The Joke's Over Signed by Ralph Steadman

The Joke's Over (2006) is Ralph Steadman's tribute to the writer Hunter S. Thompson, his friend who committed suicide in 2005. Thompson, the founder of gonzo journalism, leads his illustrator friend through a series of ill-advised adventures often involving drugs, alcohol, and guns. Steadman eventually finds a more sustainable path for himself, continuing to illustrate Thompson's American pieces from his studio in England. Steadman's memoir is surprisingly articulate, and the book is ultimately a funny and moving recollection of an engaging if pathologically unstable character.

Ralph Steadman, The Joke's Over, 2006

Inscribed "For Stephen Parr/Ralph Steadman 2006" with a drawing of a cartoon face

Note:  An event in the 2006 publicity tour for The Joke's Over seems to be where Mr. Steadman personalized each of the books for Stephen Parr that have been shown on the blog these past two weeks. Attempted Bloggery welcomes photos or scans of other signed Steadman books, particularly those with original drawings or sketches.

"A Retrospective:  Ralph Steadman" is now on view at the Society of Illustrators in New York through October 22. It's no joke.

Attempted Bloggery's quick links:

Ralph Steadman

Hunter S. Thompson

Books Signed to Stephen Parr by Ralph Steadman

All Signed Books with Original Drawings

Attempted Bloggery's unstable index

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Bookplate Signed by Roz Chast

Authors can't always make it to far-flung bookshops for signings. To help meet demand in this situation, many popular writers resort to the bookplate. The author signs a number of bookplates and has them sent off to wherever the books are to be sold. The idea is that a bookstore employee affixes a bookplate with an original autograph to each book.

There's something impersonal about this practice. The author's signature ends up in the book without the author ever actually handling the book. Books are objects of beauty and weight, a pleasure to hold. Slips of paper are not really an equivalent. Still, for a book lover, it's better to have a treasured book with a signature in it than to have one without.

Roz Chast, Theories of Everything, 2006

Roz Chast signed Bloomsbury bookplate

Add cahttp://www.ebay.com/itm/THEORIES-OF-EVERYTHING-BY-ROZ-CHAST-2006-SIGNED-1ST-EDI-/200399701842?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item2ea8c0c752ption

Note:  A variety of signed books can be seen here. More of my posts about bookplatee Roz Chast are available here.

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Monkey Train Skate Decks by Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons designed a set of three Monkey Train skate decks which, like the skate deck sets of Damien Hirst here and Takashi Murakami here, are published in a limited edition of unknown size. Koons, like Murakami, has chosen cartoon figures for this project. I don't find them especially appealing, but then I'm not the target audience.

This concludes my foray over three blog posts into the realm of limited-edition skate decks designed by major artists or, perhaps more accurately, by members of their workshops. In the interest of safety, I must ask all readers to don the proper knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, shin guards, and helmets before riding any of the artwork.

Jeff Koons

Untitled (Monkey Train Skate Decks)

Jeff Koons

Untitled (Monkey Train Skate Deck)

Jeff Koons (B. 1955) 

Untitled (Monkey Train Skate Decks)

three skateboards with screenprinting in colour, 2006, 'Monkey Train, JK' printed on the base, from an edition of unknown size, each in the original plastic wrappers, in very good condition

790 x 187 mm. (each) (3)

Price Realized 

£2,500
• ($4,380)
• Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.

Estimate

£1,500 - £2,000
• ($2,646 - $3,528)

Sale Information

Sale 5440 Lot 195

Post-War & Contemporary Editions 

11 September 2008 

London, South Kensington

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/prints-multiples/jeff-koons-untitled-5111186-details.aspx?from=searchresults&pos=5&intObjectID=5111186&sid=dfe99bb1-12b1-40ef-9801-b96aa35c5ddb&page=1

April 20, 2012 Update:  Here's a more recent auction of a similar set of skate decks by Jeff Koons from the same edition:

Jeff Koons (American, b. 1955) 

Monkey Train Skate Decks

printed with signature and inscription 'Monkey Train/JK' (on base on each deck)

three skateboards with screenprinting in colour 
31 x 7¾ in. (78.8 x 19.8 cm.) 
This work was executed in 2006. (3)

Price Realized

£4,000
• ($6,364)
• Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.

Estimate

£1,500 - £2,500
• ($2,375 - $3,958)

Sale Information

Sale 4606 Lot 688
Christie's Interiors 
29 February 2012 

London, South Kensington 

This auction listing added April 20, 2012

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/prints-multiples/jeff-koons-monkey-train-skate-decks-5535314-details.aspx?from=searchresults&pos=4&intObjectID=5535314&sid=dfe99bb1-12b1-40ef-9801-b96aa35c5ddb

Note:  There are no posts here yet on the artwork of Jeff Koons, but I did mention him a couple of times, and I even reproduced an image of his Large Vase of Flowers here.

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