Josef Albers. INTERACTION OF COLOR. Yale University Press, 1963.
Current Selling Prices
$3500-$6000 /£1800-£3200
ART / COLOR THEORY
A copy we sold in 2003 we descibed thus:-'Small folio. 1963. 2 volume set in dark brown textured cloth original printed slip case. Two folio volumes: Volume One contains 80 pages of Albers poetic text. Volume Two contains 80 serigraph colour plates (complete) loosely inserted in a folder. They are arranged to show the effects a variety of colours have on each other, together with these is a 48 page 'Commentary' in plain black wraps. Among the 'authors' of the serigraphs is the US poet Mark Strand, a pupil of Albers who contributes 2 serigraphs. Books are also bound in dark brown textured cloth and are near fine , as is the slip case..'
I see this slip-case sometimes described as a box (a 'cloth drop-back box' on one occasion.) It can show up with less than its compliment of plates - one seller explains (he had 79 out of the 80) - 'Apparently it was common for the publisher to miscount in this particular book and not include all of the screen prints.' All copies in auction have had 80, although I have seen people selling the Mark Strand ones separately but only for a few hundred dollars. Not sure how many were printed but copies seem to show up almost every year, none on net at present, although Google reveals a dealer with one with 'price on demand' - usually means an unpalatable sum.
VALUE? Our copy sold after about 6 months at circa $3800. A copy (the one with 79) seems to have shifted in 2006 at $5500 and another copy at Swann in NY in 2005 made $7500, although in 2006 a copy made $3000, possibly in lesser condition. A slightly volatile book that can dip beneath $2500 and scale $7K, condition, as always, a factor. Most copies seem to go through Swann, possibly Albers in original state is a New York taste. The book has been much reprinted as a paperback and is used in art schools throughout the world. [ W/Q ** ]
3 comments:
I recently came across the "folio" or box with 79 folders, serigraphs & dust sheets, but no book. I would love to complete the set before trying to sell it, but am unsure what the book actually looks like. Is the artwork on your site also printed on the front of the book? Or is the book covered in brown cloth similar to the box itself? Where can I find a list of the numbered serigraphs so that I can determine if there is a missing folder?
The serigraph illustrated is just one of the illustratioins NOT the cover. I cant recall the binding, there is one for sale at www.zuckerartbooks.com/ cgi-bin/zucker/396.html and the one with 79 plates was at Waiting for Godot books as I recall and they sold it for a goodly sum. You could wait quite a while for the 80th plate. A broken set might show at ebay--good luck. N
I own a complete box set of the original Interaction of Color (1963) - all books and plates in excellent condition. (Probably viewed less than a dozen times) I replaced the original acid paper liners (which were still with each plate when I bought it from a public library) with archival glasscine to protect the screenprints. Note: Some of the plates are actually offset lithography as they are reproductions of course projects using collage materials and color models. I have used it for post secondary educational purposes on color theory - but find the lessons limited and redundant. Best kept and valued for the quality of the screen prints which are sooooo rich and elegant that the Albers structural imagery influence is evident.
I wish to sell only to a serious collector or advanced library collection.
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