Just in. Great collection of Bronze age comic books. Here are a few super size, collectors edition, DC books including some cool Famous First Edition issues from the mid 1970's.

These are all available for purchase here

Highlights from the Wellcome Library's digital archive of historic books and ephemera. Over 100,000 available free and downloadable.

Wound Man

This figure, from a 15th century English anatomical manuscript, is an example of a ‘wound man’. Figures like these can be found in a number of manuscripts and printed books produced in the 15th and 16th centuries. This particular version is folio 53 verso from Anathomia by Claudius (Pseudo) Galen. It is captioned in Latin and the words do not provide any directions for treatment but merely describe the injury: for example, ‘penetration by a sword’ or ‘an arrow whose point has remained in the thigh’. The weapons are shown as they pierce the body and here, the positions of the man’s internal organs are indicated. The exact purpose of the wound man image is not known, but it might have served as a reminder of the injuries to which the human body is prone. These typically range from blows to the head, to stab wounds and arrow piercings, sometimes even showing dogs or snakes

biting the legs. 

Paolo Mascagni's Exploded Torso

Paolo Mascagni’s fabulously detailed, hand-coloured engraving Viscera from his Anatomia Universa, a comprehensive work of anatomy with forty-four hand coloured plates. The book was published in Pisa between 1823 and 1831, after Mascagni’s death in 1815. Mascagni was the Prosector of Anatomy at the University of Siena, responsible for leading dissection for demonstration and research. He died in 1815 of Malaria which was common in Italy at the time. 

D'Agoty's E'corch'e of a Woman's Back 

On a more anatomical note, the next image, a mezzotint of a female écorché torso revealing the muscles of the back, shows the extraordinary talent of Jacques-Fabien Gautier d’Agoty who made this print after observing a dissection carried out by J. F. Duverney, a Parisian surgeon and anatomist. Mezzotint was a new technique developed by Jacob Christoph le Blon for whom d’Agoty worked as an assistant and to whose 3 colour process d’Agoty added black. The result has a velvety finish with the subtlety of a pastel drawing and the depth of an oil painting. The print is approximately life-size, (measuring 60.6cm x 45.6 cm) as are many of the other works by the same artist held by the Wellcome Library. 

Courtesy Wellcome Library

The Ball House. Dresden 1928. Peter Birch Wood (1876-1961)

The Kugelhaus was a ball-shaped house building in Dresden on the Exhibition Grounds between exhibition palace and Hercules Avenue. At that time it was Stübelplatz by Peter Birch Wood (1876-1961) built in 1928.

It housed showrooms, and a catering operation and is considered to be the first spherical building in the world.It was during the annual review of work German Dresden - The city of Technology in 1928 and had a diameter of 24 meters. The spherical body was on a ball neck diameter of 11.5 meters and 4 meters in height are stored. Die Gesamthöhe des Gebäudes betrug 26,5 Meter, bei einer bebauten Fläche von nur 110 Quadratmetern maß der umbaute Raum 7600 Kubikmeter. There were six levels and a passenger lift. The building was obtained by a circular, atrium-like opening up or down look. Only the top floor with the restaurant had a closed floor area. The windows of the restaurant gave a good panoramic view of the nearby exhibition area.

The supporting construction of the building was of steel frame construction have been built. The metallic outer skin consisted of sheet aluminum. The building work over the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (branch Gustavsburg at Mainz). From 1928 on it served in several exhibitions at the Municipal Exhibition Center as a presentation space for numerous industrial companies, mostly from the field of electrical engineering and energy. The last demonstration of involvement in an exhibition concept was done within the realm Garden of 1936. With regard to its architectural effect, it was at a central office was built.

The ball house stood between the so-called fountain and tower-yard, two in Hallenkompexe is completed on the Exhibition Grounds, and resort to the concert with his big restaurant area. In this way it was in the intersection of two main axes of the building and was therefore an excellent building within sight of many relationships.

The building was built in 1938 demolished because no buyer is found or operator. Previously, it was by the Nazi press as "degenerate art" had been attacked. Other sources indicate that the ball home in 1938 as a supposedly "non" destroyed. [1] Today, there is the railway station and the park opposite the round tower of the Transparent Factory, where Volkswagen AG's VW Phaeton finished cars are stored. (courtesy Architectuul)

Wonderful reply to a New Yorks Times article about 21st century art advisors by Marion Maneker of Art Market Monitor. Comparisons with the amazing 19th/20th century dealer/scoundrel Bernard Berenson.

Art Advisers Are Status-Conscious, Wealth-Seeking Dealmakers, Just Like Bernard Berenson

August 22, 2015 by Marion Maneker

 

There’s so much wrong with the this tendentious New York Times story about art advisers, it is hard to know where to start.  From the lede that conflates three extremely different stories of leading auction house specialists who now make a living as “advisers” to the willfully naive idea that many of those now acting as advisers would not have simply been doing the very same thing while working for dealers over the last half dozen decades, the story hyperventilates through well known and commonplace information.
Perhaps more egregious than the mis-representation of what so many of these professionals are doing is the baffling use of Bernard Berenson as a paragon of disinterested art advising.
Do the editors at the Times not know any of the incredibly well-documented instances of Berenson’s actively seeking rise above the poverty he was born into by advising the wealthy on art they wanted to buy? Starting with Mrs. Jack, as Isabella Stewart Gardner was known, and following over 25 years as an adviser to the Duveen brothers, Colnaghi and others, Berenson made a substantial amount of money in the picture trade.
Its cringe-worthy that the Times does not know this and soft-headed that the writers of this story would offer Berenson as an ideal of incorruptible connoisseurship:

For decades, art advisers were a small club of professionals who personally helped build collections for clients, using their scholarship and connoisseurship. Their role was to consult and offer expertise, rarely to make deals. Bernard Berenson, the Harvard-trained art historian, was a famed counsel to the collector Isabella Stewart Gardner.

“I’m not anxious to have you own braces of Rembrandts, like any vulgar millionaire,” he wrote to her in 1900.

But the rapidly changing art market — characterized by soaring prices, high fees and a host of wealthy new buyers from Wall Street and abroad — has prompted scores of new players to jump into the pool, from young art-world arrivistes to former auction-house executives with an abundance expertise and connections. “It’s the Wild West,” said Abigail Asher, who has been an adviser for 25 years. “It’s like being in a gold rush mining town. We have been the miners for years and a lot of people are just showing up now.”

What’s worse is that this last quote from Abigail Asher surely refers to a large group of inexperienced and un-credentialed advisers who have been popping up to server the uninitiated, not Messers Bennett and Meyer or Ms. Cappellazzo.

Soaring Art Market Attracts a New Breed of Advisers for Collectors (NYTimes.com)

Incredibly rare solid, quarter-sawn oak storage box for hot or cold meals. Used to transport meals to workers in the field or woods. Made by The Caloric Stove Company of Janesville, Wisconsin.

This is 100% original and was made in Janesville Wisconsin. All original including the decal on the front. I have never seen another one of these objects. They could be used for hot or cold meals either already plated and stacked or soups and stews could be carried in bulk. This one was probably used for feeding the loggers here in northern Wisconsin. They could also be used for feeding guys working on a chain gang or for a giant picnic. Quarter sawn oak with original wire closers. It also has heavy ball bearing style casters. Size is 15 x 41 x 16 tall. This is a very heavy object but can be shipped Greyhound. Shipping cost is an estimate only. This would make a great coffee table or put geraniums in it on a sun porch.  Available for purchase here

Japanese depictions of North Americans in the 1860's. From The Public Domain Review.

A selection of Yokohama-e (literally “Yokohama pictures”), a type of ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock print which focused on depicting the foreigners who flooded through Yokohama during the 1860s and 70s, in particular North Americans. Prints from various artists are shown below including two of the most profilic in this Yokohama-e form, Utagawa Yoshitora and Utagawa Yoshikazu.

Although the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch had engaged in regular trade with Japan during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Japan had limited its trade and contact with the West from 1639 onwards due to the persistent attempts by Europeans to convert the population to Catholicism and the western countries’ habit of unfair trading practices. For the next two centuries, limited trade access was granted only to certain Dutch and Chinese ships with special charters.

The United States’ interest in regaining contact with Japan during the nineteenth century sprung from the annexation of California, which created an American port in the Pacific, enabling trade with the newly opened ports of China, and also creating the need for coaling stations en route. The Treaty of Kanagawa was signed in March 1854, leading to the opening of two Japanese ports, as well as the establishing of an American consul in Japan. Although Kanagawa was meant to become the port for foreign trade and residency, it was located along the Tōkaidō, the main east-west road which the Japanese government didn’t want foreigners to access. Instead, the small fishing village of Yokohama grew to become the base for foreign trade, opening in 1859. Through these Westerners who came to Yokohama, western fashion, photography, ice cream, rugby, and cricket were introduced to Japan.(Here)

Two fine and hard to find enamelware bowls in the Lotus pattern made by Catherinholm in Norway. Mid-century.

Small, 5 1/2" diameter black and white. Available for purchase here

Medium size 7 3/4" diameter navy blue and white. Available for purchase here

From this mornings Art Market Monitor.......

Ferrari Mania Peaks in Pebble Beach with 112 Cars On Auction Block, $400m Total Expected

 

August 7, 2015 by Marion Maneker

 

As Andy Warhol led the 15-year rise in the Contemporary art market, so too has the Ferrari mark driven the growing value of classic cars. Next weekend is the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance car show. With it comes a round of auctions from Gooding and RM Sotheby’s that will include 112 Ferraris. Three of those cars could account for more than 10% of the whole weekend’s sales total, according to CNBC:

The auctions are expected to hit a sales total of $415 million this year, according to collectible-car insurance company Hagerty.

That’s below last year’s total of $428 million, but last year’s auctions got a one-time boost from the $38 million sale of a Ferrari 250 GTO, which became the most expensive car ever sold at auction.

The $415 million total would be more than 30 percent higher than the 2013 total and more than double the total of 2011. Even more staggering: There will be up to 141 cars that sell for $1 million or more, according to Hagerty. In 2010, just 36 cars sold for $1 million or more, showing just how rapidly collectible-car prices have soared.

Ferraris from the late 50s and early 60s may lead the market with estimates in the high teens and low 20m range, but Heritage says the growth in the market has now shifted to cars of a more recent vintage as Porsches and Ferraris from the 80s and 90s get more love:

There is no denying that the overall market is expanding. The Hagerty Market Rating has moved from 70.39 to 71.50 since the beginning of the year, and continues to reside in the “expanding” range of the measure. Year-to-date auction totals are 15% ahead of last year’s record figure, and the average online dealer listing price is up since January. Below the surface, though, what is driving the market has changed.

Instead of the more predictable million-dollar cars pushing growth, “modern classics” have emerged as the hottest segment of the market. Not to say that ultra-expensive models don’t continue to appreciate. Those cars that provide impeccable provenance, thorough documentation, and immediate enjoyment are inspiring bidding wars. Those cars in this price range that are wanting in some respect, though, languish.

Meanwhile, cars from the 1980s and 1990s constitute some of the biggest movers from the past 12 months, especially those models that possess rarity, performance, and a legitimate link to competition success. The consignments at the Monterey auctions reflect this shift. Compared to 2014, 75% more vehicles from the 1980s have been consigned and there are 23% more consignments from the 1990s. The number of Porsches from the 1980s has tripled. The number of Ferraris from the 1980s has doubled. It is clear the demand is there.

Super cool Japanese mid-century art pottery pitcher or creamer in the form of a Toucan. Art deco feel and strong NW Coast folk art look.

 Available for purchase here

Interesting read on the ethics and morality of inmates profiting from the sale of their art.

When Criminals Make a Profit from their Prison Art

By Sophie Grove / 8/28/09 at 8:42 AM 

The art world often nurtures its enfants terribles. After all, rule breakers sell paintings. So it's no surprise that real felons are increasingly winning notice on the scene. As therapeutic art programs burgeon behind bars, "criminal art" has generated a curious niche in the U.K. This autumn, London's prestigious Southbank Centre will turn over its gallery space to works by Britain's inmates. The show, Art by Offenders (Oct. 21–Dec. 3), is organized by the Koestler Trust, a charity that awards convicts with small cash prizes and a cut of any work sold. The show will be curated by female prisoners on special supervised release who will give tours of the exhibit to the public. In a display at the Edinburgh Festival, also titled Art by Offenders (through Sept. 4), works by Scotland's inmates reveal a daring contemporary streak. One giant train made from thousands of matchsticks could out-kitsch Jeff Koons.

In other pieces, the claustrophobia of prison life is palpable; an anonymous painting titled Full House shows a crowded mass of uniformed figures, representing Britain's swelling prison population. In a work called Vortex, one of the potential exhibits in London, a futuristic swirl of color is splattered with red, blood-like paint. Another piece, entitled My World in Winter, is an abstract Peter Doig–style picture that evokes the gritty texture of the prison yard.
The lack of access to materials clearly inspires innovation. "It is interesting what styles emerge," says Ally Walsh, an art manager at the Anne Peaker Centre for Arts in Criminal Justice in London. "Some [inmates] might have had no exposure to contemporary art. But what they're making is naive and abstract art."
Therapeutic art programs are widely believed to help rehabilitate criminals. Now they're also generating controversial interest from critics and private collectors. Earlier this year, two paintings by London's notorious Kray twins-—who ran a violent gang called "the Firm" during the 1960s, were convicted of murder, and have since died—netted nearly £1,000 apiece when they went under the hammer at a London auction house. Another lot of eight Kray artworks sold by a former prison officer's daughter—including watercolor landscapes and a self-portrait by one of the brothers titled Ron & Reg in Top Hat & Tails—fetched a total of £17,500 at an auction house in Hampshire, England. "[People] imagine that the underworld might be revealed by having access to this work," says Walsh. "Suddenly the taboo life of people in prison is available to the public. Even if it's not to fully understand [it], it's just an attempt to try and glimpse that world. That desire is very compelling. That's what's driving this market."

Wow. The home and collection of Frank Marseca. No home better illustrates the fine line between outsider art/self-taught art and modern design. Just spectacular. Click on the links for the original interview with Frank as it appeared in the New York Social Diary in 2011.

Frank Maresca, part-owner of the Ricco/Maresca Gallery, is one of the leading experts on and collectors of outsider art in the country. He’s something of a natural educator, carefully defining for us the distinction between ‘outsider artist’ and ‘self-taught artist’. His apartment, so restrained and pristine that it is a little eerie, is a kind of foil to the collection of extraordinary work and found objects that he owns.

Original interview in The New York Social Diary with Frank Marseca here

Ricco/Marseca Gallery here