I think Al Willis's reasoned response to this dilemma is
right on target. My sympathies are both with the art librarians of smaller
regional art museums as well as with Spanierman which has undoubtedly had to
shell out a fortune in fees for color transparencies, rights of reproduction,
and the high cost of color reproduction, and immense man-hours involved in
gathering, checking and rechecking the catalogue entries. Where University
Press publications are often subsidized, publishing a catalogue raisonne
independently is both risky and costly.
It is indeed difficult for some librarians
to obtain funds for such a publication, given their limited budget. They
are often forced to solicit patrons to contribute to the purchase, and most
librarians don't have the time, the knack, or the inclination for this sort of
thing.
I think Spanierman ought to consider
offering a special reduced price to institutions based on their budgets.
As this is done quite regularly by major art index publishers, why not for such
an important publication as the Homer? Given the high cost, I wonder how
many complimentary copies Spanierman can afford to give, or whether it would be
better for them to offer a reduced price to those institutions which have
contributed transparencies. Perhaps some librarians can get together and
write a letter to Spanierman suggesting a reduced price based on budgetary
limitations as is customary with other art reference publications.
As a bookseller, I could not affiord to
purchase these volumes for resale myself, unless I knew that I had specific
buyers, and I'm not sure what the discount policy would be if any is
available. I know that Spanierman extends a 40% discount on their
other publications (5 or more copies), but perhaps the Homer is an
exception. At any rate, their $100 per volume shipping fee (or is it $50?)
would wipe out much of the possible profit for me, thus making it difficult to
even offer a small reduction in the price to librarians, were that
allowable.
I'm sure it could be sent by library rate
for no more than $10 or $15, plus insurance, but perhaps Spanierman's $100 per
volume shipping charge might even be considered a bargain compared to charges
levied by the major New York Auction houses. One poor librarian in
Minnesota was recently shocked to receive a $375 shipping charge for a small
pamphlet that sold for less than the shipping cost.
Raymond Smith
R.W.
Smith Bookseller
New Haven
Interesting! And great food for thought.
Did anyone see on the Spanierman Gallery's website that it is
described as "sponsoring the Lloyd Goodrich, Edith Havens Goodrich and Whitney
Museum of American Art catalogue raisonné of the work of Winslow Homer"?
So maybe questions about the pricing should be directed to the
Whitney?
I also wonder whether this may be an example of what an art
book published without a "subsidy" really must cost. (The current CAA
newsletter now openly refers to subsidies as such.) Just think of how much
the reproduction fees for all the illustrations in a catalogue raisonne must
run, not to mention how many institutions probably expect a free copy of the
publication as part of the price for "contributing" to the illustrations; and
those copies can be "free" only because their cost is distributed across the
prices of all the copies actually sold.
Working outside an art library has opened my eyes to the
broader world of book prices. A five-volume set for about $4000 is not
especially shocking when I consider what is being asked for reference works in
fields like chemical engineering or nanotechnology -- works that will not have a
shelflife nearly as long as a catalogue raisonne of Homer. Assuming the Homer
work remains useful for 100 years, it would cost a library only some $40 a year
(excluding "shelf-rent") to own it. Any number of print reference works in
the sciences can cost a library well upwards of $100 a year to own (because they
are only useful for a year or two). In this perspective, _Homer_ seems
cheap at twice the price!
Of course the real comparison would be with other big
catalogues raisonnes, not with science books. What's a similar case? The
Poussin catalogue raisonne published in the 1990s? I don't recall
the price, but believe it was pretty high. The Giunti facsimiles of
Leondardo's notebooks (which amounted to catalogues raisonnes) were also very,
very expensive: whether upwards of $800 a volume, though, I can't
recall.
Is a comparison with the prices of rare art books valid?
Three- and even four-figure prices for rare, important older volumes in the art
literature are commonplace. Abebooks.com today has the 10-volume _L'Oeuvre
de Corot_ (Paris: Leonce Laget, 1905-2000), bound in 6 volumes, offered at
$11,306.81, or in sterling just over 1000 pounds per bound volume. What about
the prices being asked by Taschen for certain of its super-luxe books like
_Goat_ (with the Jeff Koons graphics) -- offered by Barnes & Noble (in the
cheaper version!) at the special discounted (10%) "member price" of $2700 for
one volume? Are such prices exorbitant, reasonable, or
normal?
There is a sociological angle here, one illuminated somewhat
by the elegant images on the Spanierman Gallery's website. See http://spanierman.com/ . Art in our society
is (like it or not) the province of an elite, who buy and sell and enjoy it in
rarefied atmospheres in places with ritzy addresses like Park Avenue or East
Hampton. Art's literature similarly belongs primarily to that elite, and
hence also do most art libraries, who draw their patronage primarily from social
elites. High pricing of art books is one of the mechanisms by which society
maintains the elite status of art and the art scholarship that (among other
things) underpins the prices at which art-works are retailed. The prospect of
inexpensive catalogues raisonnes, available to every academic or public library
-- or even interested individuals, entails the prospect of a democratized art
world. The art world as we know it could hardly be expected to greet such
a prospect with enthusiasm. (The astonishingly vulgar "Antiques Roadshow"
gives some clue as to the ensuing horror!) Four thousand dollars, in that
perspective, seem a small price (a "participation aux frais," so to speak) to
contribute to the maintenance of a status quo that is working quite well for all
the art world's key players. (Shades of Bourdieu?) Veblen is also
relevant. By paying such a price , a given library engages in the
"conspicuous consumption" that only the elite can afford, and thereby confirms
its place amongst elite establishments. Just as surely, a library that
finds it cannot pay such a price, by (forcibly) foregoing the purchase of the
Homer catalogue raisonne, for example, reinforces its own lower status.
All libraries, after all, are not created equal. As if to prove it, they
all behave unequally (e.g., spend more or less than their counterparts on
acquisitions); and they all agree that such unequal behavior is both normal and
expected.
No art library is, however, strictly speaking "poor."
(Poor libraries simply do not collect art books.) If some feel poor, it is
because "feeling poor" is a symptom of wealth. Complaining about high
prices is itself a mark of elitism. Only those who can afford to (and do)
pay high prices to acquire certain things, are in a position to complain about
the prices paid; and their complaint is always in terms of a breach of
thrift. The relationship of thrift to accumulation under capitalism was, I
think, first articulated by Adam Smith. To have, we must get (by purchase); and
to experience the pleasures of getting, we must suffer a sacrifice of the
pleasures of having (the money that makes purchasing possible). It is that
contradiction that gives rise to our guilt in spending, and the pangs of always
wondering whether we have paid too much on Ebay! ;-) In his _Autobiography from
A to B_, Andy Warhol wrote deliciously of the pleasurable sensation of poverty
that comes with profligate spending. Being a modernist, Warhol saw clearly
that having "emptied pockets" is a far cry from having "empty ones." Only
the rich may empty their pockets; only in movies can the poor cast gems into the
open sea.
If we are rich in collections, it is because we have emptied
purses that were far from empty to begin with.
Al Willis
-----Original Message-----
From: ART LIBRARIES SOCIETY
DISCUSSION LIST [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Amanda Bowen
Sent:
Friday, July 29, 2005 1:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]Subject: [ARLIS-L] Griping
about the price of "Record of works by Winslow Homer"
Dear colleagues:
I was horrified to learn that this new
publication is being offered at the price of $875 per volume for a five volume
set, two of which have been published so far. This price puts it beyond
the reach of many art institutions and a true shame for Homer scholars and fans
everywhere!
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 244 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Try SPAMfighter for free now!
__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
http://www.arlisna.org/join.html
Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
to [log in to unmask]
ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
Questions may be addressed to list owner (Kerri Scannell) at: [log in to unmask]