Warja Honegger-Lavater - Early Work in Artists' Books

Early Work in Artists' Books

Lavater's 1962 publication of William Tell was published in the same year as Edward Ruscha's book Twentysix Gasoline Stations which was published in 1962, though in later editions the copyright is listed at 1963. Ruscha's book has been cited by some as the first modern artist's book, though there were actually several other artists working with the book form at the same time. This claim can now be contested noting that Lavater's work, as well as that of another Swiss-German artist, Dieter Roth, preceded Ruscha.

Starting in 1963, the Paris based publisher Adrien Maeght began publication of a series of her folding books broadly entitled Imageries. These books consist of classic fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen. These were also done as accordion folded books with stories told using symbols rather than written language.