About
In 1974, New York City based photographer and graphic designer Joseph Vasta moved around the corner from the famous Strand Bookstore, which had recently opened a section devoted to photography books. While photography had been codified as a fine art during the interwar period, it didn’t really take off in the popular consciousness until the ‘70s, and this new section was as much a sign of this as anything. These books piqued young Joseph’s interest, and he started to collect, focusing primarily on and about the artform and artist’s monographs.
Over the years, the collection grew as Vasta’s interests expanded. Soon there were over 500 books, periodicals, and catalogues, mostly focused on the body, nudes and erotica. The opening of Harry Zucker’s photography bookshop, A Photographer’s Place, in 1979 (later relocating to Soho in 1982) helped stoke his curiosity. It was a trip to France in 1982 that showed Vasta that he hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface. In the bookstores, flea markets, and brocante shops of Paris, he found a wealth of material: books, periodicals, postcards, illustrations, original photos; beautiful, forgotten, rare. Two years later, he returned to Paris for a two week buying trip and by 1985, Vasta had stepped fully into the antiquarian world, publishing his first sales catalogue, Vasta: Images Bound & Unbound.
During this 40 year journey, Vasta discovered European silkscreened artist's books published in limited editions. Our interest in these publications was primarily piqued by the encouragement of the late Jacques Noel, the curator and manager of the iconic Parisian art book store, Un Regarde Modern. These unusual and often shocking publications were for many years only available in Paris at his shop. As a regular visitor Vasta soon began collecting, and eventually offering for sale, these incredible and difficult to find limited editions.
Through meticulous curation and a strong client base, Vasta grew the archive, focusing on quality and esotericism. Many catalogues followed, as well as trips to shops and paper and book fairs all over Europe. With the rise of the internet and sites like eBay, the operation grew to embrace a global market, eventually evolving into publishing books of our own. After finding success at the Printed Matter New York and Los Angeles Art Book Fairs, Vasta Editions was founded to publish collaborations with some of our favorite artists. We also started our Eros ‘Zine Series, collecting some of our favorite examples from our archives for publication. This website is also part of that curatorial effort, celebrating the archives and the rare and beautiful work we love.
The best way to contact us is by DMing us on Instagram or emailing vasta@earthlink.net.