Andy Warhol Two first editions of Andy Warhol's Index (Book) accompanied by an autographed letter and a polaroid by Brigid Berlin.
The collection comprises: ANDY WARHOL. Andy Warhol's Index (Book). New York: Random House, 1967. First printing, hardcover, signed by Warhol on the front board, then inscribed to P. K. Thomajan on the title page with a heart sketch, initialed AW with heart sketch repeated on the facing page, and initialed three additional times throughout the book. Original boards with black and silver lenticular illustration pasted to front cover, black cloth spine titled in silver. 11 x 8 1/2 inches, unpaginated, illustrated, complete with all ten pop-ups and insets (with the accordion inset still making its sound, and with all 8 tabs of "For a Big Surprise!!" present), magazine cover with a portrait of Warhol affixed to rear pastedown. Light wear to the board edges, rear board faintly soiled, front and rear joints cracked but the boards are still soundly attached, circular Chelsea Girls ad detached, balloon present but perished (as always), bleeding and offsetting from signatures. Together with: ANDY WARHOL. Andy Warhol's Index (Book). New York: Random House, 1967. First printing, softcover. Publisher's stiff silver and black printed wrappers. 11 x 8 1/2 inches; unpaginated, illustrated, with eight pop-ups and inserts. Rubbing and edgewear to wrappers, overopened at leaf before the first pop-up, light wear to fore edges, without the dodecahedron and the "For a Surprise!!" tabs, balloon present but perished. Together with: Typed letter to Andy Warhol signed P. K. Thomajan, additionally signed by Andy Warhol at bottom of leaf. No date. 11 x 8 3/8 inches, recto only, manuscript emendations in blue ink. Faint crease at bottom. And with: BRIGIN BERLIN. Polaroid photograph of Andy Warhol's Index (Book) spread with balloon insert. Late 1960's. Signed by Brigid Berlin on verso. Photograph pasted to stiff board (produced for the purpose by Polaroid). 4 1/4 x 3 3/8 inches. Lightly soiled, image bowed at edges and lifting off of backing slightly at top and bottom. All items housed in a custom clamshell box.

Andy Warhol's Index (Book), with its holographic cover, high-contrast photographs and irreverent, seemingly random, inserts, captures the spirit and aesthetic of Warhol's 47th street Silver Factory. It is "one of the most important and exuberant Pop art objects ever published... one of the ultimate photobooks-as-objects... [and] a supreme example of the diaristic photographic mode before there was considered a diaristic mode" (Parr and Badger). P. K. Thomajan was a noted poet, graphic designer, typographer and type historian. In his letter he asks for Warhol's signature and a doodle on two books, before suggesting a meeting with the artist to discuss "a spectacular idea for a super gimmick book." Brigid Berlin's polaroid shows a part of Index that is almost never seen - the spread with the silver balloon. The balloon is present in the image so this photo was apparently taken shortly after the book's publication, before the rubber degraded and glued the adjacent pages shut.

See Martin Parr and Gerry Badger The Photobook : A History. Volume II. London: Phaidon, 2004. p. 144

C

Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.