Ontario, Canada -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/08/2013 -- One of the rarest art photography books ever published, volumes of "Man Ray Photographs 1920-1934 Paris," only totalled  three thousand when the first and only print run was finished in 1934.

Somehow a copy of the book managed to find its way to an auction hall in the small village of Hastings, Ontario. Paul Stevens, who buys and sells used books as a hobby, recognized the artists name, and took a chance by bidding five dollars on the rare monograph.

"I knew the name and remembered advice from another book buyer that Man Ray’s books sold well. When I got home and checked online to see what they were selling for, I was blown away. Some copies were listed at $5,000.00 with one signed copy in fine condition was listed for $18,000.00"

Paul's book is described  as a "Second Edition," however apparently there never was a second edition printed. The book sold poorly, so the publisher, James Thrall Soby, in an effort to generate some buzz, had the initial title pages removed and substituted new ones that claimed to be a second edition. He reasoned that if people saw evidence that the first edition had sold out, they would be more motivated to buy the book.

Man Ray has been called one of the twenty-five most important artists of the Twentieth Century. He refined the photographic techiques of solarization and "rayographs" and was friends with Salvdor Dali and Picasso when they were all in Paris in the 1920's.

Mr. Stevens hasn't listed his book with any of the major online bookselling sites, like Amazon or Abebooks. He is an online marketing consultant so he decided to put his knowledge to work. He has built a website specifically to sell this one book. There he has images of his book and information about Man Ray, the artist. He has listed the book, "Man Ray Photographs 1920-1934" for $2,195.00. Does he think he will get that much?

"Well you never know for sure what a rare book will sell for. A lot of them are listed in that price range or higher, and a number have sold for a lot more. But you will never get a sale until you find a buyer. We'll just have to wait and see."

About manrayphotographs.com
About The website  http://manrayphotographs.com/ is a unique website built to sell a single book. Paul Stevens is a marketing consultant putting his skills to the test to sell a rare art book against competitors like Amazon.com and Abebooks.

Media  Contact

Paul Stevens
pstevens2@gmail.com
Hastings, ON
http://manrayphotographs.com/