Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Avedon, Richard; Capote, Truman. Observations. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First edition of this photographic classic, in the original white hardcover binding (binding is browned and heavily rubbed with cracking to lower hinges; lower corners bumped). The plates are clean and unmarked. Photographs by Avedon; commentary by Capote - a classic combination of word and image which helped inspire and influence a generation of writers and photographers as to the possibilities of collaboration. 151, [1] pages.
Seller: Arundel Books, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Avedon, Richard & Truman Capote. Observations. Simon & Schuster, NY, 1959.
Price: US$122.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hardcover - clean, no marks, clean inside, no dj - from a private collection - slight wear to psine ends
Seller: BOOK2BUY, Lynbrook, NY, U.S.A.
Avedon, Richard & Truman Capote. Observations. Simon & Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Hardcover, folio. 1st edition. A fine copy, lacking slipcase. Text by Truman Capote. B&W photos. Glassine wraps. Minor staining to back board. Very light foxing to end pages.
Seller: David Morrison Books, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Richard Avedon; Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Hard bound in original glassine wrappers, housed in slipcase. Boards show some minor water damage, particularly to front board and spine edge, otherwise very good. Slipcase is good only, showing a large portion of the front panel peeled off. [This item is large, please contact seller for overseas shipping quote.]
Seller: Black Cat Books, Shelter Island, NY, U.S.A.
Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$151.33 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Collectible portrait photography of Richard Avedon with commentary by Truman Capote. Cover shows some bumps and rubs along extremities. Spine ends reinforced with tape. Interior text and images are clean throughout. Binding is secure.
Seller: BooksElleven, Three Oaks, MI, U.S.A.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: No slipcase. No dust jacket. Covers show some light discoloration, rubbing, soiling and scuffing. Edges show some rubbing, fraying, chipping, tearing and bumping.
Seller: Half Moon Books, Kingston, NY, U.S.A.
Richard Avedon, Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Hardcover book in slipcase. Case has foxing and tanning, and wear on edges. Cover has light tanning/stains. Inside pages are clean and unmarked but have a musty smell.
Seller: Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Description: White boards. 151 pp. Profuse bw plates. The book has been well-served by the slipcase, showing no signs of wear and only very minor age-toning to extreme page edges. A better-than-average copy. One small tear to paper-covering on slipcase and some foxing spots to one side. VG or better in a Fair slipcase with a small library label on the base of the spine. Book has no library markings other than small white label of Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) inside rear cover at the top of the pastedown. Superb copy of the book in adequate slipcase.
Seller: Mullen Books, ABAA, Marietta, PA, U.S.A.
Avedon, Richard (photographs); Truman Capote (text). Observations. Simon & Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$185.00 + shipping
Description: No printing statement. 14.5x11", 151 pp, b&w photographs. VG, clean & tight, no dj, in Good slipcase with scraped corners, sticker remains.
Seller: Aardvark Book Depot, Shorewood, WI, U.S.A.
Truman Capote. Observations Photographs By Richard Avedon. Simon and Schuster January 1959, 1959.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Moderate wear to spine especially at edge. Otherwise good, clean condition.
Seller: Isle of Books, Bozeman, MT, U.S.A.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hardcover with printed slipcase. Book good plus condition the slipcase is worn but solid. The slip case has some age soiling, corners bumped. Short gift inscription on front fly page top corner. Lots of Avedon images include celebrities of art, music, film, stage and literature. A large book. Index.
Seller: Martin Kaukas Books, Manchester, VT, U.S.A.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Description: Hardcover with printed slipcase; condition of slipcase is poor: it is still sturdy but has heavy stains and abrasions; the condition of the book is good: light brown spotting to boards and outer page edges and the upper left corner of many internal pages: the spine is still very tight, Overall better than it sounds for this book; an as is reference copy. Foreign shipping may be extra.
Seller: ANARTIST, New York, NY, U.S.A.
richard avedon. observations. simon and schuster, new york, 1959.
Price: US$226.00 + shipping
Description: first, 1959. comments by truman capote. slipcase has notable shelf wear. new york: simon and schuster. hardcover. book condition: very good +. slipcase condition: good.
Seller: leaves, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Some minor spotting; just very good, lacking the slipcase. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$328.88 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: groß-quart hardcover. sehr gutes exemplar. ungelesen, original-pappband mit transparentem schutzumschlag, 152 seiten mit 105, meist ganzseitigen sw-photographien, das bezugspapier am unteren kapitalrand-falz 1 cm angerissen, das buch befindet sich im beschrifteten originalschuber, dieser im rückenrandbereich berieben und leicht bestossen, am oberen rand lichtschattig, der schutzumschlag am unteren kapital mit 1 cm fehlstelle und einem 1 cm einriß am unterer kante, innen tadellos 1600 Gramm.
Seller: alt-saarbrücker antiquariat g.w.melling, saarbrücken, Germany
AVEDON, Richard and Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Description: First edition and first printing. Hardcover. Avedon's landmark first book, a collaboration with Capote who supplies the text. A striking collection of full-bleed black and white images. An about very good copy with a small stain to the base of the front board, some wear to the spine ends and some bumping to the bottom front corner in an about very good paper slipcase that has some wear, soiling and some staining as well. No dust jacket. Despite the flaws a solid copy of a poorly made, but beautiful book. (Roth 148-149).
Seller: Jeff Hirsch Books, ABAA, Wadsworth, IL, U.S.A.
(Truman Capote) AVEDON, Richard.. Observations: Photographs.. Simon and Schuster,, NY:, 1959.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Comments by Truman Capote. Black and white photographs throughout. First edition. Near fine in a very good (small chip at the base of the front panel) acetate dust jacket. Housed in a very good (minor edge wear and age toning) slipcase.; 152 pages B001L4I47U
Seller: Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB, Springfield, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$390.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Clean tight and unmarked large chip to rear panel of acetate jacket, very light soil to slipcase. Tight seams on slipcase tight spine to book. oversized and overweight. Please email for photos. Larger books or sets may require additional shipping charges. Books sent via US Postal
Seller: Griffin Books, Stamford, CT, U.S.A.
AVEDON, Richard. CAPOTE, Truman.. Observations.. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Description: Photographs by Richard Avedon. Comments by Truman Capote. 152 pp. Folio, publisher's white printed boards in publisher's slipcase. First edition. Lacking front free endpaper; some light rubbing to boards; slipcase lightly stained with a few small areas of damage.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
AVEDON, Richard; CAPOTE, Truman. Observations. Simon & Shuster, 1959.
Price: US$448.30 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: AVEDON, Richard; CAPOTE, Truman. Observations. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1959. First edition. Photographs by Richard Avedon. Introductory essay On Richard Avedon , and text accompanying the photographs by Truman Capote. Book design by Alexey Brodovitch. The first collection of Avedon s photographs to appear in book form. Features some of the most fascinating figures of mid-twentieth century: Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Coco Chanel, The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, T.S. Elliot, Ezra Pound, Isak Dinesen, Leonard Bernstein, Jean Cocteau, Cecil Beaton, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart, Mae West, Gloria Swanson, Robert Oppenheimer, and others. The book includes A Gathering of Swans , Capote s famous essay about female beauty and elegance, illustrated with Avedon s photos of Marella Agnelli, Babe Paley, and Gloria Vanderbilt. Folio. 151, [1] pp. Original paper covered boards, slight wear to foot of spine, minor spotting. In original acetate dust jacket, with some loss to top of front face and bottom of rear face. Original slipcase, lightly edge-worn and spotted. A very good copy.
Seller: Chase Rare Books, Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
AVEDON, Richard and Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Description: First edition and first printing. Hardcover. 151 pages. Avedon's landmark first book, a collaboration with Capote who supplies the text. A striking collection of full-bleed black and white images. A clean very near fine copy in paper covered boards in a very good acetate dust jacket with some large chips/chunks missing and in a near fine slipcase with some light wear. Still a much nicer than usual copy of a book that is inherently fragile. (Roth 148-149).
Seller: Jeff Hirsch Books, ABAA, Wadsworth, IL, U.S.A.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Paper-covered boards, in acetate jacket and slipcase. Reproduces Avedon's b/w photographic portraits on nearly every page. Boards lightly rubbed and dust-soiled; small scattered chips along joints and at spine tips. Acetate dust jacket chipped and torn. In rubbed slipcase with a few spots of soiling; tape repair along top edge. An excellent reading copy -- tight, bright and internally clean.
Seller: Sanctuary Books, A.B.A.A., New York, NY, U.S.A.
Truman Capote and Richard Avedon. Observations. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, 1959.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Folio. Pp. 151, Magnificent close-up photograph portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ezra Pound, Charles Chaplin, Marian Anderson, T.S. Eliot, Braque, Picasso, Duchamp, Cocteau, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Igor Stravinsky, Gloria Swanson, Louis Armstrong, Bogart, Keaton, Lahr, Marianne Moore, Somerset Maugham, Isak Dineson, and many more international celebrities and aristocrats, over eighty in all. Along with street people and children. Few faint spots to endpapers, else fine in printed baords. Clear plastic jacket is torn. Slipcase shows soil, small scrape, and wear to extremities.
Seller: Bryn Mawr Bookstore, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.
Avedon, Richard. (Photographs) Capote, Truman. (Comments). OBSERVATIONS.. Simon and Schuster., 1959.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition. Near fine in white boards with silver titles, lacking the un-printed acetate wrapper, in very good+ card slipcase. (Small sticker ghost at bottom of slipcase. A few bumps to slipcase corner tips, and one small crack and bump at edge. ) (151pp. ) (11" X 15"); 11" X 15"
Seller: WAVERLEY BOOKS ABAA, Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$599.99 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Original white boards. First Edition. Notable photographs by Avedon and interesting text by Capote. Photographs of celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, Humphrey Bogart, Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe, T. S. Eliot, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton. From the library of photographer and filmmaker Sedat Pakay, whose work can be found in New York’s Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Smithsonian Museum. The book has no indication of his ownership, though. Slight corner wear, Very Good, in Fair Glassine Dust Jacket with one-third of the bottom missing, in Good Slipcase with one tape mark and some separation along edges.
Seller: Pride and Prejudice-Books, Ballston Lake, NY, U.S.A.
AVEDON, Richard and Truman Capote. OBSERVATIONS. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: A antonishingly well preserved copy, FINE and fresh entirely free of any former owner marking but what is really remarkable is the slipcase which apparently has been protected in a custom-cut acetate protector and appears essentially as new. A remarkable copy. Note the unprinted acetate wrapper is creased and chipped, I suspect it is not the original. A stunning copy of both the book and slipcase, the later which still retains the $14.95 publication price sticker (a tidy sum in 1959).
Seller: Nicholas J. Certo, Newburgh, NY, U.S.A.
Avedon, Richard & Truman Capote. OBSERVATIONS. New York, Simon Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Folio.A fine copy in somewhat torn clear glassine d.j.in a better than very good box with a few spots and a trace of edge wear.a much better than usual copy of this book.(S!!/1/2
Seller: NUDEL BOOKS, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Capote, Truman. Observations. Comments by Truman Capote. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Description: AVEDON, RICHARD. First edition of Avedon's first book. Photographs by Richard Avedon. 1 vols. Folio. The Open Book pp. 174-175 White glazed paper over boards. Fine, in slightly worn slipcase Photographs by Richard Avedon. 1 vols. Folio
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Avedon, Richard and Truman Capote. Observations. Simon & Schuster, NY, 1959.
Price: US$799.99 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Oversized first edition hardcover signed by Avedon to the ffep, dated 1993. Boards are rubbed, edges frayed in spots and backstrip is starting to split along gutters. Contents in fine condition. ; Folio 13" - 23" tall; Signed by Author
Seller: curtis paul books, inc., Northridge, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1041.44 + shipping
Description: Lucerne, C.J. Bucher S.A. Editions Camera, 1959, Edizione originale. Esemplare nellemissione in lingua francese con dati editoriali Editions Camera. Segni duso al cartonato (particolarmente al dorso, mancante della parte stampata) e allastuccio; nel complesso un più che buon esemplare di questo non comune libro. Pietra miliare dei libri fotografici, con il suo formato in folio e la grafica cubitale che rivoluziona completamente il peritesto, opera di Alexey Brodovitch. Raccoglie in libro il meglio di Avedon preso da «Harpers Bazar», accompagnato dai testi di Capote. Negli scatti, il "whos who" dellarte e della cultura mondiali: Hitchcook, Zavattini, Agnelli, Saroyan, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Eliot, Miller, Picasso, Chanel, Duchamp, Cocteau, Monroe, Beaton, Wright, Maugham etc. Edizione stampata da C.J. Bucher S.A. di Lucerna e pubblicata in due emissioni, in inglese per Simon & Schuster di New York, in francese per Editions Camera, emanazione dello stesso stampatore svizzero. Testo tradotto in francese da G. Meister e R.-E. Martinez. in folio, legatura editoriale in cartonato bianco stampato in grigio ai piatti, astuccio in cartonato rigido bianco stampato in blu e rosso ai piatti e in grigio al dorso, pp. 151 [2] con illustrazioni in bianco e nero; sguardie originali in carta bianca diversa (primo risguardo con dati editoriali). Edizione originale. Esemplare nellemissione in lingua francese con dati editoriali Editions Camera. Segni duso al cartonato (particolarmente al dorso, mancante della parte stampata) e allastuccio; nel complesso un più che buon esemplare di questo non comune libro. legatura editoriale in cartonato bianco stampato in grigio ai piatti, astuccio in cartonato rigido bianco stampato in blu e rosso ai piatti e in grigio al dorso,
Seller: Libreria Antiquaria Pontremoli SRL, Milano, MI, Italy
Price: US$1076.42 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A must-have time capsule of an era passed An absolutely extraordinary vintage book in good condition. What a delight for the eyes and for the mind! First edition. Hardcover. First printing. Avedon's landmark first book, a collaboration with Capote who supplies the text. A striking collection of full-bleed black and white images Über den Autor: RICHARD AVEDON (b. 1923) was the editor, with his classmate James Baldwin, of The Magpie, the literary magazine at De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx. In 1942 he joined the photography department of the U.S. merchant marine. He was a staff photographer at I>Harper's Bazaar (1951-1965) and Vogue (1966-1988), and he collaborated with James Baldwin on Nothing Personal (1964), a book about the civil rights movement. In 1992 he became the first staff photographer at The New Yorker. Richard Avedon Observations - mit einem Text von Truman Capote Richard Avedon (Autor) In englischer Sprache. pages.
Seller: BUCHSERVICE / ANTIQUARIAT Lars Lutzer, Wahlstedt, Germany
AVEDON, Richard and Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First edition. Folio. [152]pp. Fine in very good original unprinted glassine dustwrapper with a large chip at the top of front and back panels, and with near fine original printed card slip case fine overall with a small piece missing at the bottom edge. A very nice, better than usual copy of this collaboration between photographer Richard Avedon and author Truman Capote, with the photographer's iconic portraits complemented by Capote's text throughout.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
AVEDON, Richard, and Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First edition. Folio. [152]pp. A little wear at the base of the spine, near fine in very near fine original unprinted glassine dustwrapper with a little wrinkling on the rear panel in lightly edgeworn very good or better, original printed slip case. A nice, better than usual copy of this collaboration between photographer Richard Avedon and author Truman Capote, with the photographer's iconic portraits complemented by Capote's text throughout.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Richard Avedon, Truman Capote. Observations. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
Price: US$1499.99 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Hardcover in glassine dust jacket housed in cardboard slipcase. Glassine jacket is missing a piece from back bottom edge. Book is bumped along top edge near spine and has light wear to spine ends, otherwise near fine. Slipcase is quite worn with backstrip breaking apart. Signed by Avedon to ffep. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; Signed by Author
Seller: curtis paul books, inc., Northridge, CA, U.S.A.
Truman Capote; Richard Avedon. Observations. Simon & Schuster, E-378, 1959.
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Hardcover. Folio. Published by Simon and Schuster, Inc, New York. 1959. 151 pgs. Illustrated with Black and White Plates. Signed and inscribed with a drawing by Richard Avedon on the FFEP. First Edition/First Printing. Slipcased. Slipcase has wear present (slipcase is chipped and worn to the extremities). Bound in paper covered illustrated boards. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. "Observations is the culmination of a creative collaboration between Avedon and Alexey Brodovitch that began in 1945, when the imperial art director hired the 22-year-old photographer as the youngest member of his team at Harpers Bazaar" (Roth, 148). Avedons "later adoption of a seamless white studio background for most of his fashion and portrait photography was at least partly inspired by Mr. Brodovitchs characteristic use of white space, a means of making the subject seem suspended and weightless on the page" (Times). Not long after Capote and Avedon finished their work on Observations, they again collaborated in documenting the story of a brutal murder in Kansas, In Cold Blood (1965). E-378; Folio 13" - 23" tall; 151 pages
Seller: Last Exit Books, Charlottesville, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Observations New York: Simon & Schuster, 1959. Inscribed (not personalized)and signed by Richard Avedon Hardcover in lightly chipped clear dust jacket housed in cardboard slipcase. Folio Illustrated with photographs by Richard Avedon and text by Truman Capote. 152 pp., numerous black-and-white illustrations, 11x14º". Mostly portraits of famous people of the twentieth century. Light foxing to endpapers, light soil to slipcase and split seams. oversized and overweight. Please email for photos. Larger books or sets may require additional shipping charges. Books sent via US Postal
Seller: Griffin Books, Stamford, CT, U.S.A.
Truman Capote; Richard Avedon. Observations. Simon & Schuster, C4b, 1959.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Hardcover. 4to. Published by Simon and Schuster, Inc, New York. 1959. 151 pgs. Illustrated with Black and White Plates. Signed and inscribed by Richard Avedon on the FFEP. First Edition/First Printing. Slipcased. Slipcase has wear present (slipcase is chipped and worn to the extremities). Glassine DJ present but chipped and worn with a piece missing from the crown of the spine. Bound in paper covered illustrated boards. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. "Observations is the culmination of a creative collaboration between Avedon and Alexey Brodovitch that began in 1945, when the imperial art director hired the 22-year-old photographer as the youngest member of his team at Harpers Bazaar" (Roth, 148). Avedons "later adoption of a seamless white studio background for most of his fashion and portrait photography was at least partly inspired by Mr. Brodovitchs characteristic use of white space, a means of making the subject seem suspended and weightless on the page" (Times). Not long after Capote and Avedon finished their work on Observations, they again collaborated in documenting the story of a brutal murder in Kansas, In Cold Blood (1965). EB; Folio 13" - 23" tall; 151 pages; Signed by Author
Seller: Last Exit Books, Charlottesville, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$8000.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 151, [1] pp. Illustrated with gravure reproductions from photographs taken by Richard Avedon, throughout. (Folio) 36x27 cm (14x10½"), original printed white boards, publisher's original slipcase. First Edition. Signed on verso of front free endpaper by Richard Avedon. Classic collaboration of Richard Avedon portraits and witty write-ups by Capote. Images include noted celebrities of art, music, film, stage and literature, such as: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe, T.S. Eliot, Somerset Maugham, Ezra Pound, Pablo Picasso, Louis Armstrong, Humphrey Bogart, Isak Dinesen, et al.
Seller: J. Mercurio Books, Maps, & Prints IOBA, Garrison, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$8500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. A very good copy in a good publisher's slipcase, which has some staining and wear. This is an exceptional association copy, inscribed by both the photographer and author to Kenneth [Battelle], known as the hairdresser to celebrities, Mr. Kenneth. Inscribed by Avedon, 'For Kenneth with admiration and affection,' and by Capote, 'For Kenneth, an artist, from Truman C.' Kenneth was known for collaborating with contemporary photographers such as Avedon and Irving Penn. He was the favored hairdresser of both Jackie Kennedy Onassis and her sister, as well as others, preparing many for the famous (infamous? notorious? celebrated?) Black & White Ball, the lavish party staged by Capote. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.