Twentysix Gasoline Stations by Edward Ruscha (9 results)

In 1963, when Ed Ruscha published Twentysix Gasoline Stations, his first book, he sent two copies to the U.S. Copyright Office, one to establish copyright, the other destined for the collection of the Library of Congress. Great! Recognition for the young artist. As you might imagine, LC receives a great deal of copyright material that it cannot store forever: commercial catalogues, advertising material, and many self-published books, among others. Jennings Wood, Chief, Exchange and Gift Division, sent Ed a very polite letter on October 2, 1963, as follows: "Dear Mr. Ruscha: I am, herewith, returning this copy of Twentysix Gasoline Stations, which the Library of Congress does not wish to add to its collection. We are, nevertheless, deeply grateful for your thoughtful consideration of our interests." What a blow! Ed turned this seeming setback into one of the wittiest pieces ever to appear in Artforum: a five-inch display ad on p. 55 of the March 1964 issue (volume 2, number 9). The following text accompanies a photograph of a hand holding the book: "REJECTED Oct. 2, 1963 by the Library of Congress Washington 25, D.C. copies available @ $3.00, National Excelsior 2351-1/2 Vestal Avenue Los Angeles 26, Calif. Wittenborn & Company 1018 Madison Avenue New York 21, New York." A facsimile copy of this letter accompanies the issue. This is item M6 in Edward Ruscha: editions 1959-1989 (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1999). LC still does not own a copy of any edition of Twentysix Gasoline Stations, by the way. Later, Ruscha did layout and design work for Artforum, including the superbly inventive cover for the Surrealism issue, September 1966, volume 5, number 1 (see separate listing). Several pristine copies available of this rare, March 1964 issue of Artforum. Richly illustrated (no color this early). 60 pp. 27 x 26.5 cm (about 11 inches square). Cover by Larry Rivers. Includes articles on recent American ceramic art (Voulkos, etc.), Shiko Munakata, Pop Art in Canada, and, most notably, John Coplans on Wallace Berman. **Free domestic shipping with direct order.

Third edition, printed in 1969 by the Cunningham Press, Alhambra, California. 3000 copies, after 500 of the second edition (1967) and 400 numbered copies of the first edition (1962). Ruscha's first bookâ "it all began here. White paper covers with title in red. 26 black-and-white plates (3 double-spread) on [48 ] pp. Light wear. 17.9 x 14.1 cm. The spine title is badly faded; otherwise fresh in original glassine. The original glassine is tanned at spine and slightly frayed at edges. The first photograph shows the book without glassine; the second includes the glassine. **Free domestic shipping with direct order.

Softcover artist book with glassine dustwrapper; 48 pages; very good condition; tiny brown stain to rear cover at bottom edge; binding is tight; glassine is yellowed at spine but untorn; clean and crisp; no internal marks. Wittenborn distributor sticker to inside rear cover.

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 3rd Edition. Third edition, 1969 of book originally published in 1963. Slim volume, 14cm x 18cm, unpaginated. Soft card wraps, red lettering to the spine and upper board and in the original glassine dust jacket. This issue was an edition of 3,000 copies. Twentysix Gasoline Stations was Ruscha s first artist s book and was originally published in April 1963 on his own imprint National Excelsior Press. It was an important precursor and influence on the then emerging artist's book culture in the US. The book is spine slanted but otherwise in Fine condition, the jacket is yellowed to the spine and has minimal chipping at the spine ends. Overall an excellent copy of this landmark work.

Paperback. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. Third Edition. Third edition. One of 3000 copies printed. Fine copy lacking the unprinted glassine overlay. (48pp. ) (5 1/4" x 7") 26 b&w photo images. (B); 5 1/4" x 7".

Condition: Near fine. Third edition. Third edition of the first of Ruscha's sixteen books and an iconic early artist's book. Inspired by the look and feel of the books he encountered at the bouquiniste stands on the Left Bank during a 1961 trip to Paris, as well as his own work as a typesetter and printers devil, Ruscha self-published TWENTYSIX GAS STATIONS with an aesthetic reminiscent of iconic Editions Gallimard paperbacks. Conceiving first of the title, Ruscha took photographs to fill the requisite number on a road trip from Los Angeles to visit his mother in his hometown of Oklahoma City. The photographs, labeled with the station name and location, together form a dotted line between LA and Oklahoma, creating out of these stoically framed images of banal locations a deep emotional resonance. [Phillpot, CATALOGUE RAISONNE, 60]. Wraps. 8vo. Publisher's wraps in original glassine. SIGNED by Ruscha at inside front cover. Mild toning and chipping to glassine with price sticker at front flap and some creasing to flaps. Distributor sticker at final page. Trivial touches of wear to wraps at edges. Interior bright and clean. Near fine.

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Second edition, 1967, one of 500 unnumbered copies. Glassine wrapper shows minor wear, tear, and tanning. Cover with a few very minor spots of wear. Pages are clean.

RUSCHA, Edward (illustrator). Los Angeles]: Edward Ruscha, 1962 [ie 1967]. Second edition, one of 500 unnumbered copies. Self published and printed by The Cunningham Press, Alhambra, California. The first edition was an edition of 400 numbered copies printed in 1963. Small quarto (7 x 5 1/2 inches; 179 x 140 mm). 48 pp. With numerous black-and-white photographs. Publisher's full printed wrappers lettered in red. In the original glassine dust jacket. Wittenborn and Company sticker on rear inner wrapper. Overall a fine copy. With numerous photosgrapsh by Ruscha of gasoline stations throughout the American southwest, including California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. "Twentysix Gasoline Stations, a modest publication consisting of black and white photographs with captions, is an iconic artist book. The photographs are of petrol stations, along the highway between Ruscha's home in Los Angeles and his parent's house in Oklahoma City. Clive Phillpot, writer, curator and former Director of the Library at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, observes that the photographs are not reproduced in a linear sequence, with five photographs out of order. Taken from the highway and often including large areas of forecourt or road, the shots appear to be simply factual records of the petrol stations. Each opening of the book reveals one or two photographs in varying but repeated layouts, with the photographs set in relatively large areas of white space. The captions consist of the name of the petrol station and its location (for example, â Texaco, Sunset Strip, Los Angeles' and â Flying A, Kingman, Arizona'). The front cover has the title printed in red as three separate lines, the stark brightness of the design muted by the wrap around protective cover. The book is the first in a sequence of photographic artist books by Ruscha. Twentysix Gasoline Stations was first published in 1963 (although the title page states 1962) in an edition of 400 numbered copies. It was subsequently republished in two unnumbered editions. Ruscha's books, and this one in particular, are considered seminal in the history of artist books." (Tate Gallery). HBS 68916. $3,250.

Softcover. Condition: Fine. All First Editions. Glossy printed plain white wraps with original glassine jackets. 5.55" x 7.05" An extraordinary set of the first three of Ruscha's iconic publications, in pristine condition. The three glassine jackets are all original and virtually unscathed, with the exception being a Lilliputian hole along the spine edge between the top and middle lines of text. The jackets exhibit some age-toning and offsetting from where set on top of each other for some period of time as if in a display. The inside flaps of the glassine show very small folds at the front and back of TWENTYSIX GASOLINE STATIONS, and there is a tiny fold to the inside glassine jacket at the rear of SOME LOS ANGELES APARTMENTS. The superior condition of these three books cannot be overstated. From what can be pieced together, this group was likely sent to a New York Art Book store as part of a marketing campaign to sell the books, which originally did not sell well for Ruscha. These are all first editions. TWENTYSIX GASOLINE STATIONS is not signed, lending strength to the proposal that these were complimentary copies sent to try and drum up business. TWENTYSIX GASOLINE STATIONS is dated 1962 on the title-page, and is an unnumbered copy of 400 copies printed in April 1963 by The Cunningham Press. VARIOUS SMALL FIRES AND MILK is dated 1964 at the base of the title-page and is copyrighted 1964, and one of 400 copies printed by Anderson Ritchie & Simon, Los Angeles. SOME LOS ANGELES APARTMENTS is dated 1965 at the base of the title-page and is copyright 1965, and printed by Anderson Ritchie & Simon, Los Angeles. An extraordinary set.