David Stone Martin - Jazz Graphics 1991

I went into a minor rant yesterday about the 'average price' heresy (see Bennion/ Medical Instruments below). The thrust of it is that buyers do not choose to buy a book with the average price , they buy at the lowest price, all things being equal. There are, of course, exceptions. Firstly when (esp on Amazon or Ebay) the lowest price dealer has low feedback and is thus a possible bilker or scuzz ball. Secondly when the lowest price is with someone 1000s of miles of ocean away, with consequent slowness of delivery and high postage. Thirdly when the seller is well known and highly esteemed; you don't want to pay alot extra for this but it is reassuring-- the book will be as described and can be returned without fuss if it isn't. If the book is expensive the dealer may look upon you with favour in some future transaction or even quote you a book or send a catalogue. The book will also arrive well packed and protected against the vagaries of air travel etc.,

Manek Daver. DAVID STONE MARTIN. JAZZ GRAPHICS. Graphic-sha Publishing Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, 1991 ISBN 4766105745

Current Selling Prices
$400-$600 /£190-£320 Want level 25-50 Highish



JAZZ/ DESIGN
Manek Daver has brought together around 150 of David Stone Martin's jazz record covers, as well as around 65 of DSM's portraits of individual jazz musicians in this attractive book. The text is in both English and Japanese. Small art book size (12 by 9 inches) Soft cover with a jacket. Martin's work is instantly recognisable if you ever looked through collections of ol LP's. It is also recognisable from 50s and 60s paperback covers. He drew more than 400 album covers and created covers for Time Magazine. His work is in the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian. He illustrated books, posters, billboards and advertisements for film, television and theatre, and created cover art for Asch, Clef, and Jazz at the Philharmonic labels of the 40's and 50's. Nice!

VALUE? In the summer a copy turned up at $300 and sold fairly quickly. A silly billy (possibly a relister) had one at £1200 which appears to now languish at half.com - a site that you never hear people talking about and may, like zshops, only enjoy a sort of half-life. A difficult and desirable book - hard to buy at less than $450.