Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Frank, Robert. The Lines of my Hand. Lustrum Press, New York, 1972.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Description: Small Folio. Unpaginated. Original illustrated stiff wraps with black lettering on cover and spine. Cover by June Leaf. Printed by Tom Jones, Los Angeles, typography by ACC, Los Angeles. "After The Americans, The Lines of My Hand is arguably Robert Frank's most important book and without doubt the publication that established his autobiographical, sometimes confessional, approach to bookmaking. The book was originally published by Yugensha in Tokyo in 1972, and this new Steidl edition, made in close collaboration with Robert Frank, follows and updates the first US edition by Lustrum Press of 1972. The Lines of My Hand is structured chronologically and presents selections from every stage of Frank's work until 1972-from early photos in Switzerland in 1945-46, to images of his travels in Peru, Paris, Valencia, London and Wales, and to contact sheets from his 1955-56 journey through the US that resulted in The Americans and made him famous. Here too are intimate photos of Frank's young family, later photo-collages and stills from films including Pull My Daisy (1959) and About Me: A Musical (1971). This structure itself mirrors the rhythm of Frank's life but it is his short personal texts, like diary entries, that fully bring his voice into the book." (Steidl) Some wear along edges of wraps, some chipping at head and tail of spine. Light creasing at top foredge corner and middle of top back cover. Some rubbing of covers and lightly starting at inside front cover. Very light foxing of half-title and title pages. Some light foxing of back free endpaper, and light staining of the last three leaves due to water exposure.
Seller: ERIC CHAIM KLINE, BOOKSELLER (ABAA ILAB), Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Frank, Robert. The Lines of my Hand. Lustrum Press, New York, 1972.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Description: Small Folio. Unpaginated. Original illustrated stiff wraps with black lettering on cover and spine. Cover by June Leaf. Printed by Tom Jones, Los Angeles, typography by ACC, Los Angeles. "After The Americans, The Lines of My Hand is arguably Robert Frank's most important book and without doubt the publication that established his autobiographical, sometimes confessional, approach to bookmaking. The book was originally published by Yugensha in Tokyo in 1972, and this new Steidl edition, made in close collaboration with Robert Frank, follows and updates the first US edition by Lustrum Press of 1972. The Lines of My Hand is structured chronologically and presents selections from every stage of Frank's work until 1972-from early photos in Switzerland in 1945-46, to images of his travels in Peru, Paris, Valencia, London and Wales, and to contact sheets from his 1955-56 journey through the US that resulted in The Americans and made him famous. Here too are intimate photos of Frank's young family, later photo-collages and stills from films including Pull My Daisy (1959) and About Me: A Musical (1971). This structure itself mirrors the rhythm of Frank's life but it is his short personal texts, like diary entries, that fully bring his voice into the book." (Steidl) Light wear along edges of wraps, lightly rubbed, small price sticker with penciled price on back cover.
Seller: ERIC CHAIM KLINE, BOOKSELLER (ABAA ILAB), Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Frank, Robert. The Lines of My Hand.. New-York, Lustrum Press, 1972.
Price: US$225.25 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Broché, couverture par June Leaf, 305 x 230mm. 86 pages, Texte et photographies n/b par Robert Frank, Première édition américaine refondue et parue la même année que la japonaise chez Yugensha Second plat taché et les quatre dernières pages gondolées (deux de gardes). Ref: Schweizer Fotobücher, page 304; The Open Book, page 288, Auer, page 544.
Seller: La Chambre Noire, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland
Frank, Robert. The Lines of My Hand. Yugensha/Kazuhiko Motomura, Tokyo, 1972.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Original black linen covered boards, the spine and upper board blocked in white letter; preserved in a black cloth covered slipcase, issued in two variants, each with a b/w photograph tipped on to side. This is the "New York City, 1948" slipcase variant. Thick stapled printed pamphlet with text in Japanese laid in. Both the book and the slipcase are protected by acetate clear sheets which kept them in beautiful condition, save the interior of the slipcase which has a few minor tape marks where the clear plastic is attached. In original cardboard mailing carton with pictorial Robert Frank label attached.
Seller: Black Dog Books, Emerson, NJ, U.S.A.
FRANK, Robert.. The Lines of My Hand.. Tokyo Yugensha / Kazuhiko Motomura, 1972.
Price: US$3630.00 + shipping
Description: First edition; folio (341 x 253 mm, 13½ x 10 in); black-and-white photographs printed in offset, design by Sugiura Kohei and Tsuji Syuhei, layout by Sugiura and Ralph Gibson, occasional light dust speckle marks spotted out by hand by Motomura; black rough cloth-covered boards, titles stamped in white to spine and upper side, 32pp text booklet laid in as issued, publisher's black cloth-covered board slipcase, titles to spine in white, photographic reproduction mounted on upper side, minor wear, original shipping carton with title stencilled to spine, a fine copy; [v], 119pp (incl. 2 folding). This is Robert Frank's photographic autobiography, dedicated to his two children, Pablo and Andrea, 'who are trying to find a better way to live.' The photographs represent every stage of his work to the time of publishing, presented chronologically and selected less for their historic or aesthetic significance than their personal meaning. The Lines of My Hand is the first of three books Frank made with Motomura Kazuhiko, a collector of photographs and photography books and occasional publisher, each designed by Sugiura Kohei who was responsible for several of the most striking Japanese photobooks of the 1960s and '70s. It was issued in two variants, each with a black-and-white photographic reproduction on the slipcase, the present copy with 'Platte River, Tennessee'. On page 75, a photograph of a postcard sent to Frank by Jack Kerouac references this photograph as used on the cover. Kerouac writes: 'Dear Robert - That photo you sent me of a guy looking over his cow on the Platte River is to me a photo of a man recognizing his own mind's essence, no matter what Jean ton copain'. Specks of dust falling on the plates during printing led to occasional tiny white marks on some pages. The publisher, Motomura Kazuhiko, would only sell copies once he had examined them and spotted out any marks by hand. After Motomura passed away in 2014, a number of unsold copies with white spots on the pages were made available for sale. The copy offered here was purchased before Motomura passed away and had, therefore, been spotted and approved by him. The Photobook: A History I, p261; The Open Book pp286-7; uer collection p544; Swiss Photobooks pp304-13, pp675-6.
Seller: Shapero Rare Books, London, United Kingdom
Photography - Frank, Robert. The Lines of My Hand. Yugensha, Tokyo, 1972.
Price: US$3750.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Tall linen quarto in slipcase. Thick stapled printed pamphlet with text in Japanese laid in. Terrific retrospective on Frank's work. 118 pp. A spectacularly beautiful redesign of the softbound Lustrum Press edition. Designed by Kohei Sugiura. Original black cloth lettered in white. A gorgeous fine copy in cloth slipcase with the photogreaph "New York City 1948" mounted on the slipcase cover. Well documented and important photobook noted in Vol. One of Parr and Badger The Photobook.
Seller: Derringer Books, Member ABAA, Avon, CT, U.S.A.
Frank, Robert. The Lines of My Hand. Yugensha / Kazuhiko Motomura, Tokyo, 1972.
Price: US$4100.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Tokyo. Yugensha / Kazuhiko Motomura. 1972. 35 x 26 cm. 119 pp. with original 30 pp. booklet with Japanese text lettered in grey on black paper laid in as issued. Original black linen covered boards, the spine and upper board blocked in white letter; preserved in a black cloth covered slipcase, issued in two variants, each with a b/w photograph tipped on to side,This copy comes with the variant "New York City, 1948". Limited edition of 1000 copies. The variant slipcase photograph "New York City 1948' limited to only 500 copies. PARR, Martin + Badger, The Photobook, Vol. I, p. 261. Fine condition. Images of the actual book will be provided upon request.
Seller: Assaf Books and Art, Palmdale, CA, U.S.A.
Frank, Robert. The Lines of My Hand.. Tokyo: Yugensha, 1972., 1972.
Price: US$4504.95 + shipping
Description: 119 pp., quarto, black cloth with white stamped titles, with slipcase, black cloth with mounted b/w photograph, with b/w photographs. 2300 g
Seller: Antiquariat Im Seefeld / Ernst Jetzer, Zürich, Switzerland
Price: US$8541.02 + shipping
Description: Tokyo. Yugensha / Kazuhiko Motomura. 1972. 35 x 26 cm. 119 pp. with original 32 pp. booklet with Japanese text lettered in grey on black papier laid in as issued. Original black linen covered boards, the spine and upper board blocked in white letter; preserved in a black cloth covered slipcase, issued in two variants, each with a b/w photograph tipped on to side, the present (our) copy with "New York City, 1948". Limited edition of 1000 copies. Our present copy with the variant slipcase photograph "New York City 1948' limited to only 500 copies. PARR, Martin + Badger, The Photobook, Vol. I, p. 261. Fine condition. Sprache: Deutsch. *** Bitte kontaktieren Sie mich immer BEVOR Sie bestellen! Für ausführliche Beschreibungen und Bilder sowie günstigere Versandoptionen kontaktieren Sie mich bitte per Email! Please contact me always BEFORE you order! For detailled descriptions and photos as well as cheaper shipping options please send an email! ***
Seller: Antiquariat CoBrA, Oberrohrbach, Austria
Robert Frank. Lines of My Hands.. Yugensha, Tokyo, 1972.
Price: US$11000.00 + shipping
Description: Limited first edition of Frankâs memorable autobiography in photographs, one of only 500 examples. Folio, original black cloth, slipcase with mounted cover photograph, original shipping carton. Presentation copy, inscribed by Robert Frank. In fine condition, with the shipping carton in fine condition. This candid book includes a number of images from Robert Frank's best-known work, Les Americains, a collection of documentary photographs of everyday American life during the 1950s, particularly among the Beats. Also contains photographs of Frank's family, and images made during his travels abroad in Peru, Spain, England, France. "The publication in Japan was confirmation that the stream-of-consciousness style was the prevailing mode in Japanese photography" (Parr & Badger).
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Robert Frank. Lines of My Hands.. Yugensha, Tokyo, 1972.
Price: US$12000.00 + shipping
Description: Limited first edition of Frankâs memorable autobiography in photographs, one of 500 copies. Folio, original black cloth, slipcase with mounted cover photograph. Association copy, inscribed by the photographer on the title page, "To Yuichi, getting ready to travel East. Good Luck. Robert. NYC Dec. 5, 1996" with a lineÂdrawing of a fish below a surfaceÂline. The recipient Yuichi Hibi is a well-known photographer who in 2005 issued a signed, limited edition of a work entitled A Weekend with Mr. Frank. Includes 30 pp. Japanese booklet cataloguing the 160 images which comprise the book. Fine in a fine slipcase. An exceptional association. This candid book includes a number of images from Robert Frank's best-known work, Les Americains, a collection of documentary photographs of everyday American life during the 1950s, particularly among the Beats. Also contains photographs of Frank's family, and images made during his travels abroad in Peru, Spain, England, France. "The publication in Japan was confirmation that the stream-of-consciousness style was the prevailing mode in Japanese photography" (Parr & Badger).
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Frank, Robert. The Lines of My Hand. Yugensha / Kazuhiko Motomura, Tokyo, 1972.
Price: US$12000.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition, signed by Robert Frank and inscribed to a former owner. Folio. Bound in publisher's original black cloth boards lettered in white, in black cloth-covered slipcase with photo onlay; caption booklet in Japanese laid in. Near Fine with light wear, small abrasion to page above Frank's inscription, fading to slipcase spine and very subtle fading to spine of book. Published in Japan prior to the Lustrum publication of the same title. From a limited edition of 1,000 unnumbered copies.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$19250.00 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: Price is net to all; promotional discounts do not apply. PRICING & AVAILABILITY: Please inquire for availability and current price. SHIPPING NOTE: due to size and weight, the amount added for shipping and insurance will be the actual cost for all orders (depending on shipping method requested and destination). 1972-2009. All first editions, first printings. As New in publisher's packaging. This complete set of Yugensha titles includes: 1) Robert Frank: The Americans, 81 Contact Sheets, Limited Edition (2009). Limited edition of 300 numbered copies (this being from the version of 220 copies enclosed in a paulownia wood box). 81 unbound four-color plates (size 20-1/4 x 16-5/8 inches) wrapped with a 3-1/8-inch gray paper obi/band and handmade Japanese paper, contained in a silver paper-covered trifold folio debossed with the artist's initials and title. The plates and folio enclosure are further contained in a padded, custom paulownia wood box with the artist's facsimile signature debossed on the lid. Box dimensions are 24-1/2 x 20-3/4 x 1-3/4 inches. Includes a 24-page laid-in pamphlet with notes on the photographs (in Japanese and English) by Robert Frank (interviewed by Shino Kuraishi). The paulownia wood box and pamphlet are housed in a sturdy black cardboard box with edition number label on edge. 2) Robert Frank: The Lines of My Hand, Limited Edition (cover plate version "New York City, 1948"), (1972). Limited edition of 1000 unnumbered copies. Hardcover. Fine black buckram covered boards with title stamped in white on front cover and spine, housed in a matching cloth slipcase with a black and white plate (7-1/4 x 11 inches) tipped in the front cover and title stamped in white on side (matching the book's spine), no dust jacket as issued. The cover plate photograph is "New York City, 1948" (500 copies were produced with this photograph on the slipcase, the other photograph used being "Platte River, Tennessee"). Photographs and text (in English) by Robert Frank. Drawing by June Leaf. Includes an editorial foreword, brief biography and letter to Robert Frank from Gotthard Schuh (reproduced from "Camera," August 1957). Includes the 32-page booklet (13-3/8 x 9-1/2 inches) laid in, with text translation (in Japanese) and illustrations of the book's plates. The booklet is printed with white text on matte black paper and staple-bound. Designed by Kohei Sugiura and Atsushi Co., Ltd. 124 pp., including two 2-page gatefolds (with Frank's contact sheets reproduced on the inside pages), with numerous black and white plates, beautifully printed on fine art paper by Nissha Printing Co., Ltd. 13-3/4 x 10-1/4 inches (slipcase is 14-1/8 x 10-1/2 inches). Out of print. Extremely scarce. [Cited in Andrew Roth, ed., The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century. (New York: PPP Editions in association with Roth Horowitz LLC, 2001), in Andrew Roth, ed., The Open Book. (Göteborg, Sweden: Hasselblad Center in association with Steidl Verlag, Göttingen, Germany, 2004), and in Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, The Photobook: A History, Volume I. (London and New York: Phaidon, 2004).] 3) Robert Frank: Flower Is, Limited Edition. (Cover plate variant "Metro Stalingrade"), (1987). Limited edition of 500 unnumbered copies. Hardcover. Fine light gray silk cloth with title and graphic design of a flower stamped in dark gray on front cover and title stamped on spine, housed in a matching cloth slipcase with a black and white plate (5-1/2 x 8-3/8 inches, "Metro Stalingrade" variant, also reproduced in plate number 5 of the book) tipped in the front cover and title stamped in dark gray on side (matching the book's spine), no dust jacket as issued. Photographs and text (in English and Japanese) by Robert Frank. Includes a list of plates (in Japanese). Designed by Kohei Sugiura and Atsushi Co., Ltd. 112 pp. with 81 black and white plates, beautifully printed on fine art paper by Nissha Printing Co., Ltd. 13-3/4 x 10-1/8 inches (slipcase is 14-1/8 x 10-3/8 inches). Out of print. Extremely scarce. [Cited in Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, The Photobook: A History, Volume I. (London and New York: Phaidon, 2004).] 4) Masao Mochizuki: Television 1975-1976, Limited Edition [SIGNED], (2001). Limited edition of 1800 copies. Signed by Mochizuki in silver ink verso the black front free endpaper, and in kanji in black ink on the colophon page. Hardcover. Fine black cloth-covered boards, with title blind-stamped on front cover and spine, no dust jacket as issued, and enclosed in a white cardboard slipcase with title printed in black on pasted-on beige label. Photographs and text (in English and Japanese) by Masao Mochizuki. Essay (in English and Japanese) by Eikoh Ikui. Includes list of plates. Designed by Daisuke Suzuki. Unpaginated (80 pp.), with 82 black and white plates, most full-bleed (and a thumbnail black and white illustration of Mochizuki's modified Mamiya Flex C-2 camera on the colophon page), printed with Hyecoo Highconc Black L ink on White A Post paper. 15-1/4 x 14-3/4 inches. 5) Jun Morinaga: Kawa, Ruiei (River, Its Shadow of Shadows), 1960-1963, (1978). Hardcover. Fine gray silk cloth-covered boards with white title stamped in English on cover, and in Japanese on spine, with a photographically illustrated paper-covered slipcase. Photographs and text (in Japanese and English) by Jun Morinaga. Essays (in Japanese and English) by W. Eugene Smith (for whom Morinaga worked as an assistant), Miyabi Ichikawa, Koichi Tanigawa, and Seigow Matsuoka. Includes a chronology (in Japanese and English). Designed by Kohei Sugiura and Hitoshi Suzuki. 166 pp. (including numerous gatefolds), with 89 black and white plates, printed by Nissha Printing Co., Ltd., Kyoto. 12-3/8 x 10-7/8 inches. [Cited in Ryuichi Kaneko and Ivan Vartanian, Japanese Photobooks of the 1960s and '70s. (New York: Aperture, 2009).]. Signed by Author.
Seller: Vincent Borrelli, Bookseller, Albuquerque, NM, U.S.A.