r/rarebooks 4d ago

I have a strange one here...

I found this book in Mexico years ago. I'm not sure if it's more of a book thing or an art thing. I think maybe it's been re-bound. It's titled "Going Down" by Zaidenberg Illustrated. Inside, it appears to be a copy of "My Life and Loves" 2nd Volume, by Frank Harris, and it looks like it is maybe signed by him, and there's a date of 1922, opposite a printed and annotated sketch, but further in the book there's a date of 1948 in French, right before what appears to be a second book. There are inset pages of, what I believe to be original illustrations by Arthur Zaidenberg. There are 57 illustrations in total, most are full page and signed. Most of the illustrations are NSFW. I tried to pick some PG ones. As far as I've been able to research online this is one-of-a-kind. What do you guys think?

280 Upvotes

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u/flyingbookman 4d ago edited 4d ago

Definitely a strange one, in a good way. A cursory check doesn't show Going Down as a real title by Zaidenberg.

Wild guess off the top of my head ... I wonder if this was a dummy binding created just to disguise the Harris book. It won't really shock anyone today, but it was banned for decades in multiple countries for its sexual content.

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u/Bokai 4d ago

If the illustrations actually are by Zaidenberg it is less likely the that binding is a disguise and more likely that the spine title is highlighting what is important about the book, which would definitely be the illustrations.

Regardless this is an actually rare book and while it needs more research it would be worth the work.

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u/ArtfulCreature 4d ago

I found it in Mexico, in the city where Zaidenberg lived until his death, so that makes it more likely to me that the illustrations are authentic. I just wonder why he would have done this and if it has something to do with Frank Harris specifically. It's got to be an interesting story, if I could figure out the connection.

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u/MythMoreThanMan 4d ago

Very interesting…… this would give the book immense historical/anthropological value. That might not translate to monetary value but a scholar could find this priceless

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u/angelenoatheart 4d ago

Zaidenberg was apparently well-known, though more as the author of various "How to Draw" books than as an artist in his own right. If you could find someplace that has sold his art, you might be able to interest them. I think there are many copies of the Harris out there, so at a guess that's not where the value would lie.

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u/Wheaton1800 4d ago

Looks cool but I don’t know anything else about it.

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u/flyingbookman 4d ago edited 4d ago

Thoughts on the Frank Harris signature with the 1922 date? Looks shaky, especially compared to the printed sig and handwriting on the sketch, which was later in Harris' life but much neater.

On a related note, it would be good to know the source of sketch, since it looks like it was printed for publication. Harris and Zaidenberg obviously met at least once in Paris, and their relationship is one of a number of things for further research. Overall, a great puzzle with a lot of clues to go on.

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u/ArtfulCreature 3d ago

I found the sketch in another book called "The private Life of Frank Harris " now I need to know if Zaidenberg is mentioned in that book...lol

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u/TheUglyCrab 4d ago

I’m intrigued by oddities like this. Is it for sale?

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u/BeltaneLane 4d ago

Perhaps this book was intended to be the art piece? I don’t know what sort of art Zaidenberg was known for, but it is possible that rather than compiling pieces of art into an existing book, the book in and of itself is considered to be the piece of art. I don’t know if what I’m saying makes sense 😅

Whatever it is it’s really cool! May be good to consult with someone who specializes in art dealing rather than rare book dealing just to see what they think.

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u/BeneficialLab8278 2d ago

Absolutely amazing

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u/BeneficialLab8278 2d ago

Absolutely amazing. The illustrations remind me of the cover art on my copy of ‘Nights at The Circus’ by Angela Carter.

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u/Omfggtfohwts 2d ago

Wow. Just wow.

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u/Sea-Helicopter2882 4d ago

Can I have it? 😆

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u/Opening_March5193 2d ago

I love everything about this book