200 - [KAHNWEILER (Daniel-Henry)].

[KAHNWEILER (Daniel-Henry)]. Henry Kahnweiler Collection. Paris, 1921–1923. — 2 in-4 catalogs, stapled. Set of two of the four catalogs from the famous collection of German gallery owner Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. In 1907, Kahnweiler opened a gallery in Paris and became the leading dealer in Cubism, with a considerable collection and exclusive contracts. In 1914, the war caught him off guard: having taken refuge in Switzerland, he was unable to return to France; his assets were placed under sequestration, then confiscated and nationalized in 1920—he was labeled a “dangerous enemy of France.” But after the war, with the state’s coffers empty, the government decided to sell the entire collection at auction: approximately 1,400 works were sold between 1921 and 1923, undervalued by Léonce Rosenberg, Kahnweiler’s rival gallery owner, who took advantage of the situation to acquire numerous works. The catalogs presented here pertain to the sale of June 13 and 14, 1921 (Modern Paintings, Sculptures, and Ceramics. African Art. Deluxe Edition Books) and the fourth and final sale on May 7 and 8, 1923 (Paintings, Watercolors, Gouaches, Drawings & Prints). They feature works by the greatest painters—Braque, Picasso, Léger, Gris, Van Dongen, Vlaminck, etc. Each is illustrated with black-and-white reproductions. The copy from the last sale has some of the hammer prices written in the margins, along with occasional annotations, particularly in the section devoted to prints. The copies are in good condition despite some soiling on the covers; the 1923 catalog has a vertical crease down the center.