The uncommon portfolio of Feldmann s four photobooks published by Edition Staeck

FELDMANN, Hans-Peter

About this Item

Four vols. in various formats, all orig. gray cardboard wrappers, hand-stamped, staple-bound & housed in the orig. publisher s cardboard portfolio (tape over folds, as issued). Heidelberg: Edition Staeck, 1971-72. The jointly published collection of four Bilderhefte by Hans-Peter Feldmann (1941-2023), with the original stamped folder. The artist self-published nearly all of his early cryptic photobooks, except for two exceptions: the present four by Rolf and Klaus Staeck s Edition Staeck, and three in 1973 by gallerist Gian Enzo Sperone. Our example of the Staeck group is neither signed nor numbered; the publisher also offered a "deluxe" edition of 50 signed and numbered by Feldmann on the title-pages. 1. 9 Bilder [Bicyclists]. 9 full-page b&w illus. [12] pp. Heidelberg: 1971. KB 9. 2. 152 Bilder [Women s Portraits]. 152 small b&w illus. [8] pp. Heidelberg: 1971. KB 12. 3. 15 Bilder [Trees]. 15 small b&w illus. [4] pp. Heidelberg: 1972. KB 17. 4. 10 Bilder [Sailboats]. 10 full-page b&w illus. [12] pp. Heidelberg: 1972. KB 22. The photobooks are in fine condition; as with every copy we have seen, tape (a little loose) has been added to the folds of the original publisher s portfolio. We presume this was done by Edition Staeck shortly after the folders were produced. WorldCat locates but a few examples of this portfolio in institutional collections. ? "The small artist s books simply entitled either Bild (Picture) or Bilder (Pictures) that Hans Peter Feldmann made between 1968 and 1976 constitute one of the most important bodies of artist s bookworks in the twentieth century, along with those of Ruscha and Boltanski. In Feldmann s case, it is perhaps more difficult to explain why, but their utter simplicity and studied lack of artifice is a good place to begin. The books are invariably of modest size, most often with brown covers rather like school exercise books, in which varying numbers of found photographs of a particular subject category are reproduced cheaply." Parr & Badger, The Photobook: A History, Vol. II, p. 158. G. Kühnast, ed., Hans-Peter Feldmann: Bücher, Publikationen, Hefte, 1960er Jahre-2021 (2023). Anne Moeglin-Delcroix, Esthétique du Livre d Artiste: Une Introduction à l art contemporain (2nd ed.: 2012), pp. 226-27.

Seller Inventory # 10491

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The uncommon portfolio of Feldmann s four photobooks published by Edition Staeck
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Photography
  • Art History
  • Art
  • Graphic Arts
  • Artists' Books