Contemporary Art with Wood: Creative Techniques and Appreciation Dona Z. Meilach, Crown Publishers Inc, New York, 1968. 214 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket. Absolute gem, mostly focused on sculpture, with photographs of JB Blunk, Bob Stocksdale, Robert Whitley and others.—JZ Ex-library copy, with the usual markings. Otherwise in very good condition.
What Wood is That? A Manual of Wood Identification Herbert L. Edlin, Viking Penguin Inc., New York, 1969. 160 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket. Swiss binding, with inset accordion foldout containing 40 actual wood samples.
Woodenworks: Furniture Objects by Five Contemporary Craftsmen, Minnesota Museum of Fine Art and Smithsonian National Collection of Fine Arts, R, 1972. 48 pages, Softcover. Rare. First and only edition (2,900 copies). Signed by Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle. Provenance: Reform Gallery, Los Angeles. Acquired at Palm Springs Modernism, 2008, where Sam Maloof signed and dated the catalogue for me in Gerard O’Brien’s booth. Signed and dated by Wendell Castle later the same year at Barry Friedman Gallery, New York. One of my most prized volumes.—JZ
Fine Woodworking Biennial Design Book Tage Frid et al., The Taunton Press, Newtown, CT, 1977. 175 pages, Softcover. “This is a book of 600 photographs of 500 designs by 440 woodworkers, the pick of 8,000 photographs sent to Fine Woodworking by about 1,200 designer-craftsmen from all over North America.” A fascinating survey of one year in the history of American studio furniture. You’ll likely recognize 20 of these woodworkers, including Michael Coffey and Wendy Maruyama.—JZ
New Handmade Furniture: American Furniture Makers Working in Hardwood Paul J. Smith, American Craft Museum, 1979. Softcover. First and only edition; rare. The inaugural exhibition at the new West 53rd Street home of the former Museum of Contemporary Crafts, featuring Edgar and Joyce Anderson, Wendell Castle, Michael Coffey, Judy Kensley McKie, Lee Rohde, Daniel Loomis Valenza and many others.—JZ
Contemporary American Woodworkers Michael A. Stone, Gibbs M. Smith Inc, Salt Lake City, 1986. 165 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket. Ex-library copy, with the usual markings. Otherwise in very good condition, with sunning to the spine.
The Maker’s Hand: American Studio Furniture, 1940-1990 Edward S. Cooke, Jr. et al., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2003. 168 pages, Softcover. First edition. Signed and inscribed to James Zemaitis by Wendy Maruyama over an illustration of her “Mickey Mackintosh” chair. The definitive history of the movement.—JZ
Studio Furniture of the Renwick Gallery Oscar P. Fitzgerald, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Fox Chapel Publishing, East Petersburg, PA, 2008. 224 pages, Softcover.
Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design Lowery Sims, Museum of Arts and Design and The Monacelli Press, New York, 2012. 224 pages, Hardcover. First edition. Exhibition catalogue.
Made in Massachusetts: Studio Furniture of the Bay State Jeffrey Brown and Pat Warner, Fuller Craft Museum, 2013. 104 pages, Softcover. First edition.
At the intersection of scholarship and connoisseurship lies Curated: The Design and Library of James Zemaitis—an offering that reflects a career spent exploring, documenting, and shaping the discourse around modern and contemporary design. This carefully assembled selection includes both a compelling group of design works and a rich library of publications that have guided and inspired James Zemaitis throughout his decades in the field.
As Director of Museum Relations at R & Company since 2016, James has played a central role in developing exhibitions and fostering institutional partnerships. His recent curatorial projects, including Born Too Tall: California Women Designers, Postwar to Postmodern, demonstrate a thoughtful and inclusive approach to design history. Prior to his time at R & Company, James held leadership positions at Sotheby’s and Phillips, producing over fifty design sales and helping shape the trajectory of the postwar and contemporary design market.
This collection reflects James’s deep engagement with the material and intellectual history of design. The included library—rich with foundational texts, rare catalogues, and scholarly references—provides a rare window into the ideas and research that have underpinned his work as a curator, advisor, and educator.
This auction brings together design and scholarship in a way that reflects a lifetime of passion and purpose. We are honored to invite collectors, curators, and enthusiasts alike to discover a collection shaped by insight, research, and enduring care.
