Rare Books

Artists’ books occupy a liminal space between artwork and books. The Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT) describes artists’ books as “books that are produced by artists and intended as visual art objects.” John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors defines an “artist’s book” as “a book in whose form the pictorial contribution of an artist predominates over the text.” Artists' books emerged in the twentieth century and continue to be produced today. 

TTU Rare Books has approximately 400 artists' books with notable works by Julie Chen, Deb Rindl, Esther K Smith, Sarah S. Harvey, and the Purgatory Pie Press. This teaching collection is also an excellent resource for book artists to study book construction and design techniques. You can find artists' books in the TTU Libraries Online Catalog by searching the key phrase "artists' books," or you can browse the collection visually using the link below:

History and Theory

Periodicals

Resources Related to Design and Production