Ars Libri

Ars Libri specializes in offering for sale and placing the private research libraries of leading scholars in the fields of art history, archaeology, architecture and design: each collection is offered for sale en bloc. We work with museums, universities and private collectors worldwide.


Available Collections

Islamic Art & Architecture
The Library of Professor Sheila Blair and Professor Jonathan M. Bloom, joint holders of the Norma Jean Calderwood University Chair of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College, 2000-2018; and joint holders of the Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, 2006-2022

3,684 titles in circa 4,435 volumes


The Library of Professor Dr. Baber Johansen
Professor of Islamic Religious Studies and Research Professor of Islamic Studies, Harvard Divinity School; Acting Director of the Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School (2006-2010); Director of The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University (2010-2013); Faculty Associate and Executive Committee Member of The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. Professor for Islamic Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin (1972-1995); Directeur d'études at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Centre d'étude des normes juridiques), Paris (1995-2005)

1,505 titles in circa 1,800 volumes


Islamic Civilization: The Library of Professor Roy P. Mottahedeh
Gurney Professor of History, Emeritus, Harvard University; Director of The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University from 1987-1990; Inaugural Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University, 2005-2011

Cataloging in progress: Currently 6,177 titles in circa 7,700 volumes


African Linguistics: The Library of Prof. em. Dr. Herrmann Jungraithmayr, Institut für Afrikanistik, Goethe Universität

1,794 titles in 2,380 volumes


Ancient Egypt & Nubia: The Library of Professor Geoffrey Thorndike Martin
Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology Emeritus, University College, London; Fellow-Commoner of Christ's College, University of Cambridge; Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge; Field Director of the Cambridge Expedition to the Valley of the Kings: The Royal Theban Tomb of Horemheb

5,137 titles in 7,408 volumes
Together with circa 4,000 uncatalogued offprints


Egyptology: The Library of Professor William Kelly Simpson
Professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern Language, Civilization and Literature, Yale University. Curator of Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Lecturer in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Institute of Advanced Studies, Princeton

3,106 titles in over 5,600 volumes


Egyptology: The Library of Prof. Dr. Gerhard Fecht, Freie Universität Berlin

1,677 titles in over 2,430 volumes


The Ancient World. The Library of Professor David Gordon Mitten. James Loeb Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology, Harvard University, George M. A. Hanfmann Curator of Ancient Art, Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, Associate director Harvard-Cornell Sardis Expedition

2,774 titles in circa 2,915 volumes


The Library of Professor Dr. Hans von Steuben(University of Frankfurt) with Additions from the Library of Michael Petropoulos (Galerie Rhéa, Zürich): Greece and the Ancient Mediterranean

1,704 titles in over 1,880 volumes


Maya and Mesoamerican Art & Archaeology: From Pre-Columbian to Post-Conquest. With a section of international cultural property, museums, and the international trade in antiquities. The Library of Prof. Clemency Chase Coggins, Professor Emerita of Archaeology and Art History, Boston University; Associate of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University

3,443 titles in over 4,130 volumes


The Art of Greece, Rome and the Ancient Near East, The Library of Dr. Jerome M. Eisenberg, Founder-Director of Royal-Athena Galleries, New York-London

3,324 titles in circa 3,520 volumes


The Reference Library of Louise Mackie, Textiles, Costume & Fashion with Important Groups of Books on Central Asian, Indian & Islamic Textile Traditions

1,289 titles in over 1,465 volumes


Textile Traditions, Mostly of South- and South-East Asia: The Library of Dr. Mattiebelle Gittinger, Curator, The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.

738 titles in circa 825 volumes


Textile & Fashion Arts: The Pamela A. Parmal Library, Emerita Chair and David and Roberta Logie Curator of Textile and Fashion Arts, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

517 titles in 546 volumes


The Libraries of Professor Phyllis Granoff and Professor Koichi Shinohara, Scholars of Asian Religions
Professor Granoff, Lex Hixon Professor of Religious Studies, Yale University, Professor Shinohara, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies, Yale University

Catalogue as of Jan. 2023
8,982 titles in over 11,600 volumes

Chinese Archaeology: The Library of Professor Kwang-Chih Chang, Harvard University. Ph.D. Harvard University, 1960; Professor, and later Chair of Anthropology Department at Yale University (1961-1976); Chair of Department of Anthropology, Harvard University (1977-1983); John E. Hudson Professor of Archaeology at Harvard University (1984-2001); United States National Academy of Sciences Member (1979); Vice-President Academia Sinica, Taipei (1994-1996)

circa 9,000 volumes


Japanese Archaeology: Site Reports. The Library of Dr. Robert E. Murowchick, Boston University. Lecturer of Archaeology; Director of Archaeology Undergraduate Studies; Director of AsianArc: Asian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research Initiative

1,494 titles in circa 1,591 volumes


The Korean Archaeology, Art History & Cultural Heritage Library of Dr. Robert E. Murowchick, Lecturer of Archaeology, Director of Archaeology Undergraduate Studies, Director of AsianArc: Asian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research Initiative, Boston University

circa 2,379 volumes


Chinese and Asian Art Auction Catalogues: Sales From the 1960’s to the 2010's. From the Library of Dr. Robert E. Murowchick, Lecturer of Archaeology, Director of Archaeology Undergraduate Studies, Director of AsianArc: Asian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research Initiative, Boston University

Circa 2,200 auction catalogues


Chinese Art & Archaeology. The Library of a Private Collector of Chinese art

874 titles in circa 1,090 volumes


Medieval Art and Architecture: The Libraries of Professor Joachim Gaehde, Brandeis University and Dr. Lillian M.C. Randall, Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore

1,455 titles in ca. 1,675 volumes


Medieval and Early Renaissance Spain & Artistic Relations with Italy, France & Flanders: The Library of Dr. Robert E. Brooker, Jr., Ph.D., Department of History of Art and Architecture, Brown University

1,929 titles in over 2,175 volumes


Late Medieval and Renaissance Art of Northern Europe: France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Library of John Oliver Hand, Curator of Northern Renaissance Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington

1,681 titles in circa 1,747 volumes


Renaissance and Baroque Art: The Library of Prof. Richard E. Spear, Professor of Italian Baroque Art, Oberlin College (1965–2000), Director Allen Memorial Art Museum. Oberlin College (1972–83). Editor-in-Chief of The Art Bulletin (1985–88)

2,473 titles in ca. 2,626 volumes


Rembrandt and his World: The Library of Dr. Sheldon Peck

3,240 titles in circa 3,525 volumes


The Library of Dr. h.c. Ronald de Leeuw, Director Emeritus, Museum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam & The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: European Art from the Renaissance to the 19th Century

4,221 titles in over 4,600 volumes


Palaeography, Codicology & Diplomatics: The Library of Rodney Gove Dennis Keeper of Manuscripts, The Houghton Library, Harvard University

Part I, Manuscripts & Books Printed Before 1800 (28 titles in 32 volumes) & Part II, Reference Works (360 titles in 412 volumes)


The Art Reference Library of Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg, Germany. Western Art from the Renaissance to the Present with an Emphasis on Graphic Arts from the Romantic Era to Contemporary Art

6,597 titles in circa 7,975 volumes


The Renaissance to the 19th Century: The Art History Library of Prof. Seymour Slive, the late Gleason Professor of Fine Arts at Harvard University, Director of the Fogg Art Museum, 1975-1982, Director of the Harvard University Art Museums, 1982-1991

4,006 titles in over 4,290 volumes


Dutch and Flemish Art, The Reference Library of Jack Kilgore & Co., New York

2,249 titles in circa 2,525 volumes


Art of England and the Continent: The Library of Patrick Noon, Senior Curator of Paintings & Elizabeth MacMillan Chair of the Department of Paintings, Minneapolis Institute of Art (1997-present); Curator of Prints, Drawings and Rare Books at the Yale Center for British Art (1975-1997)

1,529 titles in circa 1,570 volumes


The Library of Prof. Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Director, Albertina Museum, Vienna: European Art from the Renaissance to the 20th Century

6,685 titles in over 6,850 volumes


Studies in the Fine Arts: The Avant-Garde: The Library of Professor Stephen C. Foster, including The Library of Estera Milman

1,833 titles in circa 1,925 volumes


Contemporary Art: The European Panorama and Its American Counterparts: Boltanski, Bourgeois, Clemente, LeWitt, Rainer, Richter, Tuttle, Weiner. The Library of Hans Joachim Beyer, Bismarck-Verlag, Publisher of Artists Books & Print Portfolios

6,994 titles in over 7,360 volumes


Contemporary Art: The Library of Coosje van Bruggen, wife and collaborator of Claes Oldenburg

2,060 titles in over 2,325 volumes


Contemporary Art: The Library of Professor Kirby Gookin, New York University

4,468 titles in over 4,525 volumes


Contemporary Art: The Reference Library of Marjory Jacobson. Former Director of Exhibitions at Hayden Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Founder of Marjory Jacobson & Associates

4,493 titles in over 4,635 volumes


Athena Tacha: An Artist’s Library on Environmental Sculpture and Conceptual Art

1,192 titles in 1,270 volumes


Archaeology of the Caucasus and Central Asia: The Library of Professor Philip L. Kohl, Wellesley College

1,526 titles in circa 1,660 volumes


Central Asia: The Library of Dr. Eden Naby

1,041 titles in ca. 1,150 volumes


Fin-de-Siècle to Art Déco: World War I in Its Artistic Context: Rare Illustrated Books and Print Portfolios, ca. 1880-1930. The Library of Professor Eric G. Carlson

363 titles, in ca. 540 physical volumes


Architectural History, with an Emphasis on The Architecture of Italy: The Library Professor David Hodes Friedman, Professor Emeritus of the History and Theory of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1,026 titles in circa 1,100 volumes


Professor Johannes Spalt: The Library of a Viennese Architect: Architecture, Design, Urban Planning, with an Emphasis on Austrian architecture & design from the Vienna Secession to 2000

2,943 titles in circa 3,100 volumes


Contemporary Architecture and Design: The Library of Oscar Riera Ojeda

Part One: Architecture and Interior Design -- Part Two: Photography, Fashion, Graphic Design, Product Design
3,158 titles in circa 3,375 volumes volumes


Decorative Arts, Design & Architecture: The Library of Peter-Ayers Tarantino, with important completions from The Library of David Hanks

4,768 titles in over 4,900 volumes







Forthcoming (cataloging in process)


Architecture & Architectural Theory: The Library of Professor Joseph Rykwert

Partial list, August 2020 (projected to be circa 25,000-30,000 volumes)

Armenian Studies: The Dickran K. Kouymjian Library and Archive

Ars Libri is currently cataloguing the finest library and archive pertaining to Armenian Studies in private hands. In addition to a collection of over 10,000 volumes on Armenia and related fields such as Islamic/Near Eastern and Byzantine Studies, the collection has a large archival component covering such topics as Armenian manuscripts and illumination, the Armenian genocide, Armenian film, modern Armenian artists, musicians and the theatre, the Armenian diaspora. Among specific archives is a major William Saroyan collection including a large collection of Saroyan’s drawings and paintings and a large archive of the Armenian filmmaker Sergei Paradjanov including manuscripts, collages and film scripts. The archive also includes some 25,000 slides and photographs. There is also a substantial collection of historic maps of Armenia.

projected to be 10,000 volumes











Rare Books, Prints, Documents, Archives

  • 100 Hallmarks of the Enlightenment. Scientific Knowledge in the Age of Enlightenment: The State of the Art in 18th Century France

    • 100 titles in circa 1,275 volumes

  • The Juliet Kepes Archive (illustrated prospectus)

    • The papers and artwork of the distinguished and innovative children’s book writer and illustrator, who also worked as an artist in a number of other fields relating to children, designing environmental spaces, murals, sculpture, and textiles.



    Selected collections sold by Ars Libri

  • American Art: The Library of Prof. William H. Gerdts (1929-2020), Professor Emeritus, City University of New York Graduate Center

    Part One: 11,446 titles in over 11,750 volumes


  • American Art: The Library of Prof. William H. Gerdts (1929-2020), Professor Emeritus, City University of New York Graduate Center

    Part One: 11,446 titles in over 11,750 volumes


  • The History of Photography: The Research Library of the Mack Lee Gallery

    2,633 titles in circa 3,140 volumes


  • “Asia is One.” The Art and Civilization of East- and Southeast Asia: The Library of Dr. Jan Fontein (1927 - 2017), Former Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    4,083 titles in circa 4,800 volumes


  • Islamic Archaeology, Art & Architecture in their Cultural Context: The Library of Prof. Richard & Dr. Elizabeth Ettinghausen

    6,575 titles in circa 7,950 physical volumes


  • The Art of Ancient Greece, with an emphasis on Greek Vase Painting: The Library of Prof. Dr. Norbert Kunisch, former director of the Antiquities Department of the Museum of Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, author of a number of volumes of the ”Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Deutschland”

    1,113 titles in over 1,235 volumes


  • Ancient Art & Archaeology, Mostly Greek: The Library of Prof. Dr. Werner Rudolf Fuchs, Professor emeritus, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster
    including a portion of the library of Prof. Dr. Reinhard Herbig (as well as books from the libraries of Gustav Herbig and Rudolf Pagenstecher)

    2,842 titles in circa 3,600 volumes


  • Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art, with a concentration on Western Greek Art: The Library of Professor Nancy Winter, Distinguished Senior Researcher, The Ancient Mediterranean Studies Program, University of California at Santa Barbara

    631 titles in circa 650 volumes


  • Interconnections in the Ancient Near East: the Civilizations of the Aegean, Asia Minor, Western Asia and their Neighbors in the Balkans, Southern & Central Asia. The Library of Professor Dr. Harald Hauptmann, Universität Heidelberg

    6,081 titles in circa 8,150 physical volumes


  • Architectural History: The Library of Henry A. Millon, Founding Director, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA), National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

    4,908 titles in over 5,550 volumes


  • Late Antique, Early Christian, Byzantine & Medieval Art and Architecture: The Library of Professor Cecil L. Striker (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia)

    • 2,695 titles in circa 3,635 volumes


  • Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Architecture & Archaeology: The Library of Prof. Dr. Urs Peschlow, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

    • 2,416 titles in circa 2,750 volume


  • The Ancient World: Eastern Hellenism and Related Subjects: Greece, the Black Sea Region, Caucasus, Western- & Central Asia, the Indus Valley & India

    • 3010 titles in circa 3550 volumes


  • The Ancient World: Ancient Egypt (including an important group of books on Graeco-Roman Egypt of the Ptolemaic Period).
    The Library of Dr. Norbert Dürring (Achet-Verlag, Berlin) with completions from the libraries of Dr. Edna R. Russmann, Senior Curator, Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art (Brooklyn Museum of Art) Hofrat Professor Dr. Wilfried Seipel (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien) and Prof. Dr. Günter Dreyer (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Cairo).

    • 3010 titles in circa 3550 volumes


  • Archaeology of the Ancient Near East and the Arabian Peninsula: The Library of Prof. Robert H. Dyson, Jr., Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, 1979-1982; Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum,1982-1994

    • 959 titles in circa 1,200 volume


  • Archaeology of Sindh and Related Areas of Southern Asian Archaeology and Cultural History: The Library of Professor Louis Flam, Lehman College, City University of New York

    • 1,567 titles in circa 1,650 volumes


  • 20th Century Design and Craft: The Library of Philip Aarons

    • 965 titles in circa 981 volumes


  • American Art: The Library of Prof. Patricia Hills, Professor Emerita, American Art & African American Art, Boston University. With important completions from The Library of Prof. Jules David Prown, Paul Mellon Professor Emeritus, History of Art American Art and Material Culture, Yale University

    • 3824 titles in circa 3950 volumes


  • Art of France from the French Revolution to the End of the Third Republic, 1790-1940: The Library of Prof. Eric G. Carlson. Part I: General Reference Works and Monographs on Artists, with a special emphasis on prints and printmaking

    • 5094 titles in circa 5,640 volumes

  • Mediaeval Art and Architecture. The Library of Ronald R. Atkins, Esq, (Columbia Law School, J.D., 1959)

    • 2503 titles in ca. 2800 volumes


  • Contemporary Art: The Margo Leavin Gallery Library

    • 7486 items in circa 7695 volumes


  • The Research Library of Arlene Cooper Senior Research Assistant, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
    Textiles, Costume & Fashion with Important Groups of Books on Central Asian, Indian & Islamic Textile Traditions

    • 1780 titles in circa 1900 volumes


  • The Reference Library of Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg, Germany: Bibliography and Book History

    • 2166 titles in circa 3825 volumes

  • Eastern Hellenism and Related Areas of Ancient Art and Archaeology: The Library of Professor Paul Bernard, Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (DAFA)

    • 4183 titles in circa 5115 volumes


  • The Library of Hofrat Professor Dr. Wilfried Seipel, Director General Emeritus of the State Museums of Vienna, Austria:
    A. Ancient Egyptian Civilization: Including the Library of Walter Kaiser, late Director of the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo, Egypt. Circa 2000 volumes
    B. Art History. Circa 4000 volumes


  • The Library of R. Craig Miller: 20th and 21st Century Design & Architecture

    • 1864 titles in circa 2150 volumes

  • The Library of Wayne Andersen

    • Part One: Modern Art: 19th and 20th Centuries -- Part Two: Art Theory
    2092 titles in 2106 volumes

  • Dutch and Flemish Art, The Golden Age: The Library of Walter A. Liedtke, Curator of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

    • 2118 titles in circa 2300 volumes

  • The Decorative Arts Library of Yvonne Brunhammer, former Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris

    • 3534 titles in circa 3950 volumes

  • Modernist Scholarship: The E.C. Goossen Archive
  • The Library of Dr. David Nelson Gimbel. Part I: The Ancient Near East. Part II: World Archaeology

    • 2191 titles in circa 3000 volumes

  • Renaissance and Baroque Art & Architecture : The Libraries of Professor Craig Hugh Smyth and Professor Robert Munman

    • 2578 titles in circa 3000 volumes

  • Eurasian Art and Archaeology: The Library of Prof. Dr. Maurizio Tosi

    • 1715 titles in ca. 2000 physical volumes.

  • Egyptology : The Library of Prof. Dr. Jac. J. Janssen

    • 2013 titles in ca. 3500 physical volumes.

  • Urbanism: The Library of Professor Julian Beinart

    • 1458 titles in circa 1570 physical volumes

  • The Ancient World: Greece, Rome, Egypt

    • 2086 titles in circa 2635 physical volumes.

  • The Library of Professor Leo Steinberg

    • 4164 titles in ca. 4600 physical volumes.

  • The Indus Valley & Ancient India: The Library of Professor Gregory L. Possehl, University of Pennsylania

    • 2095 titles in over 2650 physical volumes

  • The Arthur & Charlotte Vershbow Reference Library

    • Part I: The History of the Book from Medieval Manuscripts to the 20th Century, with Particular Emphasis on the History of Book Illustration. 937 titles in 1,198 physical volumes
    Part II: The Illustrated Book in Japan. 291 titles in 369 physical volumes

  • Archaeology: Central & Western Asia, The Arabian Peninsula: The Library of Professor C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky,Stephen Phillips Professor of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University

    • Part I: Old World Archaeology with an Emphasis on Western- and Central Asia, the Indus Valley and the Arabian Peninsula.
    Part II: New World Archaeology. 3431 titles in circa 4000 volumes.


  • Graeco-Roman Civilization: The Library of Prof. Dr. Günter Grimm

    • The late Professor Dr. Günter Grimm, Archaeologisches Institut, Universität Trier. Circa 4200 titles in over 5200 physical volumes

  • Egyptology: The Library of Günter Dreyer

    • 1249 titles in ca. 2100 physical volumes. Professor Dr. Günter Dreyer, the former head of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Kairo. 1249 titles in ca. 2100 physical volumes

  • Architectural History: The Library of Dr. Henry Dietrich Fernandez

    • 3871 titles in ca. 4000 physical volumes. Including a comprehensive collection of books on the city of Rome, as well as a number of books from related disciplines

  • The Philip Conisbee Library

    • 2876 titles in over 3,000 physical volumes. Although primarily concerned with French art from the 16th to the 19th century, the library has also important concentrations of books on 19th European art (particularly Scandinavian and German) as well as Italian art of the late Renaissance and Baroque periods.

  • Egyptology: The Library of William Kelly Simpson

    One of the most important libraries on the subject remaining in private hands. Over 3,000 titles in ca. 5,200 physical volumes.


    Three collections of the work of modernist graphic designers

  • Walter Dexel
  • Paul Schuitema
  • Piet Zwart

    • An archive of an important figure in modernist scholarship

  • Gyorgy Kepes

    Rare books from the library of Peter A. Wick

  • Fables: Rare books from the library of Peter A. Wick
  • French Romantic Literature, Etc.
  • Writing and Calligraphy Books
    • Immediate Frontier Instant Quantum