Henry Darger in the Realms of the Unreal, First Edition (6 results)

Pictorial paper on boards. Condition: About fine. 1st edition. Thick, oblong 4to. 720pp. Copiously illustrated in color. Clean, unmarked and square.Â.

Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Oblong Octavo, 720 pages. In Very Good minus condition. Black spine with yellow, white, and orange lettering. Text block sunken, binding visible between second and third free endpaper, leaves remain attached. Mild age-toning to textblock and margins of interior pages, text remains clear and legible; interior replete with graphics of Darger's works. JP consignment. Shelved Case 11. 1394569. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 4to. Delano Greenridge Editions, New York. 2002. 720 pgs. Illustrated with Color / Black and White Plates. First Edition/First Printing. 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. Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal is a generously illustrated book that represents the culmination of more than a decade of research into the enigmatic artist's life and work by world renowned outsider art expert John MacGregor. The long awaited monograph is MacGregor's first English-language publication on Henry Darger and the most comprehensive critical investigation of Darger's writings and illustrations available in any language. Henry Darger was born in Chicago in 1892. Shortly before his death in 1973, his landlord, Chicago artist Nathan Lerner, made a startling discovery in his tenant's room: the history of another world in fifteen volumes, In the Realms of the Unreal'at 15,145 type-written pages, possibly the longest work of fiction ever written. In startlingly vivid detail, Darger's Realms recounted the role of seven sisters, known as the Vivian Girls, in a violent conflict over child enslavement on an unnamed planet. Amidst the refuse, Lerner also found three huge bound volumes of brightly colored illustrations for the work, many painted on both sides and some over twelve feet in length. In the decades since his death, Darger's alternate universe has attracted the intense interest of collectors, critics, and scholars around the world. His illustrations and writings have been the subject of major museum exhibitions in Europe and North America. EB; 1.98 x 12 x 9.34 Inches; 720 pages; Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal is a generously illustrated book that represents the culmination of more than a decade of research into the enigmatic artist's life and work by world renowned outsider art expert John MacGregor. The long awaited monograph is MacGregor's first English-language publication on Henry Darger and the most comprehensive critical investigation of Darger's writings and illustrations available in any language.

Hardcover. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. First Edition. Pictorial cover with sewn binding; minor; No marks or writing, clean; very heavy book will require extra postage;; 720 pages Very Good bump on spine edge, hinges and binding strong tight binding.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. First Edition. Voluminous study of the life & work of Chicago artist Henry Darger. Foreword by Nathan Lerner. Numerous full-colour and b&w illustrations and photographs throughout. Many double-page spreads. With two large foldout plates, as issued. Includes appendices, comprehensive chapter notes, selected bibliography, plus index. First Edition, with copyright page showing: "2002 This first hardbound edition" & no later printing dates. Large thick oblong tome. "Henry Joseph Darger, Jr. (1892-1973) was a reclusive American writer & artist who worked as a hospital custodian in Chicago, Illinois. He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings & watercolor paintings illustrating the story. The visual subject matter of his work ranges from idyllic scenes in Edwardian interiors & tranquil flowered landscapes populated by children & fantastic creatures, to scenes of horrific terror & carnage depicting young children being tortured & massacred. Much of his artwork is mixed media with collage elements. Darger's artwork has become one of the most celebrated examples of outsider art." From the introduction: "On a snowy day in November 1972, a poor, badly crippled old man left his room on the third floor of a rooming house in Chicago for the last time. His name was Henry Darger. He had lived in the room for forty years. It was filthy, crammed with his possessions, mostly things found in the garbage. Henry never threw anything out. The room was filled, almost solid, with junk. Henry was now eighty years old & far too feeble to carry anything down the stairs. So he left everything behind. He had no need of his possessions anyway: he was going to an old folks home to die. When Darger's landlord, Nathan Lerner (an American artist of very considerable reputation), assisted by a young student, David Berglund, began to clean out Henry's room they found some surprises: an eight-volume autobiography, consisting of 5,084 handwritten pages, & entitled The History of My Life, which Henry had begun writing in 1963 after retiring. Then, when the old trunks were opened, they made a far more spectacular discovery: a history of another world called In the Realms of the Unreal, in fifteen volumes, 15,145 typewritten pages, unquestionably the longest work of fiction ever written. In time the room also yielded the three huge bound volumes of illustrations for that work, several hundred pictures, many over 12 feet long and painted on both sides. By accident, the landlord had stumbled upon a concealed & secret life work which no one had ever seen: Darger's alternate world. As far as we know, and the question has been investigated in detail, Henry Darger never showed his pictures or his writings to anyone. He never sought to exhibit the paintings, never tried to publish the writings. Although he worked on In the Realms of the Unreal & its sequels, from 1911 when he was nineteen years old, until 1971 when he was seventy-nine, writing & painting constantly night after night for sixty years, he hid the product of his creative activity in his room & never told anyone about it". Printed in China. Bound in publisher's original colour pictorial boards, photographic endpapers. No dustjacket issued. A FINE very nice clean tight solid hardcover copy. 720pp. Very heavy large volume (over 3.5kg), extra shipping may be required for destinations outside Australia. Scarce book, in fine collectable condition. RARE.

Condition: Very good plus. First edition. Scarce exhibition catalogue from the groundbreaking first show of Darger's previously unknown works. Catalogue of the first major exhibition of Darger's works on paper, held just three years after the artist's death and the discovery of his monumental STORY OF THE VIVIAN GIRLS, IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL. With a personal reminiscence by Darger's landlord, Nathan Lerner, a lengthy critical essay by C.L. Morrison, and early reproductions of Darger's manuscripts and drawings. A scarce and fragile item from a defining event in outsider art. 8.5'' x 11''. Original oblong saddle-stapled newsprint wrappers. Illustrated in black and white throughout. Slight rippling and light edgewear to wrappers. Toning and faint creasing; small tear to lower edge of final page.