The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali "Deluxe Limited Edition."

The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali
Deluxe Limited Edition of 300

This is the rarely seen Deluxe Edition of the Field catalog.  It differs from the Standard Edition in several ways:

• The dust jacket carries the same ISBN as the Standard Edition, but a small sticker on the rear inside flap distinguishes the Deluxe Edition ($360 price tag vs. $285 for the Standard Edition);
• The Deluxe Edition cover is brown (leather?);
• Most notably, the Deluxe Edition is signed by author Albert Field on the front title page.

My copy was purchased from a seller in Hawaii and has a personal inscription to two people.  

The first is Joseph Kealapua Melillo.  I found a July 26, 2006 obituary of a Joseph A.V. Kealapua Melillo of Honolulu in the Honolulu Star Bulletin:

Joseph A.V. Kealapua Melillo, 58, of Honolulu, a chef and entrepreneur, will be remembered in services 11 a.m. Saturday at Borthwick Mortuary. He died in Kaiser Medical Center. He was born in Summit, N.J. He is survived by companion Patrick Kelly Lagon, brother Fred and sister Barbara.

 The second is Patrick Kelly Lagon, presumably the same man mentioned in the obituary above.

It is not clear whether all Deluxe Editions have a personal inscription, but it is likely that they are all signed by Albert Field.

The Deluxe Edition is the rarest version of this already rare book and is likely worth a bit more than the Standard Edition.  I have never seen another available, and I would estimate the value at more than $400.

The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field.

The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali
by Albert Field.

There was a time when I denounced this book because of its horrible image quality, numerous typos/mistakes, incomplete indexing, and poor organization.  That was then.

Over the years, as my tastes and interests regarding Dali have changed, I have developed an appreciation for this publication.  I now regard this book as an indispensible part of my research and collecting of Salvador Dali prints.

Everything you need to know about an authorized Dali print is in there.  You get the title, publishing date, medium, paper and image size, paper type, publisher, tirage, numbering system, pictures of every print, signed/unsigned, and many other details, including plenty of information about unauthorized Dali prints.

If the print is not in this catalog, then it's generally assumed to not be authentic.

I am glad I bought this book years ago, because when I was finally ready to transition my Dali art appreciation into the realm of Dali art collecting, this book was there to safely guide me.

The book is quite rare, and commands a premium wherever it turns up.  The original price on the dust jacket is $285.  At auction, you can expect to pay as much as $200-$250.  Elsewhere in cyberspace, you can pick up a copy for upwards of $300.

Dali: The Work, The Man (Descharnes, 1997).

Dali: The Work, The Man
Descharnes, 1997

This is easily the largest Dali book in my collection.  Check out the stats:

• 14.5" tall;
• 10.5" wide;
• 2" thick;
• 9 pounds;
• 455 pages;
• more than 1,110 illustrations,
• 672 in full-color.

Wow!  You need a big table space just to set this book to flip through it.  Actually, this book really needs its own large table to be properly set up and enjoyed.

The book is organized into 12 chronological time periods of Dali's life.  Primarily, this is a picture book--it is replete with illustrations and photographs on every page.

For the avid Dali fan, this book holds few surprises.  However, it is comprehensive, gigantic, and colorful, making it one of the best Dali books out there.

I've tried to provide some examples of the more unique content of this book.  You will notice that it avails itself of the large-scale format to occasionally present an image in full-page size.

The book is readily available on internet book sites, but the cost is far more than you can expect to pay when the occasional online auction comes up.  The demand is low, so you can expect to pay fewer then $20 at auction, whereas you can pay 2 to 3 times that to buy it outright on the internet.

My advice is to hold out for an auction to snatch this one up cheap.

 

Salvador Dali Erotic Sketches (Prestel, 2009).

Salvador Dali Erotic Sketches

(Prestel, 2009).

Of the various skills demonstrated by the maestro, perhaps the most underrepresented is Dali's draftsmanship.

This contemporary book fills in a small portion of that gap which is addressed in few other publications.

The design is that of a personal sketch book, with a red ribbon running throught the front and back covers to tie it closed.  Features 35 sketches, several of which I have not seen before. 

An interesting work included here is the uncensored Hidden Faces frontispiece.

One complaint is the wasted space in the form of pages left blank; clearly there is room for more reproductions.

The book concludes with a short essay about Dali by Norbert Wolf (also translated into German), and a detailed list of works illustrated.

This book is currently available for about $15 delivered.

Dali: a study of his life and work (1958)

Dali: a study of his life and work
New York Graphic Society, 1958.

This book can easily be one of the tallest and widest in your collection (it's 13.75" x 14.5" ).  The title is a bit ambitious, especially considering that at the time this book was printed, Dali still had more than 20 years left to his career.

In its time, this book likely served as an excellent introduction to Dali's early career and rise to international fame.  Though that story has been told in many other places since then, this book still holds some historical value.

The main text, written by A. Reynolds Morse, follows Dali's career through the exhibitions of his work.  In this organizing element, Morse records dates, places, galleries, and the main works on display. 

This information allows one to follow the public career of Dali through the workflow he produced and revealed to the world in stages.  Certainly, this chronology is valuable to any scholars seeking to trace the steps of the great master painter Dali.

A unique element of this book are the 17 tipped-in color plates, which are the exception rather than the rule, in Dali art books (a list of the plates is provided here).  The descriptive captions for the color plates were written by Dali.

Other than the color plates, this book is heavily illustrated with b&w reproductions, comprised mostly of paintings, with a short section of drawings and watercolors at the end of the book.

The book originally had a clear dust jacket with the title printed in red.  It is frequently missing from the book, so look for it if you are buying a copy. 

This book is relatively rare, but not necessarily in demand.  Average prices tend to be a little high for a book of this nature, around $35-$45, but at this price, nobody's buying. 

Personally, I don't think you should pay more than $25 with the dust jacket, but you may not find such a bargain.  Happy hunting!

homage to DALI (Amiel/Chartwell, 1980)

homage to DALI
Amiel/Chartwell, 1980

It may not be apparent to the average Dali collector that there are two versions of this book.

One version has an orange colored dust jacket decorated with The Dawn of Don Quixote (1952) over a sand colored hardcover (hereafter "ver. 1"). 

Another version has a blue colored dust jacket decorated with The Madonna of Port Lligat (1950) over a red colored hardcover (hereafter "ver. 2").

The content of each book is identical with one exception: both contain a unique Dali color lithograph. 

Ver. 1 contains a foldout color lithograph of The Battle of Tetouan (1962) between pages 72-73.  The Tetouan lithograph is of horrible quality, suffering from a grainy condition.  What a shame, this could be a fantastic lithograph.

Ver. 2 contains a full-page color lithograph of Gala's Christ (1978) immediately after the front free endpaper.  This Christ lithograph is of incredible quality.  It is so sharp, clear, and colorful that it almost pops off the page.  Bravo!

In my opinion, you might only want this book to harvest the stellar Christ lithograph.  My only complaint is that I would have preferred a different image for such a well-done reproduction.

As to the content of the book in general, it "contains insightful studies witten by ... knowledgeable writers."  Now, this may sound great, but most of these "studies" are filled with such cloying treacly that only a paragraph or two is enough to give you a severe case of diabetes.

Such obsequious pandering is far more than I can take.  I mean, I love Dali, but c'mon!  Reynolds Morse's fawning over Dali seems subtle compared to the essays in this book.

Anyway, the book is stuffed with many great photos and superb color reproductions, many of which are full-page.  You can't go wrong there.

There is a 1984 printing of this book, I am not sure if it has any lithograph, so beware.

Both 1980 versions of this book normally sell for about $20, although many people try to get $60-$100 for Ver. 2.  In my opinion, those people are insane and you should eschew paying that kind of money for this book.  I recently got a copy of Ver. 2 for under $20 in a lot with two other Dali books.