Bronze portrait medal of the composer by Austrian medalist Arnold Hartig (1878–1972). Brahms is shown in a straight-on relief portrait with his name and dates around the edge. Verso blank. 3 inches (76 mm). Niggl 392a. Fine.
From the collection of musical medals formed by Paul Niggl and which served as the basis for his book Musiker Medaillen (Darmstadt, 1965). The collection remained intact after Niggl's death, was offered for sale as a single lot by Spink & Son in 1998.
Autograph letter from the legendary Austrian-Hungarian conductor who conducted the very first Bayreuth Festival and in 1877 shared the conductorship of the Wagner festival in London with the composer. 2 pp. 4 October, 1882. To Edward George Dannreuther, pianist, and pupil of Ignaz Moscheles. 5.5 x 8.5 inches (13.8 x 22 cm). Translated from the German, in full: Read More...
Signed photograph of the Russian pianist who studied with Leschetizky and Busoni and who was famed in particular for his Chopin cycles. He has inscribed and signed "Sacha" at the lower right, dating November 1950. Toning; mounting remnants to verso; heavily buckled (could be flattened). Overall very good. 8 x 10 inches (20 x 23.7 cm).
Early signed Wilensky of Buenos Aires photograph of the Russian pianist who studied with Leschetizky and Busoni and who was famed in particular for his Chopin cycles. Signed and inscribed and dated Buenos Aires, 1936. 8.5 x 11.5 cm and in very fine condition.
Sensational and rare signed photograph of the extraordinary and handsome bare chested young actor as Mark Antony in the 1953 American film adaptation of the Shakespearean play, William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, this photograph was used on the theatrical release poster. Small creases and wear along upper edge, lower right corner with a tiny ding, overall very fine. 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm.). A very uncommon and ideal uninscribed example. Read More...
Original 1957 press photograph of the influential American actor and director amid a swarm of journalists and photographers in a Paris hotel room. Brando had arrived in Paris to film The Young Lions ("Le Bal des Maudits"), which was released in 1958. Some creases and large lower margin; overall in fine condition. 7 x 9 inches; 18 x 24 cm.
Very rare signed original playbill from Brando's Broadway debut in "I Remember Mama." 56 pp. Boldly signed "Marlon Brando" later in life in bold black ink on the first cast list page (on which he is not listed!). Light staining along upper edges not affecting the signed page, slight surface loss on back cover, else fine. Read More...
Unusual original photograph of composer Frank Loesser rehearsing "Luck Be a Lady" with Marlon Brando, star of the upcoming MGM motion picture adaptation of Loesser's hit musical Guys and Dolls. A press caption mounted to verso reads, in part, "Marlon Brando, who makes his singing debut in Samuel Goldwyn's Guys and Dolls, an MGM release, rehearses his 'Luck Be a Lady' with Composer Frank Loesser obliging at the piano." "Central Press Association Dec. 12 1955 Reference Dept."stamp to verso. In fine condition. 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm.). Read More...
New York: Simon and Schuster. 1942. Presentation copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace prepared for and gifted to Marlon Brando by the producer Michael Todd, director Fred Zinnemann, and playwright Robert E. Sherwood, almost certainly as an overture to offering him a role in their never-made film adaptation of the novel. Brown imitation leather covers gilt-stamped "To / Marlon Brando / ...with our Compliments. / Robert E. Sherwood / Fred Zinnemann / Michael Todd." Sherwood has typed an inscription to a bound-in extra front end paper, "I started reading this book in 1923 and finished it in 1943, when another would-be world conqueror was bogged down and beaten in the Russian winter. There is material here for hundreds of motion pictures; the problem confronting Mike Todd, Fred Zinnemann and me is to determine which is the best and the most faithful to the immortal spirit of Tolstoi. / Robert E. Sherwood." This is the "Inner Sanctum Edition," translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude, with a Foreword by Clifton Fadiman. Published at a time when Moscow and all Russia were threatened by German invaders, this edition provides rich documentation of Napoleon’s 1812 invasion, treating the novel as history rather than literature. Hardcover; lxii, 1361, [9] pages, maps, together with a a reader guide's in rear inner cover paper pocket. Light wear to spine, rear board partially split from spine; overall in fine condition. Read More...
Three-page proof set from the 1952 publication of the artist's aphorisms "Le Jour et la Nuit : Cahiers de Georges Braque, 1917-1952," identified here as "Cahiers," stamped on the first page "11 AVR 1951," with the artist adding his name in brown ink for the publication under the title "de / G. Braque." Paper toned, else fine. 16.5 x 25 cm.
Braque's aphorisms on art, said to have been originally jottings on the margins of drawings, were first collected and published in 1917.
Signed large format Mishkin of New York photograph of the American contralto, who has inscribed to Charles Drumheller, tenor and longtime rehearsal pianist at the Metropolitan and Chicago Lyric Opera with a quotation from the Henrik Ibsen play "Brand," "To Charlie Drumheller! / 'Man's work is what he's fashion'd for, / And Paradise, for him, lies there' / 'Brand—Ibsen' / with all possible good-wishes. / Sincerely Sophie Braslau" in black ink. Significant toning and losses to edges, particularly to the lower corners, though the image and signature remain unaffected, else in good condition. 11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm.). Read More...
17725. [Brass Band]. Family Band - Vintage Photograph
Early-twentieth-century American photograph of a family brass band, labeled on the verso as the "Schein Band" and with some of the members identified as "1. Grandma 2. Everett 3. Vera 4. Leo 6. Art 8. Grandpa." Rather faded; small corner loss; mounting remnants to the verso. Overall very good. 5.25 x 3.25 inches (13.5 x 8.5 cm).
Silver gelatin photograph, ca. 1936. Stamped "Brassai. 81, Rue Du Faub St. Jacques Paris XIV..." 7 x 8.5 inches [17.5 x 21.5 cm]. Scattered light scratches to the surface, small nicks around the edges, otherwise in very good condition. Read More...
An important collection of early sketchbooks and original drawings from the influential Hungarian-born French photographer, sculptor, writer, and filmmaker. The three sketchbooks, one dated 1915, and one with drawings dated 1916, contain a total of 104 pages of pencil, ink, charcoal and watercolor drawings including portraits, animal and figure studies, architectural drawings and geometrical shapes. Some works are captioned in Hungarian. An interesting and important record of the artist's very early work, accomplished as a young man during World War I in Transylvania. Read More...
LP Record sleeve, signed to the front in blue ink "To the most talented and beautiful young Lady in Hollywood / To Miss Eva Six, with all my respect / Shony Alex Braun." From the collection of Eva Six (1937 - 2000s) , a Hungarian-born actress who achieved some fame in the early 1960s as a Zsa Zsa Gabor type. Sleeve in good condition with some water damage, the record in very good condition. Read More...
Etching on wove paper. Signed, numbered 24/60, and dated in pencil along lower edge. 21-3/4 x 16-3/4 inches (55.2 x 42.5 cm) (sight); Framed Dimensions 27.5 x 21.75 Inches. Mild to moderate light and time staining to the sheet. Matted and framed in a fine brass frame under glass, unexamined out of frame. Provenance: Property from the G.E. Corporate Art Collection. Read More...
Single-sheet program from a Thursday, May 4, 1939 performance by the New York Philharmonic, signed by conductor Walter Burle-Marx, soprano Bidu Sayão, and pianists Bernardo Segall and Noemi Bittencourt. The performance, presented by the Commissioner General of Brazil as part of the World's Fair Music Festival, highlighted Brazilian soloists and composers by showcasing works by Gomes, Mignone, Marx, Villa-Lobos, and Fernandez, along with vocal music by Gluck, Lully, and Adam. Light creasing, else in fine condition. 1 p. 7 x 10 inches (17.8 x 25.4 cm.).
Original single sheet program signed by conductor Walter Burle-Marx, soprano and featured soloist Bidu Sayão, and pianists Bernardo Segall and Noemi Bittencourt, from a performance by the New York Philharmonic as part of the World's Fair Music Festival on Thursday, May 4, 1939. The performance, presented by the Commissioner General of Brazil, highlighted Brazilian soloists and composers, including works by Gomes, Mignone, Marx, Villa-Lobos, and Fernandez, along with vocal music by Gluck, Lully, and Adam. Light creasing, else in fine condition. 1 p. 7 x 10 inches (17.8 x 25.4 cm.).
Uncommonly early signed photograph of the renowned Austrian pianist, poet, and author, inscribed to the concert promoter Geraldo Uhlfelder and dated May 1961. Deckel-edged photograph, inscribed in red ballpoint and stamped on the verso by Uhlfelder's concert agency. In very fine condition. 4.5 x 6.5 inches (11.6 x 16.8 cm). Read More...
Paris: Nrf. 1952. Original edition, signed on the half title by the French writer and poet best known as the founder of Surrealism. 14 x 19.5cm. 317 pp. Covers worn with heavy creasing, pages toned but otherwise generally fine within.