included in the final version. The original drawing is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Inscribed “Combat de Boxe- 1913- jamais utilise pour le Grand Verre. Marcel Duchamp,” and on the verso “L’original appartient W.C. Arensberg.” PROVENANCE: Marcel Duchamp, Cordier & Ekstrom, Galeria Schwarz. Schwarz, No. 337. 1. Les Anaglyphes Geometriques By H. Vuibert 16 pp. text and 16 plates, and stereo viewing glasses. 8vo., bound in original illustrated wrappers, in a new navy cloth folding box. Paris: Librairie Vuibert, [1912]. $ 875.00 First Edition (fictitious imprint "4e edition" on the cover) of a book Duchamp was in the process of incorporating into a project he was working on at the time of his death, and which confirms his lifelong interest in optics. Slight wear and a small ding to the spine, but a better copy than usually encountered. Schwarz, No. 661. 3. L’Opposition et les Cases Conjugées By Vitaly Halberstadt [4], 91 pp. (i.e., 180), eight plates with guards paginated 93-107, pp. 108-112 (i.e., 11 pp.), [1] f. advertisement, errata leaf inserted at front and another mounted on rear inner wrapper. Illustrated by Duchamp with 254 diagrams in text and eight full-page diagrams printed in red and black on tissue at end. 4to., 282 x 240 mm, bound in publisher’s tan wrappers lettered in red. Paris- Bruxelles: Editions de L’Echiquier, 1932. WITH: Le Monde des Echecs. Serie No. 1 (Fevrier 1933). Publisher’s portfolio containing [1] f. text and 16 plates, each 160 x 240 mm. Both housed in a new blue cloth folding box, title gilt on red leather spine label. $ 3850.00 Ad I: First Edition. Although best known as an artist, Duchamp was also an avid chess player, who competed professionally. The present chess manual, designed by Duchamp, resulted from his collaboration with French endgame theorist and former opponent Vitaly Halberstadt (1903-67). The text is in German, English, and French, and the book is illustrated with hundreds of diagrams in red, white, and black, and eight full-page diagrams on tracing paper at the end. An elucidating snapshot of the strategist’s, and artist’s, mind. In excellent condition, with the two errata leaves. Ad II: The supplement comprises 16 photogravures of famous chess players by various photography studios, including a shot of Duchamp and Halberstadt by Man Ray, with one leaf listing each competitor by name and nationality. Schwarz, No. 430. 5. Rotoreliefs or Optical Disks By Marcel Duchamp Set of six cardboard optical disks, 200 mm in diameter, printed on both sides in colour offset lithography; black plastic circular holder 250 mm diameter; black plastic viewer 135 mm diameter; and circular cellophane window with off-white lettering 190 mm diameter; plus long white cardboard strip lettered “Tirer L’épingle.” All together housed in a new custom black cloth box. Paris, 1935. $ 75,000.00 Very Rare First Edition, with one of the disks inscribed by Duchamp to Arnold Fawcus, who published the first catalogue raisonné of Duchamp's work. These discs are a manifestation of Marcel Duchamp's interest in optical illusion and mechanical art; when spun at 40-60 rpm the design on the discs creates the illusion of depth. 4. Le Monde des Echecs. Series 1 With a double-portrait by Man Ray 8vo., 165 x 245 mm, bound in publisher’s paper portfolio, in a new yellow cloth folding box. Paris-Bruxelles: L’Echiquier, 1932. $ 975.00 The supplement portfolio from the previous item containing 16 photographic plates depicting chess masters including the celebrated double-portrait montage by Man Ray of Halberstadt and Marcel Duchamp with a chess board between them. The other masters are A. Alekhine, P. Biscay, E. Bogoljuboff, E. Colle, J. M. da Costa, T. R. Dawson, M. Euwe, E. Lancel, G. Legrain, V. Menchik, R. Rey Ardid, W. Robinow, F. Somma, R. Spielmann and S. Tartakower. In immaculate condition. Originally Rotoreliefs was conceived in 1935 as a set of six cardboard discs in an edition of 500, of which about 300 sets were lost in World War II. The Rotoreliefs were issued in a further 4 editions: New York, 1953, produced by Donati in an edition of 1000, of which approximately 600 were destroyed; Paris, 1959, produced by Daniel Spoerri, Edition MAT, in an edition of 100; New York, 1963, produced by Duchamp himself in an edition of 5; and Milan, 1965, in an edition of 150. The first two editions were intended to be "played" on a traditional vinyl record turntable, whilst the latter 3 were issued with an especially constructed wall- mountable turntable covered in black velvet. "The twelve Rotoreliefs were first shown at the Concours Lépine, an inventor's fair, September-October 1935. Henri-Pierre Roché recalled: '[Duchamp] rented a tiny stand among the inventions at the Concours Lépine, near the Porte de Versailles, and waited for the crowds to arrive. None of the visitors, hot on the trail of the useful, could be diverted long enough to stop there. When I went up to him, Duchamp smiled and said: 'Error, one hundred percent. At least it's clear''' (Schwarz, No. 441). All editions of the Duchamp Rotoreliefs are now very rare. Of this edition, only ca. 200 copies were distributed. Condition: Small French customs stamp on one disk, nevertheless a fine set of the incredibly rare first edition, whose importance is easily confirmed by the presence of the four later editions. Schwarz, No. 441. See cover illustrations (Continued) 6. La Septieme Face du Dé By George Hugnet With a cover by Marcel Duchamp and 20 decoupage poems by Hugnet. 4to., bound in original illustrated wrappers in a cloth folding box. Paris: Editions Jeanne Bucher, 1936. $ 17,500.00 This celebrated work is a brilliant collaboration between Duchamp and Georges Hugnet, whose poems are set out in a manner reminiscent of Mallarmé’s Un Coup de Des N’Abolira Jamais le Hasard, and which he has illustrated with a series of brilliant collages. Duchamp’s cover combines a photograph by Man Ray of his readymade “Why Not Sneeze, Rrose Selavy” with an elaborately lettered title, whose letters contain the names of the heroes of Surrealism from Heraclitus and Uccello to Jarry and Charlie Chaplin. An unusually fine copy of this extremely important example of Surrealist book-making, which is rarely found in good condition. This is one of 250 copies of the regular edition of a total of 314 copies. Schwarz, No. 444. Roth, The Book of 101 Books, p. 92. 8. Transition - A Quarterly Review, Number 26 With texts by James Joyce, Franz Kafka, and others 208 pp., plus ads. 8vo., bound in original wrappers, with front cover designed by Marcel Duchamp, preserved in a grey cloth box. New York: Transition, 1937. $ 875.00 Duchamp designed this cover using a reproduction of his readymade Comb and an image of the journal’s masthead. The same reproduction (but without the "Transition" masthead) is included in all copies of The Box in a Valise, 1941. According to Sylvia Beach, James Joyce told her jokingly that “the comb with thick teeth shown on this cover was the one used to comb out “Work in Progress,” (Schwarz). An unusually fine copy of this fragile item. Schwarz, No. 457. Slocum & Cahoon 70. 7. Coeurs Volants Cahiers d’Art Volume 11, Nos. 1-2 Folio, bound in the original illustrated wrappers by Marcel Duchamp. Paris: Cahiers d’Art, 1936. $ 12,500.00 An inscribed copy of the rarest and most sought-after issue of Cahiers d’Art. The text is Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia’s essay Coeurs Volants (fluttering hearts), a study of Duchamp’s optical works. The cover, by Duchamp, is based on a collage composed of three hearts. Most copies of the magazine were either bound up, often without the wrappers, or simply discarded. Today very few copies of the issue survive as issued and inscribed copies are extremely scarce. This one inscribed on the cover by Duchamp to the collector Edmond Bomsel. Slight wear, but generally a far better copy than usually encountered. Schwarz, No. 446. 9. Obligations pour la roulette de Monte-Carlo By Marcel Duchamp XXe Siecle, No. 4. Christmas 1938. Offset lithograph. Folio, bound in original wrappers in a new yellow cloth folding box, gilt black leather spine label. Paris: Chroniques du Jour, 1938. $ 3500.00 This image, Obligations pour la roulette de Monte-Carlo, was first created by Duchamp in 1924. Duchamp used a photograph of himself covered in soapsuds by Man Ray together with other elements as a part of a photocollage mounted on cardboard, and issued in an edition of eight.