Dali (Exhibition Catalog; Rizzoli, 2004; Italy/Philadelphia, 2005)

If you are more than a casual admirer of Dali's art, then you need this book in your collection.  It is a fantastic and essential reference source.

The sheer size and weight of the book gives one the feeling that there's a lot going on inside.  The book is 607 pages and weighs over six pounds.  You really need two hands to pick it up!

The first part, Catalog of Works, is arranged chronologically, and features 249 numbered works with a plethora of unnumbered supporting images.  All of the reproductions are large and of excellent quality, with fantastic color.  In fact, all color images are reproduced in color--no cheap-out black-and-white inferiority here.  Oh, and there's lots of rarities.

Each work is accompanied by an insightful text which speaks to points of interest such as the time and/or place the work was created as well as any prevailing themes, moods, inspirations, or attitudes surrounding Dali or the world at that time.  I am particularly impressed by the discussion of works that were contemporary, or precursors to, Dali's piece, and which may have served as an influence.

Following the Catalog of Works is the Encyclopedia which offers insight into topics, people, and vocabulary related to Dali.  In this section, one finds two pages of postcards sent by Dali to Picasso.  Very cool!!!

Next is the illustrated Chronology of Dali's life.  Many of the images are rarely seen, if ever.

Finally is the section entitled Selected Writings of Salvador Dali, all of which are referenced in various parts of the book.

If this wasn't enough, the book's Appendix features a ton of reference materials including an exhaustive list of Dali Exhibitions, and a complete Bibliography of every book by, about, or featuring art/writings of Dali.  The bibliography serves as a checklist of publications for the avid Dali book hunter to spend a lifetime collecting.

Need I say more?  This book is a must-have.  Go and get one today!  Easy to find, expect to pay about $20, and it's worth triple that.

New Aquisition: Poker Tarot Dali playing cards decks.

POKER TAROT DALI playing cards decks:

Once in a blue moon the avid Dali collectible hunter comes across this deck of cards.  If it is reasonably-priced, then it's probably worth the purchase.

The set pictured here was purchased from an online seller in Argentina. 

Two decks of cards (red and blue) come in a nice presentation package.  There are 52 unique tarot card designs and two joker design (one features Dali, the other features Gala).

There are no dates anywhere on the cards or packaging, which makes me wonder if these are modern reprints, rather than first editions.  Since I can't find any definitive information about these cards on the internet or elsewhere, I will have to return to this topic at a later date.

In any case, these playing cards are quite rare.  Expect to pay about $50 or more for the double set in new condition.

New Addition: The Passions According to Dali.

Newly acquired by the SDBC Library:

The Passions According to Dali

by Louis Pauwels
with Salvador Dali
translated from the original French by Eleanor R. Morse (1985).

The origin of the monologues in this book are the recorded, edited, conversations between Pauwels and Dali circa 1966-1967.  Topics covered are: Gala, death, glory, gold, eroticism, monarchy, god and the angels, the railway station at Perpignan, etc. 

However, don't expect to learn too much about Dali's thoughts on these subjects directly.  As symbolic and subjective as Dali's graphic works are, his words are far more misdirected by symbolism, contradiction, and nonlinear logic.  In essence, Dali seems to apply his Paranoic-critical method to his spoken word just as freely as to his art.

For instance, the chapter on gold begins with Dali recounting his childhood practice of retaining his stools.  Apparently the subject of gold inspired in him a logical connection to something he valued as a child like a precious metal--his poop!

Well, I can't say that there were too many other gems in this book.  For the most part, it's just Dali on a soapbox, pontificating on any number of things that he loosely connects to the subject at hand.  Most of it seems more interesting to himself than to any other person in the world, but that sort of indulgent vanity has always been a characteristic of the self-proclaimed genius.

The main text is 162 pages and features a number of appendices which are largely superfluous, especially the few that are not written by, or about, Dali. 

This book is limited to 500 copies and is therefore extremely difficult to attain.  You can expect to pay $90 and up for a copy of this book which had a sticker price of $27.50 when it was published. 

New Addition: The Tragic Myth of Millet's Angelus.

After seeing this book referenced over the years in so many publications by/about Dali, I finally got a chance to delve into it for myself.

Anxious for the revelation of its contents, I raced through an initial reading of the book at lightning speed.  When finished, I had no idea what I had just read!  Nothing made any sense at all.  I figured I owed it to myself to give it another read.

The second time around things were clearer, but only to a point.  I think the difficulty with understanding this book is that Dali tries to present for objective scrutiny something that is so very personal and specific to only him.

Sure, one can glean from this book a basic understanding of Dali's paranoia-critical method.  However, one may not be able to follow the logic with which Dali connects various memories, visions, and experiences to Millet's Angelus.

I was able to follow some of the connections, but others were so loosely connected that I just couldn't follow the association.

I must say that I did come away with an understanding behind the existence of the twilight atmosphere in many of Dali's works, and I think I know why Dali paints so many desolate landscapes largely devoid of foliage.  Other than that, most of Dali's symbolism is largely personal to himself, and this book doesn't really clear up that issue.

The main text is 176 pages.  This is followed by a 30-page chapter titled The Myth of William Tell, which is simply Dali's story of his expulsion from the surrealist group, dated 1952.  Finally, two articles by Dali printed in the Minotaur (from 1933 and 1934 respectively) are reproduced here.

The second article is particularly outlandish in which Dali seems to compare the extraction of blackheads from one's nose (issue ... of our ... thick and personal "Time-Space") to, well, I'm really not sure what!  It seems like he is saying that all objects are foreign bodies of space.

Truly mind-blowing reading for sure, which leads me to exclaim that the only difference between Dali and LSD is that Dali was not on LSD!  Or was he?

This book is limited to 500 copies and is therefore extremely difficult to attain.  You can expect to pay $90 and up for a copy of this book which had a sticker price of $15.95 when it was published.

Medal: Antonio Pitxot Exposition, Teatro Museo Dali, Figueras 1974.

Always on the hunt for unique and affordable Dali collectibles, I have recently obtained this medal in an online auction. 

WOW!  I never saw anything like it.

On one side is a Antonio Pitxot nude woman sculpture in relief.  On the other side is a relief image of the Teatro Museo Dali in Figueras, Spain.

The medal is dated 1974 and is in excellent condition.  It's about 1.5" in diameter and quite hefty in weight.

So, where can you find one for your collection?  No clue!  I can't find any information about this medal on the internet or in any books in my collection. 

If the medal dates to 1974, then any information may be hard to find.  If you have any information to add, leave a comment to this post below.

(8/12/13 update: two recent sales suggest a value of about $40)

Site Update: Salvador Dali Books For Sale.

The SDBC Library has a number of extras in the collection which are being offered for sale to the public.

A purchase of any fine collectible, antiquarian, out-of-print, or rare Salvador Dali book from the SDBC Library will help to free up shelf space and funds to aquire more books.

Check out the Dali Books For Sale page and see if there's anything you need for your own collection.

Site updated: The World of Salvador Dali (Descharnes, 1962, 1968, 1972).

Multiple versions of the following publication have been reviewed and added to the Books about Salvador Dali page.

The World of Salvador Dali
by Robert Descharnes
Ver. 1: Crown Publishers, 1962, printed in Italy & bound in Switzerland;
Ver. 2: Viking Press, 1968; Second printing 1972, printed & bound in Switzerland.

 Enjoy!

New foreign-language aquisition by the SDBC Library: Pompidou Retrospective 1980.

Normally, I wouldn't be interested in a Dali catalog that I couldn't read, but a picture is worth a thousand incomprehensible words ... right?  Well, I took a chance and obtained a copy of this old exhibition catalog for the SDBC Library:

Salvador Dali: retrospective 1920-1980,
December 18, 1979 - April 14, 1980
Georges Pompidou Center, National Museum of Modern Art (France).

You can read my review of it at the top of the Salvador Dali Exhibition Catalogs page.  Enjoy!

New addition to the SDBC Library: Fantastic Memories.

Today I received an OOP book illustrated by Dali:

Fantastic Memories by Maurice Sandoz (Doubleday, 1944).

It was only recently that I realized that this book was missing from my collection and I endeavoured to seek it out.  It arrived today in fantastic condition.

The first thing I did was to preserve the dust jacket in a clear cover.  Then I spent some time with the book and finally posted my review on the books illustrated by Dali page.

I got mine, you got yours?

Site Updated: New Dali Publications Added.

To the Books Illustrated by Dali page, I added information for "As You Like It (Folio Society, 1959)" and "Purgatorio (Folio Society, 2008)."

To the Dali Exhibition Catalogs page, I added information for "Divine Comedy Illustrated by Dali: Re-established Correspondence Between Text and Images (Everling, 2003)."

A Salvador Dali album cover.

This is probably a little-known and rarely-seen miscellaneous Dali art collectible.

It's the cover to the record album titled Jackie Gleason Presents Lonesome Echo (1955).

The cover features some typical Dalinian imagery: sparcely-populated landscape, long shadows, butterfly, monolith.

On the back is a picture of Gleason and Dali engaged in a handshake.

A neat little collectible from my Dali collection.

Salvador Dali Collection Catalogs.

Featured on this page are catalogs of various collections which include Salvador Dali prints, paintings, or other graphic works.  A quick list of these books in my collection:

1. The Albert D. Lasker Collection: Renoir to Matisse.
2. Dalí: Sculptor & Illustrator (1989, Stratton Foundation).
3. Dalí: A Fifty Year Retrospective.
4. Dali: A Study of His Art In Jewels.
5. The Divine Comedy (Everling).
6. The Divine Comedy (Park West-1993).
7. Salvador Dalí Originals: The Dr. Edmund Klein Collection.

Salvador Dali Exhibition Catalogs.

Featured on this page are Salvador Dali exhibition catalogs.  A quick list of these books in my collection:

1. Dali: The Early Years.
2. Dali: 1910-1965.
3. Dali (Soby/MOMA).
4. Dali 2004 (Exhibition Catalog-Philadelphia Museum of Art/Palazzo Grassi).
5. Dali in Manhattan.
6. Dali Die Ausstellung.
7. The Dalí Universe.
8. Tate Gallery.
9. Dali Sculptor - Dali Illustrator (Stratton Foundation, 1989/1995).
10. Salvador Dali - Pompidou Retrospective (1920-1980).
11. Hommage a Meissonier (1967).

Morse & Salvador Dali Museum Publications.

Featured on this page are books published by the Morses and/or by the Salvador Dali Museum.  A quick list of these books in my collection:

1. Dali ... A Panorama of His Art.
2. Dali Adventure.
3. Dali's Animal Crackers.
4. A Guide to Works by Salvador Dali in Public Museum Collections.
5. Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali: Similarities and Contrasts (1973).
6. A Retrospective of Master Prints.
7. The Salvador Dali Museum Collection.
8. The Secret Life Drawings.
9. The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres (2005).
10. The Treasures of Salvador Dali (2009).
11. Dali In The Nude (First English Edition, 1984; #28 of limited edition of 500).
12. The Passions According to Dali (First English Edition, 1985; #455 of limited edition of 500).
13. The Tragic Myth of Millet's Angelus (First English Edition, 1986; limited edition of 500).
14. Short Catalog - Commemorative Guide to Morse Collection (1985).
15. Dali: Les Chants de Maldoror - Exhibition of 44 Etchings (1991).
16. Surrealist Drawings - Exhibition Catalog (1988).

Books About Salvador Dali.

Featured on this page are books written about Salvador Dali, many of which include substantial illustrations or reproductions of Dali's art.  A quick list of these books in my collection:

1. Conversations With Dali.
2. Dali: A Study of His Life and Work (1958).
3. Dali: An Illustrated Life.
4. Dali: The Paintings.
5. Dali Tarot.
6. Dali (Draeger).
7. Dali (Ramon Gomez De La Serna).
8. Dali (Luis Romero).
9. The Library of Great Painters: Salvador Dali (Descharnes, 1976).
10. The Drawings of Dali.
11. Dali: The Work, The Man.
12. Dali: A & I (Art & Ideas).
13. Essential Dali.
14. Homage to Salvador Dali (1980).
15. In Quest of Dali.
16. Salvador Dali (Descharnes, 1993).
17. Salvador Dali: A Biography (Secrest, 1986).
18. The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali.
19. The World of Salvador Dali (Descharnes, 1962, 1968 & 1972).
20. Dali and His Books (Eduard Fornes, English edition: 1987).

Books Illustrated by Salvador Dali.

Featured on this page are books that are illustrated by Salvador Dali.  A quick list of these books in my collection:

1. As You Like It (William Shakespeare; Folio Society, Second impression 1959).
2. Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.
3. The Book of Ballets: Classic and Modern.
4. Don Quixote de la Mancha (Random House, 1946; Abbeville Press, 1979).
5. Essays of Michel de Montaigne.
6. Jerusalem Bible.
7. Macbeth (Spanish translation by Valverde, 2006).
8. Macbeth (Doubleday, 1946).
9. Purgatorio (Dante Aligheri; Folio Society, Second Printing 2008).
10. Saints For Now.
11. Speak of the Devil (North & Boutell; Doubleday, 1945).
12. The Maze (Sandoz; Doubleday, 1946).
13. On The Verge (Sandoz; Doubleday, 1950).
14. House Without Windows (Sandoz; William Campion, 1950).
15. Fantastic Memories (Sandoz; Doubleday, 1944).
16. Wine, Women & Words.

Books Written by Salvador Dali.

Featured on this page are books that are written by (or attributed to) Salvador Dali himself.  A quick list of these books in my collection:

1. Diary of a Genius.
2. Dali by Dali (1970).
3. Diners de Gala (Draeger, 1973).
4. Hidden Faces.
5. Wines of Gala.
6. The Unspeakable Confessions of Dali.
7. Open Letter to Salvador Dali (Heineman, 1967).