"Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972" & "The New Novel from Queneau to Pinget"

Two new and exciting books have been accessioned into the Robert Smithson Personal Library this week: Lucy Lippard's Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972 and Vivian Mercier's The New Novel from Queneau to Pinget.

Lippard's riveting book actually has a much longer title:

Six Years: The dematerialization of the art object from 1966 to 1972: a cross-reference book of information on some esthetic boundaries: consisting of a bibliography into which are inserted a fragmented text, art works, documents, interviews, and symposia, arranged chronologically and focused on so-called conceptual or information or idea art with mentions of such vaguely designated areas as minimal, anti-form, systems, earth, or process art, occurring now in the Americas, Europe, England, Australia, and Asia (with occasional political overtones), edited and annotated by Lucy R. Lippard.

Not to be outdone, the sub-title (of sorts) of Mercier's book is as follows:

A brilliant critical examination of the works of the leading creators of le nouveau roman: Raymond Queneau, Nathalie Sarraute, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Michel Butor, Claude Simon, Claude Mauriac, and Robert Pinget

From Leopardi to Mallarme

New books to the Robert Smithson Personal Library Collection include Leopardi: Poems and Prose, Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities, Mallarme, and T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land: Facsimile and Transcript.

Please contact the Library if you want to join or check out a book at personallibraries{at}gmail{dot}com.

"Endgame", "The I Ching" & Other New Acquisitions for Smithson Collection

New members and a trip to a Ventura, California used bookstore has led to the acquisition of new books from the Robert Smithson Personal Library. They include Jorge Luis Borges' Other Inquisitions 1937-1952, Samuel Beckett's Endgame (including Act Without Words: A Mime For One Player, which reads like a Yoko Ono Instruction Piece) and The I Ching, translated by Wilhelm & Baynes with a foreword by C. G. Jung.


Also acquired is the interesting Man's Discovery of His Past: Literary Landmarks in Archaeology, edited by Robert F. Heizer (seen above) and Alice Ford's Audubon's Butterflies, Moths, and Other Studies.


Ford's book on Audubon is a beautifully letterpressed book that gives a history of Audubon and his field sketches. It also contains many plates of Audubon's images, including many insects and beetles that are an important part of his work; yet are generally overlooked.


Lastly, a small volume of The Megalith Builders of Europe by Glyn Daniel rounds out the newest bunch of books accessioned by the PLL. Daniel's book discusses the Pre-Historic megalithic tombs and temples of Europe, detailing their builders, structure, use and prevalence. One can see how these graves and hunebeds of piled stone would interest Smithson, as well as their entropic changes throughout time.


Please contact the Library at personallibraries{at}gmail{dot}com to join & check out books!

Reading Room & New Acquisitions: March 2010

The PLL has acquired four new books for the Robert Smithson Personal Library Collection. Pictured above, they include: Mircea Eliade's Cosmos and History, Harry Levin's James Joyce, Making Friends with the Stars by Arthur J. Zadde and Frank Edwards' Flying Saucers- Serious Business. And so you know just how serious the business is, exclamations abound on the cover:


The Personal Libraries Library Reading Room was open for the first time today (March 7), an exciting moment here at the Library.


The Reading Room Hours allowed for members to browse the books, talk with the Librarian and other members, and discuss the possibilities for the next collection. Reading Room Hours will occur monthly, stay tuned for April's Hours!

Printed Matter from the Personal Libraries Library Press

The Personal Libraries Library Press has completed a large round of printed matter that has been dispersed to its current members. Pictured above is the extent of the goodies, all of which were included in the Catalogue Member packets: the wishlist, Maria Mitchell poster, Mitchell letterpressed print & card.


The Pocket Wishlist includes books in both Maria Mitchell and Robert Smithson's personal libraries that are coveted at the Library. The Wishlist can fit in wallets & pockets, it unfolds to reveal the wanted books. The Library hopes you will refer to it when in your favorite used book store!



A limited-edition set of letterpress prints were made that help elucidate (or vice versa) the Maria Mitchell poster/legend. One print out of the set of 9 was placed in its own folder for Catalogue Members. One of the prints can be seen below:



And finally, the letterpress card displays a section of the poster, describing the links between Frances Power Cobbe, her intriguingly titled book, Maria Mitchell, a bust of Mary Somerville and the Vassar College Historian.