138 - KUTSCHER (Gerdt)

KUTSCHER (Gerdt) Exotic Masks. Stuttgart, “Die Schönen Bücher” Publishing House, Dr. Wolf Strache, 1953. In-4, paperback, with an illustrated, full-color dust jacket. 64 pp. First edition, published in the Die Schönen Bücher series, Series B, Art, Volume 5. A book devoted to traditional masks from Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, illustrated with 47 reproductions, including 22 from Africa, 8 from the Americas, and 17 from Oceania and New Guinea. Captions are provided in German, English, and French. An interesting collection of early photographic documentation on primitive arts, featuring, in particular, masks from Cameroon and the Makonde people of East Africa. The book retains its documentary value: some of the reproduced pieces are still cited as references in specialized catalogs of tribal art. Condition: a good copy. The illustrated cover is intact, with small tears and a few marginal losses, particularly at the top and in the corners; slight rubbing. Interior is clean.