Johnson, Ray. A
Book About Death. Page 3: 8AbABY, September 10, 1963. New York: Ray Johnson, 1963.
Single leaf printed in black,
lightly toned. Near fine.
First edition. A page from Ray Johnson's legendary A Book about Death, which was issued in
single pages over the course of three years, from 1963-1965, and (usually)
mailed to a friend. Page 3 depicts an unbuckled watchband placed across one
shear of a pair of scissors, a negative rendering of a 'Nancy' comic strip, and
the inscrutable text 8AbABY (apparently a complex wordplay based on the
Ukrainian word for "dance," which frequently appeared on posters in
the Lower East Side neighborhood where Johnson lived in 1963).
Johnson, Ray. A
Book About Death. Page 9: "Cara Men Mara Nda," July 8 1964. New York: Ray Johnson, 1964.
Single leaf printed in black,
thrice folded. Fine.
First edition. Page nine from A
Book about Death, is dated July 8, 1964; it depicts a man holding
binoculars, a Carmen Miranda-type, and (again) some intriguing, though ultimately
inscrutable, wordplay…
sold
