Ex Libris records
name: label: Creator
content: Cohen, Arthur A. (Arthur Allen), 1928-1986
label: Creator
content: Cohen, Elaine Lustig, 1927-
label: Creator
content: Ex Libris (Firm)
topic: label: Topic
content: Futurism (Art)
label: Topic
content: Dadaism
label: Topic
content: Surrealism
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The records were donated in 2015 by Elaine Lustig Cohen, co-founder of Ex Libris.
creator: label: Creator
content: Cohen, Arthur A. (Arthur Allen), 1928-1986
label: Creator
content: Cohen, Elaine Lustig, 1927-
label: Creator
content: Ex Libris (Firm)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Ex Libris records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of Ex Libris measure 2.0 linear feet and date from 1973-2007. Ex Libris was a New York City based antiquarian establishment that dealt in rare 20th century avant-garde books and periodicals, and was founded by Elaine Lustig Cohen and her husband Arthur A. Cohen. The records include professional files, sales records, printed material, and photographic material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Ex Libris, a New York City based antiquarian establishment that dealt in rare 20th century avant-garde books, periodicals, and archives, operated from 1973-circa 2000, and was founded by Elaine Lustig Cohen (1927- ) and her husband Arthur A. Cohen (1928-1986). Elaine Lustig Cohen is a graphic designer, previously married to the graphic designer Alvin Lustig (1915-1955), who later married her long-time friend Arthur A. Cohen, a scholar, theologian, and author, in 1956. 

The Cohen's began collecting avant-garde books and ephemera from antiquarian bookstores and artists in Europe. Ex Libris began when the couple amassed a surplus of material and Arthur placed an ad in the New York Times that said, "send for my list of Dada, Surrealist, Avant-Garde periodicals and ephemera." The inventory of Ex Libris grew to include other movements of modernism including Bauhaus, Futurism, Cubism, De Stijl, German Expressionism, Constructivism, and Fluxus.

Ex Libris published catalogs of their inventory, designed by Elaine, which were sent to libraries and museums all over the world. The catalogs are now collector's items. Exhibitions were organized at Ex Libris that complemented their inventory, and they often loaned material to be included in exhibitions elsewhere.
function: label: Function
content: Bookstores -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1973-2007
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.exlibr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 4 series

Series 1: Professional Files, 1973-2007 (0.9 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Sales Records, 1979-1998 (0.1 linear foot; Box 1)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1973-circa 1991 (0.9 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 4: Photographic Material, circa 1980s (0.1 linear foot; Box 2)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2015.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: TThe records of Ex Libris measure 2.0 linear feet and date from 1973-2007. Ex Libris was a New York City based antiquarian establishment that dealt in rare 20th century avant-garde books and periodicals, and was founded by Elaine Lustig Cohen and her husband Arthur A. Cohen. The records include professional files, sales records, printed material, and photographic material.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Elaine Lustig Cohen papers concerning Alvin Lustig, 1982, available on microfilm reel 2802.