Andy Warhol’s Index (Book), First Edition, Holographic Hardcover

Andy Warhol’s Index (Book)

First Edition Hardcover with Holographic Montage, 1967

Exceptional Condition with All 10 Multiples

This is an exceptionally fine copy of the first edition of Andy Warhol’s classic artist book “Index” published by the Random House, NY in 1967.  One of the great Pop Art publications of the sixties, "Index Book" is a visual tour-de-force of the glamorously seedy den that was Andy Warhol's Factory before Valerie Solanis changed things forever on June 3rd, 1968. Designed as a children's book for hipsters, “Index” is an important Warhol document and an absolutely iconic publication of the psychedelic era in New York. The photographs are by Billy Name and other Warhol co-conspirators with the assistance of Stephen Shore, Paul Morrissey, Ondine, and Nico. From Vince Aletti in The Book of 101 Books: "One of the earliest and most thoroughly documented [books] of the Factory's crews is memorialized in [this book], the artist's first publication to use photography and text after an earlier series of privately printed illustrated books. A disjointed and playful pastiche, Index (Book) has the impromptu feel of a project thrown together as a lark. Most of its pages are filed with high-contrast, snapshot-style black-and-white photographs taken by Billy Name. As if to puncture this glam bubble, Index (Book) is also filled with an ingratiating array of gimmicks. Among them: a pop-up illustration of a castle under attack (with photos of Warhol & Co. collaged into its windows), a red pleated accordion tucked into a gatefold, another gatefold with Andy's nose in profile sliced into a series of colored flaps, a balloon, a Velvets record, a Chelsea Girls ad on a spring, and a Hunt's tomato paste can that pops up between two head shots of International Velvet."

Measuring approximately 11” x 8.5”, the book is bound in the original publisher's cloth-backed white printed boards with the front board featuring a silver paste down holographic montage. All 10 multiples are present and are as follows: pop-up castle, fold-out accordion (dosen’t squeak), pop-up airplane, Chelsea Girls disc, a paper sculpture attached to the book with string, Lou Reed record, a fold-out sheet with nose and overlays, a pop-up Hunt's Tomato Paste can, a tear-out warm water sheet, and the infamous balloon that is stuck between two pages like every other copy of this book. Fortunately, the balloon was removed and placed between the last free endpaper and the inside back cover and has deteriorated but not left the usual staining that is normally experienced.

I have classified the condition as FINE-. Overall, this is an exceptional copy of a notoriously fragile book that is prone to condition issues. I have handled numerous copies of this title and this is by far the nicest copy I have come across.

Cited in “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Roth and Martin Parr and Gerry Badger's "The Photobook: A History Volume II".

Photographs of the front and back of the book as well as some of the multiples/objects contained in the book appear below. Please note that although the photographs appear digitized as thumbnails, they are viewable in the photo viewer by clicking your mouse on the thumbnail.