In fact, observes New York dealer Peter Kraus, co-owner of Ursus Books, artist’s books are one of the least expensive ways to obtain works by modern masters whose productions in other media are now completely out of reach to all but the luckiest among the wealthiest. "Unlike most fields, you can still do it," says Kraus. "The greatest books are available, and they’re unbelievably cheap considering what’s in them. Even if you had the money you couldn’t get the greatest Picasso cubist painting, but you can get the greatest Picasso cubist book."

The books at the high end of the market sell for about $40,000 to about $75,000, while a super-rare complete copy of Jazz could fetch in the multi-hundreds of thousands if it came up. Kraus recently sold a Picasso Metamorphoses for $85,000. Among the factors that increase price are artist’s signatures, special paper and bindings. French collectors in particular favor elaborate decorative leather bindings, which can add greatly to the cost, while American collectors tend to be more interested in the book itself.

Kraus is quick to point out that a very good collection of artist’s books could be put together without spending more than $5,000 on any one volume. Robert Flynn Johnson, curator emeritus of the Achenbach Foundation collection of works on paper in San Francisco, agrees, and insists that "dollar for dollar, the greatest livre d’artiste of the century is Fernand Léger’s ‘La Fin du Monde.’" Published in 1919, this absurdist war satire by Blaise Cendrars had boldly modernist emblems and illustrations by Léger—who was then very early in his career—printed from line blocks and colored by pochoir. The artist also designed the typography, which contributes to the aesthetic unity of the book. "Today, a Léger constructivist painting will cost you $20 million, a drawing $1.5 million," says Johnson. "For $5,000 to $6,000, the book gives you all the energy, creativity and originality of 1919 Léger."

Auctions can be a source for artist’s books; Christie’s Paris in particular. Generally, the books are sold in print sales rather than book sales, because the print market is stronger than the book market. That fact also encourages the breaking up of books so the individual prints can be sold piecemeal, yielding far greater value than they would have if left intact. "Nine out of 10 copies of Jazz get turned into instant wallpaper," laments Kraus. "This is last moment in history when these things are still available. They’re not going to be around forever."

Ars Libri Ltd.
617.357.5212 arslibri.com

Christie’s Paris
011.33.1.40.76.85.85 christies.com

Swann Auction Galleries
212.254.4710 swanngalleries.com

Ursus Books and Prints, New York
212.772.8787 ursusbooks.com