78. Alexander Catalog 2 / Sketchbooks (Zweitaus.) 4

Here we have another comment from Salvador Castío, quoted in full (see Post 75):

I'm glad to see that my link to JJ Sedelmaier's article was helpful. These books [Crumb Sketchbooks (Zweitausendeins)] range in price on eBay - I've seen them go for as low as $75 and as high as $600! They really are a MUST HAVE item; they're beautifully printed and some volumes are 380 pages thick. The volumes that cover the mid to late 60s are the ones that have some color in them. All other volumes are in black and white. I believe there was going to be one last volume but it never got published.

The Alexander Catalog is a nice book. Up until the time it was published, 1993, it was, to the best of my knowledge, the first and only hardbound comprehensive catalog of Crumb's work. It was issued with a dollar bill that acted as a certificate of authenticity to the serial number below the gallery director's signature on the front flyleaf. Again, this book varies in price - from $200 to $2000 on eBay. There were initially 1800 copies published but after the show ended, gallery director Alexander Acevedo had 1300 copies destroyed! It's a nice book but I feel that the Ludwig's Museum 2004, Yeah, But is is Art? catalog and the recent Paris catalog are much nicer. Definitely worth looking for. Here's a link that you may find helpful; it's detailed listing of Crumb's exhibition history from the David Zwirner Gallery website: 

Zwirner.com Crumb.pdf


I'm glad you found the link and info useful. Keep up the good work.

77. Bukowski: The Captain is Out to Lunch...

The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship (2002)

by Charles Bukowski
Illustrated by Robert Crumb

Three Crumb illustrations that do not seem to appear anywhere else. Is that worth a place on the Crumbpendium list?

76. (Alexander Gallery Catalog, 1993)

In 1993, the Alexander Gallery in New York City held an exhibition of Crumb's work and produced a limited-edition hardbound catalog of the show.

We are not going to add it to the Crumbpendium list, because it will be too hard to find.

Thanx to Salvador Castio, J.J. Sedelmaier and the Imprint site for this one as well.

75. R. Crumb Sketchbooks (Zweitausendeins) 3

As promised, yet more pix from the 
R. Crumb Sketchbooks (Zweitausendeins).

Thanx to Salvador Castio, J.J. Sedelmaier and the Imprint site.
 

  Imprint Printmag Sedelmaier on R. Crumb's Sketchbooks

74. R. Crumb Sketchbooks (Zweitausendeins) 2

As promised, more pix of the R. Crumb Sketchbooks (Zweitausendeins).

Thanx to Salvador Castio, J.J. Sedelmaier and the Imprint site.

Imprint Printmag Sedelmaier on R. Crumb's Sketchbooks 

  

 

 

 

73. R. Crumb Sketchbooks (Zweitausendeins) 1

Ah, those elusive German edition Sketchbooks published by Zweitausendeins. 

Yeah, we knew they were out there, beyond our budget, but that's about all we knew.

Then along came Salvador Castio, who left a comment (on my birthday) to post 71. We quote it here in full:

(Finally! A comment on our site!)

I just discovered your blog and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. In regards to his sketchbooks, I notice that you don't mention the German editions from the 80s and 90s; I consider those to be more essential than the overpriced Taschen edition as they are unedited to the best of my knowledge.

Salvador also provided a link:

 

Imprint Printmag - Sedelmaier on R Crumb's Sketchbooks

So here's what we have to say:

a. We knew these books were out there, but avoided discussing them because, frankly, we had nothing to say.

b. We have heard that these sketchbooks are "unedited", which is said to be either good or bad, depending on who is voicing their opinion.

c. Based on what we found at the Imprint site, it would appear that YOU NEED THESE SKETCHBOOKS. There will be some "repeat material", but much of it is IN COLOR! These things are in color! (in part, at least).

d. These books still appear on eBay, so they ARE out there. They ain't cheap. but you can usually buy them as single volumes, so the cash outlay might be softer than trying to buy the entire Taschen Sketchbook set.

e. There are 7 volumes:

   1. 1966-'67

   2. Late 1967 - mid 1974

   3. Nov. 1974 - Jan. 1978

   4. July 1978 - Nov. 1983

   5. November - '83 - April '87

   6. May '87 - April '91

   7. April '91 - Sept '96
 

So hats off to Salvador Castio, J.J. Sedelmaier and the Imprint site. 
We swiped all of these pictures from there, so go check it out.

In the next posts: MORE  PICTURES!