Andy Warhol. Seven Illustrated Books 1952–1959

Andy Warhol’s 1950s hand-drawn books, created during his pre-fame years, are much-coveted jewels in the Pop art master’s crown. This XL volume contains meticulous reprints of all seven books. Completed with introductions contextualizing his life alongside his unique creations, this edition offers an unparalleled glimpse of Warhol’s budding genius.

A unique reissue of Warhol’s classic 1950s illustrated books

In 1950s New York, before he became one of the most famous names of the 20th century, Andy Warhol was already a skilled and successful commercial artist. During this time, as part of his strategy to woo clients and forge friendships, he created seven handmade artist’s books, reserved to his most valued contacts. These featured personal, unique drawings and quirky texts revealing his fondness for—among other subjects—cats, food, myths, shoes, beautiful boys, and gorgeous girls.

Decades later, with originals now changing hands for thousands of dollars at auction, TASCHEN presents an XL-sized volume containing meticulous reprints of these seven books. With titles such as Love Is a Pink Cake, 25 Cats Named Sam, and À la Recherche du Shoe Perdu, the series reveals the artist’s off-the-wall character as well as his accomplished draftsmanship, boundless creativity, and innuendo-laced humor.

This book makes delightful play with styles and genres, including A Is for Alphabet, which devotes a page to each letter of the alphabet, with illustrations complemented by stumbling three-line verses that tell of strange encounters between man and animal. In the Bottom of My Garden is at once a Warhol twist on a children’s book and a covert celebration of gay love. Wild Raspberries, meanwhile, is a spoof cookbook with a cornucopia of adventurous recipes and illustrations.

This volume also includes introductions for each of Warhol’s illustrations. Complete with rarely seen photographs of the artist, inspirational ephemera, and commercial assignments, they contextualize Warhol’s 1950s art, offering a glimpse into his early creative process as well as his endearing, playful character.

Little-known, much-coveted jewels in the Warhol crown, these hand-drawn delights are as appealing and original today as they were back in the halcyon days of the 1950s and offer a unique glimpse at a budding genius on the cusp of global fame.

© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

The author

Nina Schleif is a German art historian, Americanist, and curator. In 2013, she initiated and curated the first exhibition anywhere on Andy Warhol’s oeuvre in books at Museum Brandhorst in Munich. She also edited and coauthored the exhibition catalog Reading Andy Warhol. Backed by a recent Smithsonian fellowship, she has written a monograph on Warhol’s 1950s drawings that will be published in 2017.

The editor

Reuel Golden is the former editor of the British Journal of Photography and the Photography editor at TASCHEN. His TASCHEN titles include: Mick Rock: The Rise of David Bowie, both London and New York Portrait of a City books, The Rolling Stones, Her Majesty, Football in the 1970s, the National Geographic editions, the David Bailey SUMO and Andy Warhol. Polaroids.

Andy Warhol. Seven Illustrated Books 1952–1959Hardcover, 25 x 34 cm, 2.06 kg, 288 pages

ISBN 978-3-8365-9258-1

Edition: English, French, German