Beschreibung:

WARHOL, ANDY 25 Cats Name [sic] Sam and One Blue Pussy . [New York]: Printed by Seymour Berlin [for Warhol], [circa 1954]. First edition, numbered and signed in ballpoint, this being example 110 of a stated 190 copies (though it has been speculated that fewer, perhaps 150, were actually produced). Accompanying this copy is a letter signed by Warhol (headed "andy warhol enterprises inc"), inquiring as to how the purchaser found out about the publication of the work. Full off-white leatherette binding of issue, the upper cover with a hand-colored lithographed label depicting a cat, lettered with the title and author, with gray endpapers. 9 x 5 7/8 inches (22.5 x 18 cm); tipped-in limitation leaf (recto blank), followed by 17 leaves, each bearing an offset lithograph by Warhol on Arches paper. The cover lithograph completes the count of 18. All the lithographs are brightly hand-colored with washes of Dr. Martin's aniline watercolor dyes. Light wear and minor hand-soiling to the leatherette binding, with some browing, toning and staining (probably from the adhesive used, as this defect seems ubiquitous) to the cover image, with two small chips to the left edge. Internally, some slight age toning to the paper, a couple of minor smudges of color that occured during the coloring, and (as usual) some minor bleed-through of color to the verso (not affecting adjacent images). Overall, this is a fresh copy of this fragile work. Very few copies of the book were sold, this copy being a rare exception; most were gven away as gifts to friends and clients. The coloring of the lithographs was done at "coloring parties" with Warhol's friends, a precusor the collective approach that characterized much of Warhol's career. The calligraphy is by Julia Warhola, Warhol's mother. This is among the most significant American artist books of the period, and was reproduced in facsimile by Random House in 1987. Feldman & Schellmann IV 52A-68A. C