Chris Ware and his incredible coin-operated machines

March 31, 2012 6:32 PM

I'm looking for a book that was out around 1997 (the last time I remember physically seeing it) that detailed lots of different mechanical machines Chris Ware had designed/made, many of them coin-operated. I really should've just coughed up and bought it right then, because I've never laid eyes on it since, and no bookshop staff have been able to identify it. Do you know what book this is, or what it's part of, and if by chance it's still in print?

Chris Ware fans: I need you! Looking for a book detailing coin-operated mechanical machines he designed/made, printed around 2007. Help me to stop bewildering bookshop/comic store staff.

posted by everydayanewday to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

Best answer: This isn't what you're looking for, as it isn't a book, but it has some photos of Chris Ware's house!
posted by limeonaire at 6:47 PM on March 31, 2012

Is it 1997 or 2007?
posted by iconomy at 6:50 PM on March 31, 2012

Response by poster: I was working in a bookshop in 2007 and remember flicking through it then - it was on front display so assume it was released at that time?
posted by everydayanewday at 6:55 PM on March 31, 2012

Best answer: Are you thinking of the Chris Ware papercraft stuff?
posted by redsparkler at 7:19 PM on March 31, 2012

Ooo—was it the book described here?
posted by limeonaire at 7:20 PM on March 31, 2012

Amazon link to that book, too.
posted by limeonaire at 7:21 PM on March 31, 2012

Here's a description and picture of two mechanical sculptures from Mr.Ware.
posted by redsparkler at 7:23 PM on March 31, 2012

Best answer: is it this?

"Exhibition catalog for "Uninked: Paintings, Sculpture and Graphic Work by Five Cartoonists"

Guest curator, cartoonist Chris Ware, assembled works of art by five of the finest cartoonists working today: Kim Deitch, Jerry Moriarty, Gary Panter, Ron Regé, Jr. and Seth. While their comic strips and graphic novels have been widely published from Raw magazine to The New Yorker this exhibition explored their works of art that extend beyond the page.

Curated and edited by Chris Ware
Published by Phoenix Art Museum, 2007
118 page hardcover book. Full color. "

hm, looks like it might not include any works by Ware.
posted by mwhybark at 10:37 AM on April 1, 2012

here are some pix taken of Ware's stuff at his house.
posted by mwhybark at 10:57 AM on April 1, 2012

Best answer: Hm, if you're talking in-depth descriptions of the machines, written by Ware himself, you're likely thinking of the Quimby The Mouse collection (from 2003 - it collects the Quimby-centric Acme Novelty Library issues: 2 and 4) - in which he describes building one of them in some detail.

If what you're thinking of is an article or section focusing specifically on these machines, but not authored by Ware, two that come to mind are:

World Art (1994)

Hi Fructose #3 (2006) - Later collected in the High Fructose Collected Edition

If you remember any other details, let me know - I run acmenoveltyarchive.org and half-assedly wrote many of the descriptions that are being referenced here, so I might be able to help narrow down your search.

Also: archive entries for the early machines I know of:

Book Dispenser

Sparky the Singing Cat

Quimbies the Dancing Mouse
posted by adamkempa at 6:06 PM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]