Claes Oldenburg — Notes in Hand, 1972 — Deluxe Portfolio of 50 Initialed Color Offset Lithographs — No. 97/100

Claes Oldenburg — Notes in Hand, 1972

Deluxe Portfolio of 50 Individually Initialed Color Offset Lithographs — No. 97 of 100

Claes Oldenburg (1929–2022)
Notes in Hand
Switzerland: Professional Prints Ltd.; London: Petersburg Press, 1972

The deluxe portfolio edition of Claes Oldenburg’s celebrated Notes in Hand, issued in an edition of only 100 numbered copies.

This is copy 97 of 100, complete with 50 color offset lithographs, each individually initialed by Oldenburg at the lower right and numbered 97/100.

Drawn from Oldenburg’s working notebooks, the portfolio provides an unusually direct view into the artist’s creative process. His handwritten observations and rapidly conceived drawings explore many of the subjects that came to define his work: ordinary objects, food, clothing, furniture, architecture, and proposals for monumental sculpture.

Each plate measures approximately 10 × 8 inches and is individually mounted to Dacapo Art Paper as issued, with its original captioned acetate guard preserved.

This copy is particularly notable for containing three additional prints not called for in Axsom & Platzker, reproducing images included in the 1971 first edition of Notes in Hand.

The complete suite remains loose as issued in the publisher’s red cloth fall-down-back portfolio box, additionally protected by a custom yellow paper-covered slipcase.

Edition: No. 97 of 100
Prints: 50 color offset lithographs, plus three additional prints
Signed: Each of the 50 editioned plates individually initialed by Claes Oldenburg
Publisher: Professional Prints Ltd., Switzerland / Petersburg Press, London
Date: 1972
Plate size: Approximately 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm)
Presentation: Loose as issued in the original red cloth portfolio box with custom slipcase

Reference: Axsom & Platzker 78

Provenance

Special Collections and Rare Book Collection, University of the Arts Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sold by Freeman’s | Hindman, Philadelphia, 2025.

Condition

As new. The plates, mounts, acetate guards, and portfolio are exceptionally well preserved.

A superb example of Oldenburg’s deluxe Notes in Hand, distinguished by its edition of only 100, fifty individually initialed plates, three additional prints, institutional provenance, and exceptional condition.