CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 1 ]
RARE BOOKS &
TRADE CATALOGUES
I. Architecture
II. Furniture
III. Glass & Lighting
IV. Early Photographic Manuals
V. Worlds Fairs & Expositions
Catalogue 157
CHARLES B. WOOD III, INC.
Antiquarian Booksellers
Post Office Box 382369 Cambridge, MA 02238 USA
Tel [617] 868-1711 Fax [617] 868-2960
[email protected]
[ 2 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
I.
ARCHITECTURE
Part I: Books, Manuscripts, etc. .................................................. 1-32
Part II: Trade Catalogues ........................................................... 33-58
II.
FURNITURE
Part I: Books, Photographs, etc. ................................................ 59-82
Part II: Trade Catalogues .......................................................... 83-102
III
GLASS & LIGHTING ..................................................... 103-141
IV.
EARLY PHOTOGRAPHIC MANUALS ......................... 142-158
V.
WORLDS FAIRS & EXPOSITIONS
Part I: 1798-1849 .................................................................... 159-177
Part II: 1851-1939 .................................................................. 178-200
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 3 ]
I. ARCHITECTURE
Part I: Books, Manuscripts, etc.
UNPUBLISHED 18TH CENTURY
ARCHITECTURAL MANUSCRIPT
1.
[BEAVER, REV. G.]. Explanation of an Ornamental
Arch &c. in the Church of the Parish of Trent as represented in
an Engraving designed for Collinson’s History of Somersetshire.
N.p. [Trent, UK], 1793
$650.00
A copy, but a copy of a manuscript, “Transcribed from one
in the possession of the Revd. John Williams of Marston
Magna” according to a note at the end. Inscribed inside the
front cover: “Alfred Seymour, Mann House, Trent, No. 2,
copy of No. 1.” Beaver was the rector of Trent; three of his
sermons were published in Sherborne between 1795 and
1800. His detailed analysis of the arch, with text and
footnotes on facing pages, corrects Collinson in detail and
deals at length with various monuments in the church; it is
inspired by the restoration of the arch by the Earl of
Egremont (whose family vault adjoins the arch) and Henry
Seymour, Lord of the Manor, in 1792, from whose library
this seems to have come. It is not possible to determine
whether Beaver intended the work to be published; it seems
most likely that a few copies were made for local antiquaries
and landowners, and no record exists of its publication.
Folio (15 x 9 ½"), orig. stiff marbled wrappers (hinges broken but both
covers present). T.p., 19 ff., engr plate tipped on as frontisp (view of the
arch); 1 full-p. ink & wash facsimile of an inscription on the N. wall of the
church).
AN IMPORTANT WORK IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE NEW YORK SKYSCRAPER
2.
BIRKMIRE, WM. H. Architectural iron and steel,
and its application in the construction of buildings, including
beams and girders in floor construction, rolled iron struts,
wrought and cast iron columns, fire-proof columns, column
connections, cast-iron lintels, roof trusses, stairways, elevator
enclosures, ornamental iron, floor lights and skylights, vault
lights, doors and shutters, window guards and grilles, etc. New
York: Wiley, 1891
$500.00
First edition, nice copy of a notably scarce work. Birkmire
was very influential in the development of the tall building
in New York City and is given numerous references, citations and quotes in Sarah Landau’s & Carl Condit’s Rise of
the New York skyscraper 1865-1913 (1996). She states:
“Birkmire, born in Philadelphia and a graduate of the
Philadelphia Academy of Music, was trained as an architect
in the office of Samuel Sloan, and he first worked with the
Pencoyd Steel Works and Rolling Mills in Philadelphia. In
New York he worked for the Jackson Architectural Iron
[ 4 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
Works from 1888 to 1892, and after 1892 for the J.B. & J.M
Cornell Iron Works, where he was also head of construction.
Starting in 1895 he practiced independently but was associated on several projects with John T. Williams from 1895
to 1898.” (p. 417). The index to the Landau book makes
nine references to Birkmire and they are all substantial.
Birkmire wrote two other works on the construction of tall
buildings in the later nineties. Hitchcock 185.
8vo, orig. cloth. xiv+201+(xx) pp with numerous wood-engr illus; also
tables “selected expressly for this work.” With the bookplate of Julius
Franke, who bought it as a new book in 1891; he was an architect who
died in 1936. Very good copy.
3.
BRITTON, JOHN. Graphic illustrations, with historical and descriptive accounts of Toddington, Gloucestershire, the
seat of Lord Sudeley. London: The author, 1840 $1250.00
Very good copy of a scarce book about a very interesting
country house, rebuilt in the Gothic Revival style by its
owner, the amateur architect, Charles Hanbury Tracy,
Baron Sudeley, between 1820 and 1835. A good note on
him and on Toddington is given by Colvin, p. 836. The
present book has been noted by John Harris: “A few
[country house] guides are outstanding for their literary,
typographical or historical contents...they belong to a category either too expensive to purchase at the Inn or Lodge,
or too large to carry about. Britton’s Cassiobury and
Toddington, excellent as they may be as historical monographs, would never have been on sale to the tourist.” - J.
Harris, essay in the Pevsner Festschrift, p. 68. Thus it is not
surprising that this is a very scarce book. See also: J. Harris,
A country house index (1978), p. 44. Holmes, p. 252. BAL,
Early printed books, no. 415.
4to, orig. marbled sides, polished calf spine, gilt, dark red lettering piece.
xvi+46+(2) pp. with tinted litho frontisp. and 28 etched plates. Scattered
light foxing on the plates (as in every copy I have seen).
FINE BRIGHT COPY
4.
BRUNNER, ARNOLD W. & THOMAS TRYON.
Interior decoration. New York: W. T. Comstock, 1887
$650.00
First edition. Both authors were architects. Hitchcock suggests that this book is probably the first to bear a popular
20th century title. Fine illustrated chapters discuss the hall,
the staircase, the library, the parlor, the dining room, the
study and the bed rooms. These papers and essays were
originally published in Building, an architectural journal;
this is their first appearance in book form. Hitchcock 226
(who also notes a second edition published in 1891).
4to, orig. dec. cloth. vi+65 pp. with 15 plates and 50 text illus. Unusually
fine copy.
A UTOPIAN CITY PLAN
COMPLETE WITH BOTH TIPPED-IN FOLDED
PLATES
5.
[CARYL, CHARLES W]. New Era. Presenting the
plans for the New Era Union, to help develop and utilize the best
resources of this country. Denver, Colorado, ca. 1897-8
$450.00
First edition, a very good copy. Yet another of many
American utopian city planning schemes, but this one (and
this copy) is most interesting as the remarkable bird’s eye
perspective drawing of the New Era Model City survives it was lost or removed from most other copies which
survive. It was a city planned on a series of concentric circles.
John Reps does not mention it (and I’ll bet he never saw it)
but he does say this on American utopian city plans: “The
number of utopian groups in America was impressive...
Although these groups were numerous their influence on
American society was modest. The bulk of the nation
stubbornly pursued its old sinful and capitalistic ways,
oblivious to the teachings of the new, self-appointed prophets who had risen. Their neighbors viewed these sects and
their leaders either with out-right hostility or with the pity
usually reserved for the dim-witted or the helpless.” - The
making of urban America, p. 474. Caryl was the president of
the Gold Extraction Mining and Supply Company; his idea
was to alleviate the burdens on the laboring classes by their
cooperating and sharing the profits of their labor among
themselves.
8vo, orig. blue cloth. 192 pp with frontisp port of the author and the
folding bird’s eye view tipped in (12 x 14"); also with a second folding
plate, “Outline of plan for New Era model city,” also tipped in.
EARLY EFFORT AT SCENIC AND HISTORIC
PRESERVATION
6.
COCKBURN, HENRY THOMAS, LORD. A letter to the Lord Provost on the best ways of spoiling the beauty of
Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, 1849
$450.00
Cockburn (1779-1854) was a judge and prolific writer. He
had a strong interest in architectural conservation, especially
in Edinburgh. He frequently wrote to the newspapers on
this subject; indeed, the DSB states: “He was fond of
protesting against such acts of vandalism and projects for
defacing the Scottish capital as are chronicled in his Letter to
the Lord Provost on the best ways of Spoiling the Beauty of
Edinburgh (1849). The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh
Civic Trust), founded in 1875, is named after him. This
essay should be required reading in any university course on
the history of historic preservation. It is rare; OCLC locates
just two copies in this country (NYPL & LC).
8vo, cont. marbled sides, roan spine, nice copy. 29 pp.
DEDICATED TO THE ROMAN CLUB
7.
[DYER, JOHN]. The Ruins of Rome. A poem. London: Printed for Lawton Gulliver, 1740
$300.00
Fascinating example of the interest the ancient Roman ruins
held for the 18th century English gentleman. Indeed, this
work is dedicated “To the Members of the Roman Club,
whose protection the nature of his subject encourages him
to expect, the author humbly inscribes the following Poem.”
The text of the poem is full of references to Rome, both
direct and indirect. There are fourteen footnotes to explain
to the reader indirect references to places or monuments.
For a modern reader familiar with the ruins of Rome this
will be an enjoyable read. I presume this is the first edition;
a former owner has noted Foxon D566 (I do not have a copy
of Foxon).
4to, modern boards. (iv)+28 pp with engr vignette of Roman ruins on
the title page. Modern (and handsome) bookplate of John C. Riely.
Untrimmed copy.
ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS IN
WATERCOLOR
8.
EADE & JOHNS, Architects. Original architectural
drawings, 2 sheets, entitled New Shop Front and Other Alterations, Butter Market, Ipswich, for Mr. H. C. Tunmer. Ipswich,
Cornhill Chambers, Feb. 25th, 1901
$250.00
A handsome pair of drawings: one with four plans; the other
with two elevations and four sections, all in ink and watercolor. Expertly drawn and highly finished. William Eade
(1841-1927) was a noted architect who practiced in Ipswich
from 1868. He was made a Fellow of the RIBA in 1881.
See: BAL, Directory of British Architects 1834-1900 (1993),
p. 273. These two drawings would make a handsome
framed pair.
2 sheets, (18 x 25"). On high quality heavy watercolor drawing paper.
They have been folded twice to fit into a 10 x 15" envelope but can easily
be flattened. No tears at folds; excellent condition.
A MONUMENT BY AN AMERICAN SCULPTOR
IN EDINBURGH
9.
EDINBURGH. The Lincoln Monument in memory of
Scottish American soldiers unveiled in Edinburgh August 21,
1893. Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood & Sons,
1893
$200.00
A record of the unveiling ceremonies of a public statue of
Abraham Lincoln - “Lincoln Freeing the Slave”. The sculptor was George E. Bissell (1839-1920), from Connecticut.
He was an army veteran, and the son of a stonecutter. After
the war, he studied sculpture both in the U.S. and in Europe.
The entire cost of the statue, some five thousand dollars, was
raised by American contributions. The work is illustrated
with 5 photogravures.
8vo, orig. stiff printed wrappers. 98 pp with full-page gravure plates.
Spine cracked, else a nice copy.
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 5 ]
10. FELTON, S. Gleanings on gardens, chiefly respecting
those of the ancient style in England. London: Printed by
Lowe & Harvey, 1829
$400.00
First and only edition, a rare and most interesting work. His
chapters: gleanings on gardens, chiefly respecting old ones
in England; descriptions of many gardens in England &
Scotland in 1714; on conventual gardens; on garden burial;
on cottage gardens; on the cultivation of the vine in Britain;
Mr. Pope’s descriptions of Sherborne, formerly the seat of
Sir W. Raleigh; and Mr. Pope’s villa at Twickenham. The
preface makes clear that Felton was very familiar with
existing garden literature; I suspect he had a fine collection
of books on the subject. The present work is rare; OCLC
locates but three copies in this country (Columbia; NYBot
Gdn; Morton Arboretum). Samuel Felton wrote one other
similar work: On the portraits of English authors on gardening
(London, 1828). I have owned one copy of the ‘Portraits’
but have never before, in 46 years, seen the present work.
Brit Mus (Nat Hist), II, p. 564.
8vo, modern paper wraps. (iv)+viii+72 pp.
OCLC: ONE COPY IN AMERICA
11. FERREY, EDMUND B. South Winfield Manor, illustrated by plans, elevations and sections, and details, with
perspective views and a descriptive account. London: Published
by the author, 1870
$500.00
First and only edition. The author was an architect and
member of the R.I.B.A. In the first sentence of his introduction he refers to Blore’s History of the manor house of South
Winfield (1793); that work is listed in the John Harris
checklist but the present work is not. South Winfield Manor
was a romantic ruin by 1870; Harris included few ruins in
his checklist. The house was pulled down in the 1770s. In its
day, this was a major country house; Holmes, The country
house described, lists three books on it (the present work, the
Blore, and an 1885 work by S. O. Addy) as well as five other
references. Ferry’s book gives complete documentation in
22 plates of measured drawings (partly showing the house
as a ruin, partly a reconstruction). Rare; OCLC locates just
one copy in America, Art Institute of Chicago.
Folio, orig. printed wrappers. T.p., dedication leaf, 7 pp of text and litho
frontisp., t.p. with two vignette views and 22 plates of litho drawings
(some fdg). Outer margins of a few leaves with spots of foxing.
17TH CENTURY COLORISTS MANUAL
12. GAUTIER, H. L’art de laver, ou nouvelle maniere de
peindre sur le papier, suivant le coloris des desseins qu’on envoye
à la cour. Lyon: Thomas Amaulry, 1687
$1550.00
A fine copy of the first edition, in the original binding with
gilt spine. It is no. 72 in Ann Massing’s “Painting materials
and techniques: towards a bibliography of the French
Literature before 1800” (festschrift for Rolf E. Straub,
Worms, 1990) where she states: “Gautier’s handbook was
intended to give the public useful instructions on the art of
[ 6 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
colouring drawings with water colours, an art he considered
to be in a state of confusion...Pigments and pigment containers, use of media, suitable brushes, and how to copy a
drawing are among the subjects discussed in this very
practical treatise.” There was a later edition published in
Brussels in 1708 and a modern reprint in 1972. UCBA I, p.
643 which notes an Italian translation published in Lucca in
1760. Lucas, Bib. of water colour painting (1976), no. 4.
OCLC locates 11 copies in America.
12mo, full cont calf, spine nicely gilt. (xxii)+154 pp with l engr. plate.
Early (contemporary?) owner’s name inscribed on front paste-down:
“Michelot 15”.
A SET OF 14 POSTCARDS OF
HORTA’S LAST MAJOR BUILDING
13. HORTA, VICTOR. Palais de Beaux Arts de Bruxelles.
[Series of 14 postal cards printed in fine-screen halftone]. Brussels, 1930
$500.00
A very rare series of documentary photos of this major
building taken by Sasha Stone (see exhibition catalogue
Internationale de la Photographie, July, 1932, Brussels, Palais
des Beaux Arts, section “Photographie de Reportage,”
Sasha Stone, no. 683, “Le Palais des Beaux Arts”). I bought
these from a knowledgeable Belgian dealer who was unable
to locate another set. He states that they were made to
illustrate a brochure (but he could not locate a copy).
The building is discussed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr. in
his piece on Horta in the Macmillan Encyclopedia. There is
one exterior view and 13 interior views.
14 postal cards (unused) and in fine condition. Each of the views is
identified in letterpress on the reverse.
INCLUDES EIGHT DESIGNS BY HENRY HOBSON
RICHARDSON FOR WROUGHT IRON
14. KENT, WILLIAM WINTHROP. Architectural
wrought iron ancient and modern. A compilation of examples
from various sources, of German, Swiss, Italian, French, English
and American ironwork from mediaeval times down to the
present day. New York: Wm. T. Comstock, 1888 $450.00
First and only edition. The American examples include
works by McKim, Mead & White; Hornblower & Marshall,
H. L. Page, Charles L. Carson, etc. Also, and most notably,
it includes heliotypes of seven designs of wrought iron work
by H. H. Richardson for the John Hay House in Washington (iron fence, iron hinges, andirons, fire screen); the
Henry Adams House in Washington (iron hinges and iron
window screen) and the B. H. Warder House in Washington (window grille). In addition, there are eleven pen
sketches of bits and pieces by Richardson. Small details such
as these are not usually documented. Kent was an architect
in New York; this was his only book. He is not listed in
Withey. Hitchcock 674.
Sm. folio, orig. gilt dec cloth. 34+4 pp with frontisp and 35 plates (4 in
heliotype from photographs; remainder line drawings) and 63 text illus.
A PERSPECTIVE RARITY
15. LAWRENCE, WILLIAM H. Elements of shades and
shadows for architectural students. Boston: Press of H. G.
Collins, 1893
$200.00
First edition. The author was instructor in architecture at
the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT. Founded
in 1865 by William Robert Ware, the School offered the
first formal architectural curriculum in the United States,
and the first architecture program in the world, operating
within the establishment of a university. The present work
is rare; OCLC locates only four copies (MIT, Carnegie
Mellon, Brown & Ocean State Libraries). This is the first
copy I have seen in 46 years.
8vo, orig. cloth, title in gilt on cover. 24 pp with 8 fdg. plates. Very good
copy.
ORIGINAL PEN SKETCHES
16. LONDON. [ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION]. A. A. Excursion, Bury St. Edmonds, 1884 (sheaf of
13 orig. pen sketches)
$295.00
A slight but interesting item, which will repay research as
most of the participants are identified. It is reasonable to
attribute these sketches to John Alfred Gotch (1852-1942)
as one of them is signed in the margin ‘J.A.G.’ Gotch was
president of the A.A. 1886-7. The 13 sketches are titled as
follows: 1. Title; 2. Panel & pulpit, Rattlesden Ch; 3.
Untitled (5 sketches of seated gents, all sketching, each
identified in pencil); 4. The photographer; 5. West Stow; 6.
In Amphon Ch, Mon to William Willet, 1628; 7. Group of
seated gents sketching (identified in pencil); 8. Wethenden
(?); 9. Spandrel of arch, front porch, Rushbrooke Hall; 10.
The jaws of Hell from Stow Langtoft Church [sgd. lower
left J.A.G.]; 11. In cloister, Ixworth Abbey; 12. Icklingham
All Saints, South Porch; and 13. Coldham Hall. The quality
of the drawing is very high; whoever made these had a sure
hand and a good eye.
13 sheets, 9 x 7 inches, held together upper left with a brass grommet.
Very nice condition.
17. LONDON. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
Report of the commission on the heating, lighting and ventilation of the South Kensington Museum: together with minutes of
evidence and appendix. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1869
$250.00
The witnesses were as follows: J. C. Robinson, Art Referee
of the S.K. Museum; Sir M. W. Ridley; Ralph N. Wornum,
Keeper & Secretary of the National Gallery; Mr. C. Buttery,
Mr. Wm. Cox and several others. It makes for fascinating
reading as the interviews are transcribed verbatim. There is
little on this subject from this early date. An essential work
in any collection on the history of museums. OCLC locates
one copy in America (Columbia).
Tall 4to, in modern blue wrappers. viii+102 pp.
SYNTHESIS OF THE WORKS OF CHARLES LUCAS
INCLUDES SUBSTANTIAL DISCUSSION OF
PRISONS IN THE USA
18. LUCAS, CHARLES. Conclusion générale de l’ouvrage
sur le système pénitentiaire en Europe et aux Etats-Unis; suivi de
la deuxième petition aux chambres sur la nécessité de l’adoption
du system pénitentaire. Paris: Madame Charles Béchet, 1834
$950.00
First edition. Charles Lucas (1803-1889) was a major figure
in the history of prison reform and the abolition of the death
penalty. As is well known, the prisons of early 19th century
America were of great interest to both British and French
prison authorities. In the present work Lucas devotes the
first twenty pages to the United States: the prison at
Philadelphia, also prisons in Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Baltimore, Virginia, New Jersey, Auburn (NY), etc. He
goes on to discuss those in Europe: the low countries,
Ireland, Scotland, and Switzerland. At the end he illustrates
in four folding plates the penitentiary at Geneva. In 2003
Cornell University acquired the working library of Charles
Lucas. The present title is rare; OCLC locates but two
copies, Columbia and Northwestern (though there is presumably also a copy at Cornell).
8vo, later marbled sides, morocco spine. (ii)+(iv)+cxv+44 pp. with 4 fdg
litho plates.
AUTHOR’S PRESENTATION COPY
19. M’WILLIAM, ROBERT. An essay on the origin and
operation of the dry rot, with a view to its prevention or cure. To
which are annexed suggestions on the cultivation of forest trees,
and an abstract of the several forest laws from the reign of Canute
to the present time. London: J. Taylor, 59 Holborn, 1818
$750.00
First edition, inscribed on the front fly: “From the author
with his respectful compliments to the Royal Society of
Edinburgh.” M’William (or McWilliam) is a shadowy figure
but he is included in Colvin who states that he exhibited
architectural drawings in the Royal Academy in 1818, 1821
and 1823. He dedicates his book to His Grace the Duke of
Gordon, and I suspect, though I cannot prove, that he was
a Scot. The book is very scarce; according to OCLC there
are no copies in the USA and only two in the UK (Cambridge U & Glasgow U Lib). This copy is complete with the
errata slip tipped in at the last leaf.
4to, orig. marbled sides, calf spine and corners, front inner hinge neatly
reinforced. (ii)+xx+420 pp with 3 full-p. engraved plates each with dust
sheet. Hinges slightly cracked but strong.
THE USE OF TAR AS A BUILDING CEMENT
20. [MAILLE, J(ean)]. Exposition des propriétés du spalme,
considéré comme courroi, pour la conservation des batimens de
mer; comme enduit, pour celle des bois d’oeuvres & des corps en
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 7 ]
général; comme mastic, pour la jonction des marbres, des pierres,
& des metaux: avec la maniere de l’employer sous ces trois
rapports. Paris: Le Breton, 1763
$600.00
First edition of a detailed description and history of this
mastic compound (essentially tar) invented by the author in
1720 and used in ship building, harbor defences and in the
building trade. Quite scarce; OCLC locates but two copies
in America (U of Del. & U of Minnesota).
8vo, disbound. (iv)+80 pp. With the royal arms in woodcut on the final
leaf.
FINE COLLECTION OF STEEL-ENGRAVED VIEWS
21. METZEROTT, W. G., Publisher. Our national buildings! Views of Washington. Washington, D.C.: Published by
W. G. Metzerott, Music and Print Publisher, Corner Penna.
Avenue and Eleventh Street, n.d. [ca. 1840s]
$500.00
Fine copy of a charming and rare small collection of views.
The views are steel engravings printed on porcelain finished
stiff cards; they are not signed by the artist or engraver.
Views include the major buildings of Washington, equestrian statue of Gen. Jackson, U. S. Naval Yard, the Naval
Monument in front of the portico of the Capitol, tomb of
Washington, view of the Congressional Cemetery, and
Mount Vernon. The views are not bound as in a book or
booklet, but are loose and kept in a flap-edged small
portfolio. The printing on the front pastedown is transcribed above; the title stamped in gilt on the cover is:
“Metzerott’s Views of Washington.” OCLC locates three
copies (GWUniv., S.I., and Harvard). OCLC states 16
plates in portfolio; our copy has 18 plates. The front
pastedown label is signed ‘McGill’s Steam Press’.
12mo (4 ¾ x 6 inches). 18 steel engr plates on stiff stock. Case is
blindstamped green cloth with cover lettering as given above. Fine copy.
LATE 19TH CENTURY STUDY
OF WORKERS’ HOUSING
22. MULLER, EMILE & EMILE CACHEUX. Les habitations ouvrières en tous pays. Deuxieme edition, revue et
augmentée. Paris: Baudry & Cie., 1889
$975.00
The plate volume only of a rare and valuable work (the text
is available as a ‘print-on-demand’ volume and I will supply
it at no extra charge). The fine plates show workers’ houses
or housing in plan, section and elevation for the following
countries: France, Allemagne, Amerique, Angleterre,
Autriche, Belgique, Danemark, Espagne, Hollande, Italie,
Norwege, Russie, Suede, and Suisse. The final six plates
show ‘habitations economiques diverses’. The final plate
shows a small ‘maison japonaise.’ There are two plates
illustrating American houses: “Maison Avenue de Sacramento, Chicago, Ill.”, J. A. Smith, Archt., a two story brick
flat-roofed housing block with 3 units and “Maison aux
environs de New-York,” Archt., Mr. Formachon, free stand[ 8 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
ing single family cottage house four kilometers from NYC.
The second American plate shows “Maisons modeles de
Brooklyn”, six-story city block buildings, the corner of
Baltic Street and Hicks Street, shown in plan and perspective. The architects were Wam. Field and Son. OCLC
locates one copy in Canada (ULaval) and 3 copies in France;
no copies in USA.
Folio (15 x 11 ½"), orig. printed boards with orig. ties, cloth spine. 4 pp
and 78 litho plates. Rather heavy old dark spot at base of cover, but plates
are fine.
23. PENNSYLVANIA. PHILADELPHIA. Guide to
Laurel Hill Cemetery near Philadelphia with illustrations.
Philadelphia: For sale at the Cemetery and by the Treasurer,
1849
$400.00
Originally published 1844. Laurel Hill was a famous and
influential rural cemetery designed by the architect John
Notman in 1836. According to George B. Tatum, this book
offers the best evidence for the early appearance of this
cemetery. The folding frontispiece is a lithographic birdseye
view of the cemetery; there are in addition eight litho plates
which depict grave monuments. The text describes these
and identifies the designer and carver (the well known firm
of stonemasons, Struthers, is credited with several). A
reduced version of the frontispiece is listed in Wainwright,
Philadelphia in the romantic age of lithography (1958), no.
148. OCLC locate three copies (Clements Lib., Ohio HS,
Swarthmore Coll).
12mo, orig. marbled sides, black roan spine. ix+5-179 pp with fdg litho
frontisp and 8 litho plates. (The frontisp was at one point torn out but has
been pasted back in). Quite complete. In fact a good copy.
24. PENNSYLVANIA. PHILADELPHIA. House carpenters’ book of prices and rules, for measuring and valuing all
their different kinds of work, (adapted to Federal Currency).
Philadelphia, 1819
$1250.00
Though there were originally a good many price books
published in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, for
various different trades, they are all rare today. Their basic
purpose was to establish a fair and equitable system of
charges for services rendered; they are of obvious value to
the historian. There have been several attempts at checklists
of price books; an early one appeared in the October 1938
issue of the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society.
An excellent essay on and checklist of cabinetmakers price
books appeared in Charles Montgomery’s American furniture the Federal Period (1966). Evald Rink’s excellent bibliography Technical Americana (1981) collects together more
price books of all sorts than has ever been done before, but
they must be ferreted out (the present title is Rink 1785).
Hitchcock categorically excluded price books from his
American architectural books. Carpenter’s price books have
been studied in a doctoral dissertation by Louise Hall,
Artificer to Architect, Radcliffe College, 1954. In addition to
extremely detailed listings of the various jobs for house
carpenters, the present work also lists prices for the work of
stone masons and bricklayers.
8vo, modern wrappers. 48 pp. First dozen or so leaves are browned.
“OLMSTED’S PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTION TO
THE EARLY DISCUSSION OF A PARK FOR
BOSTON”
25. OLMSTED, FREDERICK LAW. Public parks and
the enlargement of towns. Read before the American Social
Science Organization at the Lowell Institute, Boston, Feb. 25th,
1870. Boston: Printed for the A.S.S.A. at the Riverside
Press, Cambridge, 1870
$350.00
First edition, very uncommon in the marketplace (although
OCLC locates 11 copies in libraries this is the first copy I
have owned in forty-six years). This is an important paper:
“Olmsted’s principal contribution to the early discussion of
a park for Boston was a paper, “Public Parks and the
Enlargement of Towns,” which he read before the American
Social Science Organization...In spite of its vigorous backing, the Boston park bill, passed by the Massachusetts
Legislature failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in the general election of November 1870, but agitation
for the park did not subside, and Olmsted did not cease to
advise its proponents. “Better wait a few years,” he philosophically advised, “than adopt a narrow local scheme.” -L.
W. Roper, FLO a biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, pp.
327-29. The rest, of course, is history.
8vo, orig. blue printed wrappers. 36 pp. Tiny chip from lower gutter
corner of cover wrapper (it is still present and restorable); but an excellent
copy.
PORTLAND CEMENT
26. REID, HENRY. A practical treatise on the manufacture of Portland Cement, to which is added a translation of M.
A. Lipowitz’s work, describing a new method adopted in Germany of manufacturing that cement, by W. F. Reid. London:
E. & F. N. Spon, 1868
$425.00
First edition of the first title, which was “the first comprehensive work on the manufacture and use of Portland
cement in English” (Elton 6:246). It gives a clear picture of
the state of the industry in its early years up to the date of
publication...it is of particular interest in that it gives many
examples of the increasing use of the material in civil
engineering and the experience and reaction of some major
engineers to it...the final chapter advocates the use of
Portland cement concrete for houses, citing actual built
examples.
The second part of the work comprises the translation
of a German work by Reid’s son, a noted chemist and
mineralogist. The German Portland cement industry had
begun during the 1850s and by the 1870s had overtaken the
British both in quality and strength of material produced.
Reid constantly refers to Lipowitz’s in his own, comparing
and contrasting the practices of the two major nations
involved in the development of a great industry. Although
the two books are paginated separately and each has its own
title page, they always appear together as here. Reid himself
appears to have been one of the first manufacturers of
Portland cement. A brief history of Portland cement is
found in N. Davey, A history of building materials (1971), pp.
106-107.
8vo, 2 vols in one. Modern marbled sides, black calf spine. (1) xvi+110
pp with 3 litho plates (1 fdg); (2) (vi)+78 pp with 3 fdg litho plates and
several wood-engr text illus.
UNCOMMON AMERICAN PATTERN BOOK
FOR ARCHITECTURAL STONE CUTTERS
27. ROBINSON, JOSEPH BARLOW. Architectural
foliage adapted from nature. Thirty six plates of original designs
for capitals, bosses, crockets, finials, diapers, corbels, &c. &c. for
the enrichment of buildings, ornaments, furniture, etc. New
York: J. O’Kane, n.d. [ca. 1880-90]
$800.00
Joseph Barlow Robinson was a prolific English sculptor,
designer and author. The present work illustrates capitals,
bosses, diapers, crockets, panels, finials, brackets, cornices,
mouldings, etc. Some of these plates call to mind the carved
stone ornaments of Henry Hobson Richardson. The publisher J. O’Kane of New York was an interesting if shadowy
figure. He is briefly discussed in In Pursuit of Beauty (MMA
ex-cat, 1987), p. 60 where it is stated that he published
designs of both English and American artists and even took
some of Christopher Dresser’s plates and signed them
himself. Hitchcock, in his American architectural books lists
only one title by O’Kane (his no. 873 - not the present work)
but the rear cover of the present work lists nine relevant
titles. O’Kane might prove to be a good subject for research.
OCLC locates 12 copies but the work is rare in the marketplace; I have never seen a copy before.
Small folio (13 x 11"), orig. printed boards, respined and ties replaced. 36
loose lithographed plates as issued. A few edges a bit fragile and a bit
ragged but a good copy.
AN ORIGINAL CANADIAN WORK
28. RUTTAN, HENRY. Lectures on the ventilation of
buildings, delivered at the Cobourg Mechanic’s Institute.
Cobourg: Printed at the office of the Star and Gazette, 1848
$450.00
First edition, inscribed (probably in the hand of the author)
on the front pastedown: “Printed for private distribution
only.” The work is indeed rare; OCLC locates only two
copies in American libraries (URoch. & Rutgers). At the
date of this publication Ruttan was Sheriff of the Newcastle
District; by 1862 he was Vice President of the Board of
Agriculture of Upper Canada. He was an expert on ventilation and warming; in 1862 he wrote another book on the
subject, Ventilation and warming of buildings. The present
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 9 ]
work is authoritative and scholarly.
8vo, orig. cloth, title in leather title label on upper cover. With binder’s
ticket: “Goodeve & Corrigal, Cobourg, Bookbinders, etc.” 99 pp. Occas
pen & ink corrections in the text, probably in the hand of the author.
A CLASSIC WORK
29. VICAT, L. J. A practical and scientific treatise on
calcareous mortars and cements, artificial and natural, containing directions for ascertaining the qualities of the different
ingredients, for preparing them for use, and for combining them
together in the most advantageous manner...translated with the
addition of explanatory notes, embracing remarks upon the
results of various new experiments by J. T. Smith. London: John
Weale, 1837
$750.00
Originally published in Paris in 1818, this is a famous,
indeed a classic, book. Kirby & Laurson: “The French
engineer-experimenter Louis Joseph Vicat, whose systematic and exhaustive research, begun in 1811, covered many
years, and placed him easily at the head of the authorities on
the subject. Like Smeaton, Vicat was impelled at first by a
pressing practical construction problem; with him it was
that presented by the necessity for suitable foundations for
a bridge he was building over the torrential Dordogne River
at Souillac, Lot, France. Vicat’s first conclusions, which are
classic, were published in 1818. He continued his studies,
observations, and publications almost until his death, in
1861, working mostly on French materials.” - Early Years of
Modern Civil Engineering, p. 263. The present first English
edition has been given the usual good note by Julia Elton:
“Smith’s translation of Vicat is only the second work in
English on mortar and cement (the first being Higgins) and
made widely available this major body of information. But
it is also very much Smith’s work, for he has supplemented
Vicat’s text with a series of lengthily additions and footnotes, in some cases making scientific terms more intelligible but more often expanding the original in the light of
his own experiments and observations. A vital tool for
anyone attempting to untangle the complicated history of
this fascinating subject.” Cat. 6:261.
8vo, recent marbled sides, brown calf spine, nicely bound. xii+302 pp.
with 3 engr. plates. Old small rubberstamp on t.p. and two stamps on
verso; but a clean fresh copy.
A GREAT WORK OF PUBLIC ART
THE BUNKER HILL OBELISK
30. WILLARD, SOLOMON. Plans and sections, of the
obelisk on Bunker’s Hill, with the details of experiments made in
quarrying the granite. Boston: Printed by Samuel N.
Dickinson; Chas. Cook’s Lith., 1843
$1500.00
First and only edition, a good copy in replacement boards
with original printed paper label. An early and important
publication documenting this great work of public art; also
a major work in the sparse literature of American building
[ 10 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
technology, and the only book by Willard. It explains and
illustrates in detail how the now famous Quincy granite was
quarried, worked and transported; it also gives a fascinating
description of the building of the obelisk. As pointed out by
Jack Quinan, Willard’s reputation “has never equalled his
numerous achievements as an architect, teacher, inventor,
sculptor and granite quarryman” (see his piece in the
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects). For Willard’s life see
Whieldon’s Memoir of Solomon Willard (Boston, 1865). See
also the D.A.B. It is surprising that there is not a modern
scholarly book-length study of Willard. Hitchcock 1409.
Small folio, new tan paper boards, calf spine, orig. printed paper label on
cover preserved and laid down. 31 pp. with 14 litho plates of which 1 fdg.
Plate XII appears twice. A fine clean copy.
31. WOOLLETT, WILLIAM M. Old homes made new:
being a collection of plans, exterior and interior views, illustrating the alteration and remodelling of several suburban residences. New York: A. J. Bicknell & Co., 1878
$950.00
First edition, fine copy, very scarce. An utterly charming,
but in a way rather depressing, book of pictures of “before”
and “after” views of colonial and federal period houses made
over into full-blown Victorian gingerbread houses. [The
above comment was written by myself about 40 years ago;
though my acceptance, and indeed enthusiasm, for Victorian architecture has grown greatly during that period, I still
find the book depressing. They should have just left the early
houses alone and built new ones in 1878]. Plates 1-20 are
from line drawings (interior and exterior views); plates 21
and 22 are heliotypes from photographs. Woollett was a
Fellow of the A.I.A. Hitchcock 1442. The final plate of ads
is a full color chromo of ‘Patterns of Minton’s tiles for floors.’
Oblong 8vo, orig. dec. green cloth. 10ff of text, with frontisp and 22 plates
(of which 2 are heliotypes) and 9 pp of ads at the rear. A fine copy of a
fragile book.
32. WRIGHT, WILLIAM H. A brief practical treatise on
mortars: with an account of the processes employed at the Public
Works in Boston harbor. Boston: William D. Ticknor & Co.,
1845
$350.00
First edition, a very uncommon book. The author was a
lieutenant in the U. S. Corps of Engineers; the book was
written based on his experiences working on Fort Warren in
Boston harbor. The fine folding plates, which were drawn
by Lieut. H. L. Eustis, include views of bridge piers, flare
kilns, a Yorkshire kiln, a cement kiln at Sheerness Dock
Yard, a furnace for calcining clay, stone-cutters tools, a plan
and section of the smaller mortar mill at Fort Warren, a
mortar cart, etc.
Small 8vo, orig. cloth, viii+148 pp. with 7 fdg. litho plates. Faded old
19th cent lib. stamp on t.p. Small chips in head and tail of spine.
Part II: Trade Catalogues
“OUR STONE IS AS MUCH STONE IN
APPEARANCE, DENSITY AND FINISH, AS
ARTIFICIAL ICE IS ICE”
33. AMERICAN HYDRAULIC STONE CO. Ferguson
System Concrete Construction. [Illus trade catalogue]. Denver,
Colorado, N.d. [ca. 1906]
$275.00
This firm won the only medals granted to a system of hollow
concrete wall and partition construction at the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition (1904). Catalogue opens with an essay
by J. A. Ferguson, President, “True concrete blocks and
brick for building hollow walls.” Further text consists of
specialties in construction, the manufacturing plant, the
longest concrete beams ever constructed (102 feet), the first
concrete skyscraper, competition, patents, a section of patent
claims and a number of testimonial letters, some of which
are long and complex. Includes a number of good photographs of buildings of all sorts, almost always giving the
name of the architect. Rare; not in OCLC.
8vo, orig. printed glazed wraps. 76 pp with 56 halftones and 11 scattered
line dwgs plus a final 8 pp with many line dwgs. Original quotation sheet
and order blank laid in. Head and tail of spine with some wear.
HIGH AND LOW RELIEF WALL
AND CEILING COVERINGS
and Lincrusta are discussed by Catherine Lynn in her
Wallpaper in America (1980), pp. 443 and 457. The present
catalogue is rare; OCLC locate just two copies (Principia
Coll. in Ill & Fashion Inst of Tech. Library).
Folio (15 ½ x 12"), orig. cloth, title in gilt (dull) on cover. (ix)+[358] pp
numbered in series as follows: A1-A4; B1-B27; C1-C17; D1-D36; E1E172; F1-F22; G1-G12; H1-H56; J1-J2; K1-K4; L1-L6.
IRON AND WIRE BUILDING ACCESSORIES
35. BARNUM, E. T. E. T. Barnum Iron and Wire Works.
No. 690 general catalogue. Detroit, 1926
$400.00
Barnum was an old company, established in 1866; Romaine
lists a catalogue of theirs as early as ca. 1870. Though they
certainly published thousands of catalogues, all of them are
quite scarce today. The reason is not hard to find: it states
on the inside of the front cover: “Kindly discard all previous
catalogues...” OCLC locates a total of seven different Barnum
catalogues of the following dates: 1883, 1913, 1920, 1925
and 1926, mostly in one copy each. The present issue is
located in one copy at Hagley. The contents, all of which are
profusely illustrated, include the following subjects: fire
escapes, jail and prison work, canopies and marquise (sic),
lawn furniture, bank and office railings, display fountains,
wire signs, drinking fountains, wire cloth, mausoleum doors
and gates. But there is much more, for example weather
vanes, garden fountains, wire trellises, cemetery entrance
gates, flag poles, ornamental signs, etc. etc.
8vo, orig. printed wrappers. 66 pp., profusely illus. Fine copy.
34. ANAGLYPTA. Anaglypta and Salamander Decorations. Paris International Exhibition 1900. Gold Medal Class
66. N.p. [London or Lancaster, UK], 1909
$750.00
Anaglypta was an outgrowth of Lincrusta, a wall covering.
“Lincrusta was invented in 1877 by Frederick Walton. It
became an instant success because it was the first washable
wall covering and appealed to the Victorians because of its
sanitary properties as well as its durability and ornate effects.
Originally made on a linen backing, it was, however, quite
rigid. Because of this, an employee by the name of Thomas
J. Palmer invented a similar product which, being made
from wood pulp and cotton, was lighter and more flexible.
This was to become Anaglypta (from the Greek words
‘Ana’ (meaning raised) and ‘Glypta’ (meaning Cameo).
Seeing this as a threat to Lincrusta, Walton decided not to
progress it, so Palmer patented the product, parted from
Walton, and began production of Analglypta in partnership
with Storey Bros. in 1887.” - Wikipedia. It was a great
success and is still being made today, a brand owned by
CWV Limited.
The present catalogue, a folio volume with 358 fine
halftone plates includes (but is not limited to) the following:
borders, bosses, car work, ceilings, dados and diapers, door
panels, fillings, friezes, painted walls, partially decorated
goods, pendants (wood), subject panels, shield panels, ship
work, wall panelling, weather-proof material, wood mouldings, etc. Anaglypta was also popular in America. Both it
TRADE CATALOGUE OF STORE FRONTS
36. COULSON, J. W. & CO. The Coulson patent store
front construction. Manufactured by...Columbus, Ohio,
[Grand Rapids Engraving Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.],
[1902]
$325.00
The first part of the catalogue is a very detailed and well
illustrated explanation of their patented system. The second
part shows 13 full-page halftones of actual store fronts
giving the location and architect in each case. There were
five in Columbus O., two in Atlanta, and one each in
Cincinnati, Tacoma Wash., Baltimore, Little Rock,
Coffeeville Kan., and New York City. Not in OCLC but a
copy is listed as part of the Albert Small collection of trade
catalogues at the Univ. of Va.
Large 4to (12 x 9"), orig. color printed wraps. 36 pp with numerous line
illus and 13 full-p. halftones. Final leaf partially stuck to the inside rear
cover (mostly legible). Old rust marks from staples.
37. DE FOREST, LOCKWOOD. Indian domestic architecture. N.p. [New York], 1885
$400.00
An interesting work, this is a combination architectural
book/trade catalogue. Mr. de Forest’s object was to ensure
the preservation of the arts, crafts and trades (and especially
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 11 ]
the carving) of the Indian workmen, some of whom were
brought by him to New York. The plates are razor sharp
heliotypes of Indian architecture and ornament, a few of
which are copies in Mr. de Forest’s possession. Plates 19 and
20 are views of Mr. de Forest’s rooms in his home in New
York City; they must surely be unique in the annals of late
19th century American interior decoration. Hitchcock 315.
Folio, original boards, green cloth spine. T.p., 2 ff and 25 heliotype plates.
Boards worn as usual but for this fragile book a very good copy. Old
library bookplate but no other markings. Orig. dust sheets still present.
THE “STEELCRETE” SYSTEM OF
REINFORCED CONCRETE
38. EASTERN EXPANDED METAL COMPANY. A
hand book of design containing tables, standards and useful
information appertaining to the “Steelcrete” system of reinforced
concrete. Boston, Ma.: the Company. [N.Y., Press of F. F.
Mazoyer Inc.], 1912
$200.00
“We present to you what...we hope [are] convincing reasons why STEELCRETE EXPANDED METAL is the
BEST material for reinforcing concrete slabs.” The material
was essentially a heavy-duty wire mesh which had been used
since the 19th century. It was an American invention, but
“no product could be more widely indorsed by foreigners.
The text explains exactly what the product is, its qualities;
“steelcrete” mesh and the problem of bond; the flat sheet
versus the roll; “steelcrete” mesh in floor construction, all
illustrated with halftones, drawings, diagrams and tables,
etc. There is much literature on this subject; a good starting
point (though the emphasis is on European buildings) is the
essay “Reinforced Concrete” in W. Pehnt (ed), Encyclopedia
of modern architecture (1964). More useful for American
developments is C. Condit’s American building art, 19th
century (1960), pp. 231-40. Rare; OCLC locates one copy
only of a related publication by the same company (1910)
in Avery Library.
Oblong 8vo, orig. stiff printed wraps, bound with two grommets.
55+(vii)+5 pp with numerous text illus, halftones, diagrams and tables.
Good copy.
INCLUDES A CATALOGUE OF LYMAN BRIDGES
READY MADE HOUSES
39. IOWA. IOWA RAILROAD LAND CO. Choice
Iowa farming lands. 1,000,000 acres, for sale at low prices on
credit or for cash by the Iowa Railroad Land Co. in tracts to suit
purchasers. Cedar Rapids, Iowa [Horton & Leonard, Printers, Chicago], 1870
$950.00
The history of prefabrication in 19th century America is a
very interesting subject and has attracted some scholarly
attention. The earliest article on this subject was written by
Charles Peterson, “Prefabs for the Prairies,” JSAH, vol 11,
no. 1, (March 1952), pp. 28-30. The gist of that article was
to explain and illustrate the title page and 4 plates from a rare
[ 12 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
trade catalogue by Richards, Norris and Clemens, Illus.
catalogue, description and price list of Clemens ready-made
sectional houses, (Chicago, 1872). Peterson mentions the one
earlier American example of such a catalogue: Skillings, D.
N. & Flint, Illustrated catalogue of portable sectional buildings
(Boston, 1862). But he was not aware of the Lyman Bridges
catalogue; indeed, it seems to be unknown to the scholars
who work on this subject. The title is as follows: The Lyman
Bridges building materials and ready made houses (Chicago,
1870). I have never seen this trade catalogue but OCLC
locates one copy in the Chicago History Museum.
The present item, however, is not unknown to scholars. It was cited and quoted in an article by M. J. Darnall,
“Innovations in American prefabricated housing: 18601890,” in JSAH, vol 31, no. 1, (March 1972). Darnall states:
“The best source for Col. Bridges’ designs is a pamphlet
published by the Iowa Railroad Land Co. in 1870 encouraging settlers to buy and develop property along their rightof-way.” Included in this publication are two pages of
letterpress explaining Lyman Bridges “Ready Made Houses”
followed by twenty full-page wood engravings of plans and
perspective views and prices of the houses Bridges offered.
They ranged from small one room buildings to two, three
and four room houses, several two story houses, a church
and finally a rather elegant Gothic revival house. The text
explains that the idea of ready-made dwellings was not a new
one in the west, “it has been successfully carried out for
years.” It further explains what you got for your money: all
the timber, finish work, doors, windows, hardware, even
screws, nails and paint. They could be delivered “at the
nearest station in eight to fifteen days after the order is
given.” The frontisp of the present item is a map of Iowa
highlighting areas where land was available; the first 37
pages of text contain descriptions of the counties and towns
along the railroad route in central Iowa. This is a key and
little known source in the history of 19th century prefabricated housing.
8vo, orig. printed wrappers. Frontisp map and 37+[20] pp with 20 full
page wood engravings, one to a page. Last four leaves have an old
marginal water stain, but not objectionable.
CAISSON PILES FOR TALL BUILDINGS
40. GOW COMPANY. The Gow system of caisson piles.
Boston, [Publisher’s Printing Co., New York], N.d. (ca.
1925)
$150.00
“The Gow system of Caisson foundations was designed to
meet the need of an efficient expeditious and economical
method of carrying the supporting columns of buildings or
other structures through underlying strata of unsuitable soil
to firm bearing material capable of safely sustaining the
superimposed load.” The columns were of fairly wide diameter (large enough for a man to fit inside); he went to the
bottom and manually dug a splayed base which spread the
load over a greater area. The catalogue illustrates and
explains all of this clearly. At the end is a long list of
architects, engineers, contractors and owners who have
used Gow Caisson piles. OCLC locates one copy (NYPL).
Tall narrow 8vo, orig. stiff printed wraps. 18 pp with 16 illus. 4 page insert
(“Sub-surface Investigation”) laid in. Fine copy.
INDIANA LIMESTONE
“THE NATION’S BUILDING STONE”
41. INDIANA LIMESTONE COMPANY. Old Gothic
and variegated for random ashlar. I.L.C., Bedford, Indiana
[Detroit: Evans-Winter-Hess (Printers)], N.d. (ca. 1925)
$250.00
A finely printed and beautifully illustrated catalogue for this
famous building material. Sections of the text as follows:
Advantages and economies in random ashlar construction;
Four typical ways of building nature’s enduring beauty into
the facing for walls; A large variety of finishes and treatments available; Indiana Limestone Company’s “Old
Gothic”; ditto “Variegated”; Shot sawed and ripple faced
finishes; and one or two more. Profusely illustrated with
high quality halftones of buildings, both institutional and
private, using this material. Many churches. Gives the
architect in almost all cases. Seven color plates show closeup photos of the surface and texture of various stones.
OCLC locates three copies: Indiana H.S., Pa. Hist. & Mus.
Comm. Libr. and UTAustin.
4to (11 ½ x 9"), orig. two-color printed wraps. 40 pp with 67 halftone
plates and seven color plates plus 4 color printed diagrams of jointing
patterns. Excellent copy.
42. LIBBEY OWENS FORD GLASS CO. Thermopane.
A metal to glass welded insulating unit; reduces heat loss...Toledo,
Ohio, N.d. [ca. 1948]
$150.00
Thermopane was “the first successful, mass produced windowpane ever made with built-in insulation.” The present
item is a 12 page extensively illustrated brochure on this
widely used building product. This specific printing is not
located in OCLC but they do locate a close variant at CCA.
According to their on-line catalogue, Corning Museum of
Glass has only a fiche copy.
4to (8 ½ x 11"), color printed self wraps. 12 pp with 24 halftone illus. Fine
copy.
cresting, trellises, palisades, window guards, parapets, galleries, balcony screens, altar and tomb railing, bar rails,
gates, panels and grating, spiral and straight stairs, balusters,
newels, flower boxes, etc. Of special interest is the final
chapter in vol II, “Structures”, embracing business premises, shop fronts, arcades and every conceivable outdoor
structure for recreation, shelter, rest, shade and ornament “Cast iron being beyond all other materials adapted for
such, occupying little space, giving the maximum light,
strength and durability, and expressing the most elegant
picturesque forms and lacelike tracery, for which stone is too
massive, and wood too perishable.”
2 vols, large 8vo, orig. cloth, titles in gilt on covers and spines, very fine
copies. I. Litho map of Glasgow, frontisp and 396 pp, each page illus. II.
Pp. 397-696 pp. profusely illus.
ART DECO SKYSCRAPER
A U. S. NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
44. MICHIGAN. DETROIT. Union Trust Building,
Detroit. Ornamental details. N.p. Reprinted from March 30,
1929 issue of Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record
by Dahlstrom Metallic Door Co., and the International Nickel
Co. Inc., [1929]
$400.00
Very nice copy of an informative and well illustrated (including color) essay on this major building. “The Guardian
Building is a landmark skyscraper in the United States...Built
in 1928 and finished in 1929 the building was originally
called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of Art
Deco Architecture, including art moderne designs...The
building has undergone recent award-winning renovations.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29,
1989.” - Wikipedia. It was designed by the architects Smith,
Hinchman & Gryllis; the “style” is Mayan revival. Essays in
the present brochure: A symphony in color; the embellishment of a cathedral of finance; notched arch a feature of
design; bank operations call for special engineering; the
details of the makeup of a great structure; the floor layouts;
finish of the tenant floors; a striking adaptation of a modern
metal (Monel metal); the facilities for vertical travel. OCLC
locates three copies: UC Berkeley, Detroit Pub Lib, and Art
Inst Chicago.
Tall quarto (12 x 9 ½"), orig. color printed wrappers. 28 pp with 4 color
illus and 39 halftones. Excellent copy.
CAST IRON ARCHITECTURE
43. MACFARLANE, WALTER & CO. Illustrated catalogue of Macfarlane’s castings. Sixth edition. Vol. I & vol II.
Possilpark, Glasgow, n.d. [ca. 1885]
$675.00
Fine copies of the complete two volume set. An old and well
established company (founded about 1830). A very extensive fully illustrated catalogue, 396 pages, a sampling of the
contents as follows: ornamental pipes, gutters, ridgepoles,
finials, crosses, bannerets, weather-vanes, arches, spirecoronals, turrets, clock towers, belfries, flag-staffs, railing,
FINE CATALOGUE OF ARCHITECTURAL
SHEET METAL WORK
45. MILWAUKEE CORRUGATING COMPANY.
Milcor architectural sheet metal guide. Catalogue no. 24 A.
Milwaukee, Wisc., 1928
$350.00
Fine copy of a handsomely produced and printed catalogue.
Subtitle: “A reference book on Milcor architectural sheet
metal products including “Titelock” metal tile and shingles,
roof trimmings, ornamental gutters, ventilators and skyCHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 13 ]
lights, ornamental cornices, marquees or canopies, “Invisible Joint” metal ceilings, and zinc and copper architectural
ornaments.” The metal tiles, shingles and slates are illustrated in color. Somewhat surprisingly this is rare; OCLC
locates but two copies, Columbia and UTex @ San Antonio.
4to, orig. color printed stiff wraps. 70+(ii) pp with hundreds of fine
halftones, and 24 illus in color (including gold and silver). An extra page,
24¼, is loosely inserted between 24 and 25.
FIREPROOF BUILDING PRODUCTS
OCLC: NO COPIES IN AMERICAN LIBRARIES
46. MILWAUKEE CORRUGATING COMPANY. The
Milcor Manual. A data book on Milcor materials and methods,
including engineering tables, details, specifications, and general
information regarding Milcor Stay-Rib and Netmesh expanded
metal lath, expansion corner bead and casings, steel domes,
channels and other fireproof building products. Catalogue No.
20. Milwaukee, [Meyer-Rotier Printing Co, Milwaukee],
N.d. (ca. 1920-24)
$275.00
Full of technical information and with very good illustrations, this will be a useful source for the historian of building
construction in the 1920s. OCLC locates but one copy in
Canada (CCA); no copies in American libraries. Laid in is
the four page price list for 1924. Very fine copy.
4to, orig. printed and embossed stiff wrappers. 64 pp., profusely illus,
with some in colors. 4 page price list laid in.
EARLY GAS PUMPS FOR SERVICE STATIONS
47. MILWAUKEE TANK WORKS. Modern filling station equipment. [Illustrated trade catalogue]. Milwaukee,
Wisc., [1928]
$325.00
Occasionally in very rural corners of the back country one
still sees one of these old pumps standing forlorn and
forgotten. But I have never seen a trade catalogue for them.
The pumps on offer here were both hand driven and motor
driven. One page of a montage of halftones shows 8 filling
stations; the back cover shows halftones of seven more. Not
in OCLC but that source does locate one similar catalogue
by this same company at Hagley.
Tall narrow 8vo, orig. color printed wraps. 27 pp with numerous illus. in
both halftone and black and red line illus; plus 15 halftones.
The brochures are numbered as follows: 1. The dual duty
house by Henry S. Churchill; 2. The house of plywood by
A. Lawrence Kocher (this is a stunning flat roofed modern
design); 3. The bride’s home by Landefeld & Hatch; 4. The
Pittsburgh House of Glass by Landefeld & Hatch; 5. The
small brick house of the sheltered workshops by George D.
Conner; 6. The small home of wood by Evans, Moore &
Woodbridge; 8. The New England home by Cameron
Clark; 10. House of Vistas by Werner Walter Johnson (a
very good modern design, inspired by the International
Style); 13. The Garden home by Verna Cook Salomonsky;
15. The Johns Manville triple insulated house by Godwin,
Thompson & Paterson; 16. The Kelvin Home by Electus D.
Litchfield; 17. The Celetex house by Henry Otis Chapman
Jr. & Harold W. Beder; 18. The electric home by James W.
O’Connor; 19. The Fire-Safe home by Perry M. Duncan;
and 21. The Motor home by Adams & Prentice (this is not
a mobile home). In this first edition, the numbering of the
booklets was erratic, going from 1 to 21 but the complete
series contained 15. This work should certainly interest
historians of prefabrication, the domestic house and the
modern movement in the 20th century. Visitors could walk
through the “town of tomorrow”, into each of the 15
houses, and pick up a brochure.
4to. 15 booklets, each 4 pp with illus in 2 colors. Each house is illus in
perspective and plan. Still preserved in the original printed folder.
“BUILT IN A DAY”
49. NORTH AMERICAN CONSTRUCTION CO.
Aladdin Houses. “Built in a day.” Catalogue no. 21. Bay City,
Michigan, Spring, 1911
$150.00
“The original and only perfect system for the construction
of knocked-down houses...We send you a complete house,
ready to be nailed together and live in for less than you can
buy the rough lumber.” Aladdin was a major company and
is given an entry in Wikipedia. They were founded in 1906,
closed 1987. Aladdin quickly expanded to become one of, if
not the, largest mail-order house companies. Their primary
competitors were Mongtomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck.
The present catalogue shows small cottages and dwelling
houses, small barns, bungalows, summer cottages and garages. The present 1911 issue is not located in OCLC but
various other Aladdin catalogues are.
8vo, orig. printed wrappers. 56 pp profusely illus. Printed by John P.
Lambert Co., Printers and Publishers, Bay City, Mich. Very nice copy.
EARLY EFFORT AT STANDARDIZED
HOME BUILDING
PATENT “ACME” SYSTEM OF GLASS ROOFING
48. NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR, 1939. The Town of
Tomorrow and Home Building Center. New York World’s Fair,
1939. (A group of 15 brochures in the original folder, all
published). N. Y., 1939
$500.00
A very interesting series of individual house plans, each with
a special theme and name, and each identified as to architect.
50. RENDLE, A. EDGCUMBE & CO. Greenhouse builders and glass roofing contractors. Philadelphia, 532 Walnut St.,
Chicago, 196 La Salle St., N.d., [ca 1886-1895] $175.00
Title page continues: “Greenhouses built anywhere, or
materials shipped f.o.b. Philadelphia or Chicago. Iron plant
tables, of approved construction. Ventilating apparatus, of
[ 14 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
the best known methods. Greenhouse heating, by steam or
hot water.” One half of page two is devoted to a long
discussion of glass house construction. A large iron framed
glass greenhouse is illustrated in a perspective view on the
cover; sections of two others are shown on page 3. This
would appear to be an American company through and
through but it was in fact English (or at least there was a
major English branch); Rakow Library (CMofG) has an
English catalogue of ca. 1910 by this same firm. OCLC
locates one copy only (Hagley) of an 1893 Philadelphia
catalogue also by this firm. Romaine also lists three Rendle
catalogues.
Small folio (12 x 9 ½"). 4 pp., t.p. with vignette; p. 3 with 2 sections of
greenhouses. P. 4 is all testimonials. Very good copy.
COMPLETE WITH ALL ELEVEN PAINT CHIPS
A MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL!
51. SHERWIN WILLIAMS PAINT CO. The Sherwin
Williams paint covers the earth. [Cleveland, Ohio], N.p.,
1901
$250.00
A fragile little thing, a calendar for the year 1901 with six
color-printed leaves showing six house paint color schemes,
each with the specifications for the color of body, trim, roof
and blinds. The bottom of the final leaf has pasted to it a
small envelope with the caption: “Samples of colors in this
envelope.” And indeed, inside the envelope are eleven small
paint chips each identified on the back with the color and
number, to match up with the chromolithos. Very fragile
but absolutely complete and never used (the calendar leaves,
which you were to tear off, run from April 1901 to March
1902; they are all present). Not in OCLC but they do list a
few other S-W catalogues.
“12mo” (6 x 3 ½"), cover printed on stiff card stock; stapled on to it are
6 circular calendar leaves; attached with a grommet are 6 leaves with color
printed house paint schemes and attached to the last leaf is the little
envelope with the envelope & paint chips.
MANUFACTURERS OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
52. SHOEMAKER, LEWIS F. & CO. Steel construction.
Pottstown, Pa., [George H. Buchanan Co., Phila (Printers)], N.d. [1920]
$225.00
A very attractive trade catalogue of good quality halftones of
steel structures manufactured and erected by this company:
railway bridges (multiple examples); locomotive erecting
shop; car shops; elevated railway (“Third Avenue El”,
NYC); South Street Power Station, Providence, R.I.; Portland Cement factory; Coke plant for Bethlehem Steel Co.,
steel railway trestle; locomotive round house; locomotive
shop, Madera, Mexico; Lincoln Wharf Power Station, Boston; railway footbridge; steel pier; railway viaduct, Brooklyn; Bridgeport City Hall (very interesting Greek Revival
style building which looks to be made of masonry); steel
arch highway and trolley bridge, Bellows Falls, Vt., First
National Bank, Williamsport Pa. (nine story office building), and a couple more power stations. OCLC locates one
copy NHSL (N. Hampshire State Lib).
Oblong sm. 8vo, orig. printed stiff covers. 30 pp with 28 full-p. halftones.
Short clean tear lower corner of cover (no loss).
53. STEREO RELIEF DECORATIVE CO. Patentees
and manufacturers of stereo relief ceiling and wall decorations.
Boston, n.d. [ca. 1890]
$250.00
The decorations, which were made of some sort of strong
composition material, were for wainscoting, friezes, borders, panels, vignettes, ornamental centre pieces, carvings,
mouldings, advertising signs, letters and figures, and corner
scrolls for signs, etc. This was a major company; they
supplied exterior relief decorations for the outside of all of
the World’s Fair buildings at Chicago, 1893. The catalogue
is fully illustrated, with dimensions and prices, and is thus
valuable for identification and documentation. A fragile
catalogue, this copy is in excellent condition. Not in
McKinstry; not in Romaine. OCLC locates two copies in
this country (Columbia & Mo. Hist Mus) and one in
Canada (CCA).
Oblong 8vo, orig. printed wrappers, 32 pp., profusely illus.
FULL-SIZE PATTERNS OF
DECORATIONS FOR DOOR PANELS
54. TUCK, RAPHAEL & SONS. Door panel decorations.
London, Paris & New York: Raphael Tuck & Sons, N.d.,
[ca. 1880-1890s]
$850.00
A very rare and perhaps unique survival, a series of color
printed decorations for interior door panels. This lot consists of 2 lithographed explanatory panels and 4
chromolithographed (with gold) panels, all of cupids painted
by W. S. Coleman, one pair 10 x 20 ½ inches, the second pair
10 x 41 inches. The text states: “The name of W. S.
Coleman, one of the leading decorative artists of the day; of
Ellen Wellby, famous for birds and blossoms; of Bertha
Maguire, well-known for her flower painting; of Professor
Chelazzi, the great Florence fruit painter; and of Kate
Sadler, who has few equals in the painting of magnificent
roses, are a sufficient guarantee of the high standard we have
set ourselves in the publication of these Door Panel Decorations, reproduced as they are, in the very highest class of
chromolithography. The designs, which are easily affixed to
any door, have been arranged to suit larger or smaller panels
by the simple process of trimming, without interfering with
the completeness of the artistic effect, while, varnished, they
last practically as long as the door itself.”
Included is a separate chromolithographically printed
broadsheet, New Artistic Door Panel Decorations (1893)
showing a four panel door decorated with orchids painted
by Berthan Maguire with moulding and sample of wall
design; descriptive text on verso. This also was published by
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 15 ]
Raphael Tuck & Sons.
6 large scale panels (dimensions given above) of which 4 printed in
chromolithography, 2 in monochrome. Plus the chromo broadsheet.
Large panels are loosely rolled up; can be flattened easily.
WITH 49 ACTUAL MOUNTED SAMPLES OF
CERAMIC TILES
55. WENCZEL TILE COMPANY. Modern color decorating with Wenczel Ceramic Tiles. [Trenton, N.J.], (ca.
1955-60)
$500.00
A rare and compelling object, a salesman’s sample catalogue
of Wenczel tiles for use in new homes. Includes samples of
the Decorator Group, Bright Glaze Wall tiles, Wenczel
Weave color tiles and the Sparkle Group tiles. Founded in
1929 by Stephen Wenczel, the company grew into an
influential tile manufacturer based in Trenton, N. J. and
Tampa, Fla. through the twentieth century. It provides an
excellent guide to mid-century color schemes for kitchens
and bathrooms, and is replete with clear and color printed
overlays made of mylar or celluloid and with 49 actual
mounted samples of colored tiles. All of the proposed color
schemes are keyed into the Ostwald Color System. The
whole package gives a very good sense of mid-century
domestic color schemes. Very rare; not in OCLC (in fact
OCLC locates nothing by this company except for a set of
toy tile building blocks at the CCA).
Folio (14 ½ x 11 ½"), in the format of a loose leaf notebook, with colorprinted covers. 12+(iv) pp with numerous text illus., color diagrams.
Includes bound-in portfolio with illustrated color-printed mylar overlay
for bathroom tile color-schemes containing 82 color strips & color illus of
tiles; additional overlay for kitchen laid in, as well as small mylar speckled
strip inserted into pocket (this was to be laid over the plain tiles to show
the effect of speckles); 1 thick card leaf with 9 colored and/or speckled
mounted sample tiles; illustrations of 6 fashionette tiles and 40 mounted
ceramic tile samples (each 2 ¼” square). One tile is broken; about half is
missing. Else almost fine.
LOUIS SULLIVAN ORNAMENT
56. WINSLOW BROS. CO. Photographs and sketches of
ornamental iron and bronze executed by the Winslow Brothers
Company. Chicago, 1901
$750.00
A handsome trade catalogue of architectural bronze and
iron by the leading fabricator. Every major piece is identified
as to building, location and architect; includes a number of
fine plates of cast ornament by Louis Sullivan. Arranged in
sections by categories of ornament; each section is preceded
by a handsomely printed title in red. An essential source for
the comprehensive study of Sullivan, as well as numerous
other important architects (Henry Ives Cobb, Burnham &
Root, Peabody & Stearns, Adler & Sullivan, Jennie &
Mundie, Holabird & Roche, S. S. Beman, etc).
4to, orig. cloth, covers lightly worn. 272 pp with well over 1000 halftones.
Nicely printed by the Press of Rogers and Wells, Chicago.
[ 16 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
INDUSTRIAL BUILDING MATERIAL USED THE
WORLD OVER
57. WOLVERHAMPTON CORRUGATED IRON
COMPANY LTD. Robertson protected metal for roofing,
walls, and partitions of buildings. Catalogue no. 105. Mersey
Iron Works, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire [U.K.], 1926
$250.00
Robertson Protected Metal was first put on the market in
1905 and had been constantly improved. The text explains
the product fully and good sharp halftones show industrial
buildings in England and Scotland (coal bunker, airship
shed, collieries, omnibus garage, rugby grandstand);
Surabaya (warehouse); Hong Kong (dock building); other
buildings in Nigeria, Port Sudan, Oakland California, Baltimore, Md., etc. A list at the end gives major clients from
all over the world including three in New Zealand and one
in South Australia. Not in OCLC (but they do locate
another catalogue by this company in the CCA in Montreal).
4to, orig. stiff printed wraps. 20 pp with 15 halftones and 2 line drawings.
Printed in red and black. Centerfold leaf loose of the staples.
58. WYCKOFF LUMBER & MFG. CO. Cornell portable houses. Manufactured by the Wyckoff Lumber & Mfg.
Co., Ithaca, N.Y., [1910]
$225.00
Trade catalogue of high quality small buildings. “Cornell
portable houses are strong and durably made of thoroughly
seasoned, carefully selected lumber. They are built of solid,
interchangeable sections, tongued, grooved, and securely
bolted together, making the joints absolutely weather tight.
They are fitted, set up, and completely finished on the
factory floor; then “knocked down” and crated for shipment.” The present catalogue includes auto garages, boat
houses, stores, field office, shop, booth, fire hose house,
studios, barns, playhouses, refreshment stands, many cottages, a chapel, pavilion, poultry house, etc. Catalogue ends
with six pages of testimonials and on the last page a
perspective view of “our factory today.” OCLC locates one
copy (Cornell U).
8vo, orig. printed wraps, with front and rear cover designs showing
influence of art nouveau. 48 pp with many fine halftones (of a reasonably
fine screen; they are good and sharp) and numerous floor plans. Very
good copy.
II. FURNITURE
Part I: Books, Photographs, etc.
59. BECK, S. WILLIAM. The draper’s dictionary. A
manual of textile fabrics: their history and applications. London: the Warehouseman & Draper’s Journal, n.d. [1886]
$250.00
First edition in book form; originally published in bits and
pieces in the Warehouseman and Draper’s Trade Journal.
“Despite its limitation in the number of words included,
William Beck’s Draper’s dictionary (1882) is invaluable for
its references to the use made of materials over long periods
of time. Editors of the Oxford English Dictionary relied
extensively on Beck’s work.” - Florence Montgomery, Textiles in America, p. 380. A very uncommon book; I have had
one other copy in the past 46 years.
8vo, orig. cloth. iv+378 pp. Spine a bit dull but a very good copy.
“VAT” FOR 18TH CENTURY FRENCH
FURNITURE?
60. BOUCHER D’ARGIS, [ANTOINE GASPARD].
Traite de la crue des meubles au dessus de leur prisée. Dans lequel
on explique son origne, & celle de Parisis des meubles; les Pais ou
la crue a lieu, leurs differens usages sur la quotité, quels meubles
y sont sujets, quelles personnes en doivent tenir compte, &
plusieurs autres questions qui naissent de cette matiere. Paris:
Bernard Brunet Fils, 1741
$650.00
First edition, rare. The meaning here of the word ‘crue’ is
ambiguous and it was even in the 18th century as it is
explained in Chapter I: “le terme de CRUE signifiée plusieurs
choses differentes, selon le sens dans lequel on s’en fert...la
Crue des Meubles dont s’il s’agit ici, tire aussi son etymologie
du verbe croitre. C’est un supplement de prix, qui dans
quelques pais & en certain cas, est du outre le montant de la
prisée des meubles par ce qui en doivent rendre la valeur.”
(p. 4). This book was clearly intended at the time it was
written as a legal work and is listed in Camus, Bib. choisie des
livres de droit (1833; reprinted 1976) as number 1538. There
was a later edition in 1767. But it is of interest today to
economic historians and especially historians of furniture
and material culture in early 18th century France. OCLC
locates but two copies: UPenn Law & Yale.
8vo, orig. mottled calf, highly gilt spine, a nice copy in completely original
state. xii+408 pp.
“FROM THE GREAT EXHIBITIONS
OF LONDON & PARIS”
61. BRAUND, J[OHN]. Illustrations of furniture, candelabra, musical instruments from the Great Exhibitions of London and Paris, with examples of similar articles from Royal
Palaces and Noble Mansions. London: the Author, 1858
$850.00
First and only edition. This work is included in E. Joy, “Pict
Dict of Brit 19th Cent Furnit Design”: “John Braund, an
‘artist in design,’ of no. 5 George St, Portman Square,
London, produced Illustrations of Furniture in 1858. Nothing appears to be known about his background, but the
contents of the book are clearly revealed on the title page for,
in addition to furniture, it includes ‘candelabra and musical
instruments from the Great Exhibitions, London and Paris,
with examples of similar articles from royal palaces and
noble mansions.’ Elaboration is again the keynote, with
distinct touches of Renaissance and Elizabethan ornament,
covering a comprehensive selection of pieces.” (p. xxxi).
Only 174 copies were spoken for on the list of subscribers
(25 of these to J. Weale, the publisher/bookseller). The
work is not common, but I did see a copy recently in London
offered at £1850.
Folio, recent full cloth, morocco lettering piece. Engr. t.p., 5 pp of
letterpress and 49 engr plates. Scattered light marginal foxing.
THE MOST WIDELY OWNED FURNITURE
DESIGN BOOK IN C18 AMERICA
THIRD AND BEST EDITION
62. CHIPPENDALE, THOMAS. The gentleman and
cabinet maker’s director: being a collection of the most elegant
and useful designs of household furniture, in the most fashionable
taste. Third edition. London: Printed for the author and sold
at his house...also by T. Becket and P. A. de Hondt, 1762
$6000.00
Originally published in 1754, this is a good, clean absolutely
complete copy of the third and best edition. This was the
most important collection of furniture designs to be published in eighteenth century England; it was originally
intended to function as a trade catalogue (note that it was
“sold by the author at his house.”) Originally published
1754 with 161 plates; this edition has been enlarged to 200
plates. The new material includes clock cases, pier glasses,
girandoles, picture frames, stove grates, borders for paper
hangings and designs of brass handles and escutcheons for
furniture. A recent and excellent study by M. H. Heckscher
states that Chippendale’s Director was the most widely
owned furniture design book in eighteenth century America.
He proves this statement by listing 17 documented references to copies in this country before 1800. (“English
furniture pattern books in eighteenth-century America,” in
Luke Beckerdite (ed), American Furniture 1994, Chipstone
Foundation, 1994, pp. 173-205). It is interesting to note
that Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of the 1755 edition;
though as Heckscher states, “it hardly informed his progressive tastes.” O’Neal 26. Berlin Catalogue 1227.
Folio, rebound in full calf, antique, spines with raised bands and gilt lines,
dark red lettering piece. 20 pp with engr. ded. leaf and 200 engr plates.
Upper blank margin of t.p. pieced out; preliminary leaves dusty. Else a
good clean complete copy of the best edition.
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 17 ]
MANUFACTURERS ORIGINAL STOCK OR
PATTERN BOOK WITH ABOUT 200
PHOTOGRAPHS
63. FRANCE. [SEATING FURNITURE]. Sieges 40004524. French, ca. 1890s
$900.00
An extremely interesting document, a unique copy of a
French seating furniture manufacturers stock or pattern
book. It contains just over 300 separate mounted images:
about 197 photographs (mostly albumen prints), 65 lithographs, 14 original pencil drawings of high quality and 6
cyanotypes. Many of these illustrate more than one piece;
thus together they illustrate, as the binder’s title states, more
than 500 separate items. Each piece is numbered sequentially in blue pencil; some have penciled captions giving
titles, occasionally woods, and other information in code
(probably prices). The variety of seating furniture is endless
and includes side chairs, arm chairs, settees, sofas, couches,
upholstered chairs and upholstered sofas, stools, cheval
mirrors, folding screens, an extensive selection of “priedieu” (chairs with a low seat and high back with padded top
for praying), wing chairs, banquettes, and one photo of
oriental carpets. Most of the chairs and in various historical
styles but there are also a series of modern “arts & crafts”
chairs at the end. Many of the chairs in the photographs are
shown in the frame only (without seats or upholstery); some
of them are stenciled on the rear seat rail “déposé” which
means registered trademark. The quality of the photographs
is high; they were obviously taken by a professional photographer. The original pencil drawings are also of high quality;
the first of them is signed ‘A. Archambaut del.’ This album
deserves careful study; it provides good insights into late
19th century French chair design and manufacture.
Thick oblong folio (13 x 11"), orig. canvas binding, two gilt lettered dark
red morocco spine labels, upper one reads “Sieges”, lower one “4000 a
4524.” 103 leaves bound on stubs. Filled with mounted images as
described above. In very good condition.
NO COPY IN AMERICA
64. G., A. [GARNIER, ATHANASE]. L’appréciateur
du mobilier, ou le moyen de savoir faire l’estimation et la
verification du mobilier le plus étendu, et de former des devis pour
toute espece d’ameublement. Paris: Chez l’auteur & chez
Chaumerot, 1821
$1950.00
First edition of a very rare French appraiser’s manual for
furniture and decorative accessories. Garnier, an “exverificateur au garde-meuble de la couronne,” gives information on the value of furnishings, on the properties of
various woods used in the making of furniture, on the
identification and nomenclature of all sorts of fabrics used in
decoration, on the types of rugs used in apartments, on
passementerie (lace), upholstery fabric, types of gilding,
bronzing, etc. Detailed prices are given for virtually every
type of object, fixture or furnishing necessary for decorating
a French home or apartment. The tables are arranged in
[ 18 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
room-by-room sequence. A long section of general observations are given for all manner of forms, e.g. armoires,
baignoires, banquettes, bergeres, bidets, billiards, bonheur
du jour, buffets, bureaus a cylinders, bureaux, canapes,
candelabras...etc. etc. Wallpapers for dining rooms, bedrooms and salons are identified and described. A work of
great value for the student of French interiors of the early
19th century. The work is rare; WORLDCAT/OCLC
locates but one copy (in Germany); no copy in this country.
I have owned one other copy (of the 2nd ed., 1822) in the
past 46 years.
8vo, orig. paper covered boards, calf spine, gilt. xv+(1)+347 pp. Author’s
signature on t.p. A very good copy of a very rare book.
RESTRIKES OF PLATES BY THOMAS JOHNSON
& MATTHIAS LOCK
65. [JOHNSON, THOMAS; MATTHIAS LOCK a.o.].
Old English and French ornament: for the interior embellishment of houses, for carvers and decorators; with designs for doors,
windows, fire-places and chimney glasses, ornamental furniture,
etc. by Chippendale, Johnson, Inigo Jones, Lock and others.
London: John Weale, 1834
$1500.00
This is a very interesting book in the context of publishing
history and the history of taste. In the early 1830s the
publisher Weale acquired the original copperplates of both
Matthias Lock’s and Thomas Johnson’s designs for ornament and furniture; he saw a profit to be made in reissuing
these, but not under their author’s names, who were both by
then unknown. He erased the correct author’s names from
the copper plates and substituted the name of Thomas
Chippendale, a name which was then still recognizable and
saleable.
The present volume consists of seven sections, all
restrikes of 18th century plates (except for the three title
pages which were altered or reengraved): I. Chippendale’s
133 designs of interior decorations (1834), (48, ex 50, engr
plates; II. A book of ornaments by Thomas Johnson, carver
(1834), (engr t.p. & 7 designs on 4 engr plates); III. A book
of ornaments, drawn & engrav’d by M. Lock (1834), (engr.
t.p. & 6 engr plates); IV. No author or t.p. but probably M.
Lock, 11 engr plates of designs for looking glasses and
chimney pieces; V. [Swan, Abraham], Different designs for
doors & windows, n.d. (10 engr plates); VI. No author but
probably from I. Ware’s Designs of Inigo Jones & others (all
designs for chimney pieces; 10 engr plates) and finally VI.
Vases by Darly, 18 vases on 8 engraved plates.
The primary value of this work today lies in the 70
plates by Thomas Johnson and Matthias Lock. Original
18th century printings of these books are extremely expensive and very rarely on the market. They include designs for
mirrors, chimney-pieces, picture frames, candlesticks, lanterns, clock-cases, brackets, girandoles and tables. The designs, which are mainly for carving work are all in Johnson
and Lock’s exuberant rococo style, with sharp, spiky, decoration interspersed with chinoiserie motifs, and hints of
‘gothick’ in some of the forms. In their original issues it was
these designs which had such a marked influence on other
contemporary designers and carvers, and, in particular,
caused a change in Chippendale’s style which is noticeable
in the new designs for the third edition of the Director.
This volume is very rare. OCLC locates only one copy
in Australia (no copies in USA).
4to, orig. cloth sides, neatly resewn and rebacked in calf. Letterpress
general title and a total of 98 engr plates as listed above. As noted part I
lacks 2 plates (nos. 33 & 42). Light scattered foxing on the final dozen or
so leaves, else a very good copy.
66. (JOINER & CABINETMAKER). The guide to trade.
The joiner and cabinet maker. London: [Printed by A.
Sweeting for] Charles Knight & Co., 1839
$375.00
A rare little work, not in OCLC. This copy is bound in recent
boards and I bought it that way; I suspect it is part of a larger
work published by Charles Knight possibly called “The
Guide to Trade” but I cannot locate any work of this title.
It is separately paginated. It is arranged more or less along
the lines of a ‘book of trades’, the main character a boy called
Thomas. Chapters include: Thomas makes a packing box;
Thomas makes a school-box for Master John; Thomas
begins to receive wages; Thomas makes a chest of drawers;
Thomas makes a mahogany chest of drawers and finally selfimprovement. Because of the extensive detail, given in
narrative form, of the cabinet-maker’s tools and ways of
using them, this work will be much value to the student of
historic furniture making.
12mo, recent boards. 115 pp. with 10 wood-engr illus on 2 full-p. plates.
LITERARY AND ARTISTIC PIRACY
67. [LOCK, MATTHIAS]. Chippendale’s ornaments and
interior decorations, in the old French style, consisting of hall,
glass and picture frames, chimney pieces, stands for china, clock
and watch cases, girandoles, brackets, grates, lanterns, ornamental furniture and various ornaments, for carvers, modellers,
etc. London: John Weale, n.d. [ca. 1831-1835] $500.00
A fascinating example of literary/artistic piracy as well as a
case study in publishing history and the history of taste. In
the early 1830s the publisher Weale acquired the original
copper plates of both Matthias Lock’s and Thomas Johnson’s
[18th century] designs for ornament and furniture; he saw
a profit to be made in reissuing these, but not under their
author’s names, who were both by then unknown. He
erased the correct author’s names from the copper plates and
substituted the name of Thomas Chippendale, a name
which was then still recognizable and saleable. Elizabeth
White states: “Many of Lock’s designs were among the first
eighteenth century Rococo furniture plates to be republished by Weale in 1831 and 1834, and accellerated the
development of a Rococo, or Louis XV revival in the
1830s.” - Pict dict of Brit 18th cent furnit design, p. 39. For
an example of the Thomas Johnson reissue see item 65
above. Though they are not dated, the present series of
plates appear to have been printed in the 1830s to judge
from the paper. NUC locates three copies (Avery; NYPL;
Buff & Erie Co Pub Lib).
Folio, recent marbled boards, black cloth spine. Engr. title (not a restrike;
this was newly engraved and looks it) and 24 Lock plates plus a final 9
plates, restrikes of 18th century chimney pieces by a totally different
designer; the names of the delineator and engraver have been erased.
68. The LONDON Cabinet Makers’ union book of prices. By
a Committee of Masters and Journeymen. London: Printed by
Richard F. Benbow for the Committee and sold at the
meeting house of the West-End Cabinet Makers’ Society,
1866
$950.00
The fourth edition of the price book which superseded that
originally issued in 1788. By now the designs of Shearer,
Casement and Hepplewhite are well out of fashion and the
plates have been replaced by far less elegant designs with
more concentration on details. In this edition they are
mostly details and include doors, panels, pier table tops,
table mouldings, standards, stretchers and brackets for sofa
or writing tables; table legs, firescreen standards, the horseshoe (i.e. extendible) dining table, Grecian pillars, etc. This
edition is a curiosity to appear as late as 1866; even the
designs illustrated were by then well out of date. The Preface
to this edition was a straight reprint of the edition of 1811.
For a good general discussion of price books see C. Montgomery, American furniture, the Federal period, pp. 19-26;
also pp. 488-89 where he notes there were four revised
editions of this work: 1811, 1824, 1836 and 1866. The
appearance of this work as late as 1866 says much for the
tradition of conservatism in 19th century English furniture
design. Weinreb, 29:124. This edition not in NUC. [NUC
does locate editions of 1811, 1821, 1824, 1831, 1836 and
1846].
4to, orig. blue paper wrappers. (xii)+(xiv)+474+1 pp with 8 engr.
plates. Untrimmed copy, and largely unopened.
VERY RARE MANUAL FOR CABINETMAKERS
& JOINERS
69. MAGNIER, PELSERF. Manuel du constructeur, ou
nouveau traité théoretique et pratique d’architecture, de
menuiserie, d’ébenisterie, etc. accompagné de quarante-trois
planches en taille-douce. Deuxieme édition. Paris: Carilian
Jeune; Lyon: Edmond Vidal, 1844
$650.00
A rare book; I cannot locate any other copy (not in OCLC
nor any of the usual references). Originally published some
years earlier under the title L’ami des arts. The fine folding
plates include a good series of furniture designs: tall case
clocks, pedestals, sabre-leg sideboard, chest-of-drawers (commode), classical sleigh bed, secretaire, table (gueridon), sofa
(canapé); also a group of musical instruments: concertina,
accordion, parlor organ and piano; and finally a good group
of plates for the household joiner: the classical orders,
moulding profiles, joinery of door panels, patterns for
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 19 ]
windows, doors and shop fronts; altarpieces and pulpits,
circular stairs, parquet floor patterns, etc.
8vo, orig. paper wraps, large untrimmed copy. (ii)+xiv-15-220+(ii) pp
with 43 fdg engr plates. Orig. plain paper wraps detached but present; an
excellent largely unopened copy.
VERY CLEAN UNTRIMMED LARGE PAPER COPY
70. PERCIER, C. & P. F. L. FONTAINE. Recueil de
décorations intérieures comprenant tout ce qui a rapport a
l’ameublement. Paris: chez les auteurs, 1812
$2350.00
Fine large untrimmed copy of the second and best edition;
the first edition appeared in 1801 without text. “The
Recueil...not only used the term ‘interior decoration’ for the
first time but showed that [Percier & Fontaine] had already
created an Empire style which needed only the addition of
a few motifs - giant Ns in laurel wreaths, eagles and bees to make it fully Napoleonic. It includes designs for canopied
beds, throne-like armchairs flanked by winged lions and
such preposterous fantasies as a huge jardinière cum goldfish-bowl and bird-cage, supported by sphinxes with flowerpots on their heads and crowned by a statue of Hebe. Their
furniture is always of simple form lavishly decorated with
Antique motifs.” - Fleming & Honour, Dict of the decorative
arts, p. 300. This work is especially important to the student
of the Empire style in America, especially for its designs of
individual furniture forms and their relation to the actual
pieces made by Lannuier, Joseph Brauwers, John Greuz and
Querville. Fowler 244. Berlin Catalogue 4056. Cicognara
605. Not in Viaux, Bib du meuble.
This is a very clean copy. It is 18 ½" tall (1 ¼" taller
than the Millard copy) and is perhaps on large paper. See
Millard French 134 (this same edition). RIBA, Early Printed
Books, 2491 has only the later edition of 1827.
Folio, recent boards, tan calf spine and corners; untrimmed. (ii)+43 pp
with 72 engr. plates. Not a particularly distinguished binding, but
otherwise a very appealing copy.
71. PUGIN, AUGUSTUS W. N. Pugin’s gothic furniture. London: R. Ackermann, n.d. [ca. 1850]
$400.00
Originally published ca. 1828 by Ackermann, this is a
lithographic reprint. The Pugin plates were originally published in Ackermann’s Repository; they were later (ca 1828)
published as a separate book. The book is important. “This
publication is now convincingly held to represent the work
of A. W. N. Pugin, though for long it was assumed to be his
father’s. Pugin was later very critical of this early work,
referring to the “enormities in the furniture” which he
designed for Windsor Castle because he had failed to grasp
the true meaning of Gothic.” - Joy, Pict Dict of Brit 19th cent
furniture design, p. xxvi. M. Belcher in her 1987 bibliography of A.W.N. Pugin ascribes the work to the elder Pugin
but notes the controversy over its authorship (A.1.1). The
designs are historically important, and the book in any
edition, is very hard to find. Abbey, Life, 51 (first edition).
4to, orig. publisher’s green cloth. Engr. t.p. and 26 plates.
[ 20 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
72. PUGIN, A. W. Gothic furniture in the style of the 15th
century. London: Ackermann & Co., 1835
$385.00
First edition of the author’s first book published under his
own name. Clive Wainwright has called this “his key publication on furniture; [it] became one of his most influential
books” - (Pugin, 1994, p. 134). Pugin’s mature mediaeval
designs for furniture and those on which his reputation
primarily rests. The original drawings for this book survive
in the V. and A. See the excellent note in Joy, Pict. Dict. of
Brit. 19th cent. furnit. design, p. xxvi. Belcher, A.W.N. Pugin,
an annotated critical bibliography, A1.1. Fowler 261.
4to, orig. unlettered cloth. Engr. title and 25 etched plates of furniture
designs. Titles of plates printed in red. Front pastedown has two 19th
century bookseller’s tickets, B. T. Batsford and W. N. Pitcher & Co of
Manchester.
RARE FRENCH PATTERN BOOK OF DRAPERIES
73. QUETIN, V[ICTOR]. Le magasin de meubles. No.
24. Paris: Rue de Faub. St. Antoine, 55, N.d. [ca. 1880]
$500.00
Quetin produced a number of furniture and drapery books
and albums and he has always been somewhat of an enigma.
But a new book sheds some useful light on him, Gail
Winkler, Capricious fancy, draping & curtaining the historic
interior 1800-1930 (2103). She states: “Victor L. Quetin
was both a publisher and a designer who...issued furniture
and drapery plates in sets or livraisons...Quetin’s work has
yet to be precisely dated because we do not know when he
began to publish plates or how many sets of plates he
produced annually. Most illustrations bear two numbers one for the livraison and another for the plate - and it safe to
assume therefore, therefore, that plate 35 from livraison 5
was issued years before plate 736 from livraison 92, which
are the numbers of the earliest and latest plates in the
combined Dornsife and Athenaeum [of Philadelphia] collections. Jacqueline Viaux of the Bibliotheque Forney told
Samuel Dornsife the confusion arises from the fact that no
complete set of Quetin’s work survives in any collection, and
as yet no researcher has pieced together the story by examining all the examples scattered in institutions throughout
the world. Quetin reissued his plates in albums, some of
which were devoted exclusively to one subject, while others
were a combination of subjects such as seating and case furniture.
The Dornsife and Athenaeum collections hold five albums; two are
devoted to curtains, a third is dedicated to seating furniture and two
combine furniture and chair designs.”
Despite the title page of the present album, which
states “Meubles” it is entirely devoted to draperies and the
binders title on the cover states “Tentures Modernes.” In
addition to drapery patterns for windows and beds, there are
patterns for ‘toilettes’ (i.e. dressing tables). screens, easels,
pianos, pedestals, etc. Rare; OCLC locates but one copy:
Hist. Houses Tr. of New So. Wales.
Oblong 8vo, (5 x 7 ½"), orig. printed boards (edges chipped). Litho t.p.
and 102 litho plates. Printed throughout in a tan (bistre) tint.
74. [SIDDONS, G. A.] The cabinet maker’s guide; or rules
and instructions in the art of varnishing, dying, staining,
japanning, polishing, lackering, and beautifying wood, ivory,
tortiseshell & metal with observations on their management and
application. Fifth edition, considerably augmented by the addition of several new articles, receipts, etc. London: Sherwood,
Gilbert & Piper, 1837
$475.00
Originally published about 1825, this work went through
four editions in just over a decade. It was a long popular
work and was reprinted in America in the first year of
publication, 1825. An excellent essay on this work and its
origins by R. D. Mussey appears in The first American
furniture finisher’s manual (Dover, 1987). Mussey points
out that the real authorship has been lost in the mists of time.
He cites the publication of 14 known editions and seventyplus pirated texts. He states that “it is fair to attach great
significance to this text.” The long title is synoptical of the
contents. NUC locates two copies only of a fifth edition of
1830; this is the only edition in English they locate. They
also locate four German editions (as late as 1920) and one
Spanish edition of 1925. OCLC locates one copy of this
1837 edition (Smithsonian).
12mo, orig. boards, green cloth spine, printed paper spine label.
xvi+223+1 pp with engr. frontisp.
KEY PATTERN BOOK OF LATE REGENCY TASTE
75. SMITH, GEORGE. The cabinet maker and
upholsterer’s guide...to which is added, a complete series of new
and original designs for household furniture and interior decoration, in the most approved, elegant and modern taste, beautifully and correctly coloured. London: Jones & Co., 1839
$2600.00
Originally published 1828, this is a reissue with the plates
variously dated 1826-8 as in the first edition. Clifford
Musgrave calls this “the most important embodiment of the
later phases of Regency taste...produced after an experience
of forty years in the cabinet making trade.” (Regency furniture, London, 1961). It also gives a foretaste of the early
Victorian styles in the coarsening of forms and tendencies
towards grossness in design. Edward Joy comments: “Smith’s
Cabinet-maker and upholsterer’s guide of 1826, with 153
plates, shows what had happened within two decades, for it
illustrates interiors in Grecian, Egyptian, Etruscan, Roman,
Gothic and Louis Quatroze styles while the author admits
that his designs of 1808 are now wholly obsolete owing to
the rapid change in taste and the difficulty of finding new
forms. Smith’s furniture is now heavy and clumsy and its
decoration coarser, though the Guide, accepted as the exemplar of late Regency taste, was to have some influence in
America as well as in England.” (Pict dict of Brit 19th cent
furniture design, p. xviii). Abbey, Life, 73 (with exactly the
same number of colored plates). Berlin Catalogue 1826.
4to, orig. gray paper boards, dark green cloth spine, maroon lettering
piece, neatly rehinged. viii+219+1 pp. with engr. title, and 152 engr
plates of which 40 are hand colored. As always the plates are bound out
of order and misnumbered but the book is complete. Scattered foxing and
spotting as usual due to the quality of the paper, but a good copy.
THE COPY OF A WORKING CABINETMAKER
76. SMITH, GEORGE. Smith’s cabinet maker’s and
upholsterer’s guide...London, 1826
$1300.00
A puzzling copy. It contains no text, and 150 of 151 plates.
Many of the plates, almost all of them, have the sharply
impressed name “HARRIS CARMARTHEN” on them;
this was certainly an early owner and probably a cabinetmaker (though he is not listed in Beard & Gilbert, “Dict of
English Furniture Makers 1660-1840.”). It contains at least
two plates which have been added from other sources as well
as four inserted plates from a printed furniture trade catalogue of ca. 1860. Almost all of the black and white
lithographed plates have a rough sandy feel to the surface, as
if they had been washed. Also, they are early states, and in
fact some are different images from those in the later
editions. Finally, there are 10 modern photographic 4 x 5
inch color prints laid in; the dealer from whom I bought it
said this copy belonged to Laura Ashley. I have no idea if this
is true or not. But it’s an interesting copy, worthy of some
research.
4to, old calf, neatly resewn and rebacked. T.p. and 150 plates with 4
additional smaller leaves bound in. Each plate with old dust sheet.
A RARE PATTERN BOOK
77. SMITH, G[EORGE]. A collection of ornamental designs after the manner of the antique, compos’d for the use of
architects, ornamental painters, statuaries, carvers, casters in
metal, paper makers, carpet, silk, and printed calico manufacturers, and every trade dependant on the fine arts. London: I.
Taylor at the Architectural Library, [1812]
$2000.00
First and only edition; very rare (OCLC locates but three
copies: LC, Smithsonian & Atlanta Hist Ctr). Designs for
classical friezes, finials and ornaments for sideboard rods,
ornamental patterns for ceilings, roundels, feet for furniture
and table legs, brackets, cornices, capitals, pilasters, table
legs, urns, pitchers, ewers, footed bowls, etc. Edward Joy
makes a very relevant comment on the designs of George
Smith: “Smith took over many of the classical features of
[Thomas] Hope’s designs. He makes great use of animal
monopodia on a variety of pieces...for instance, of double
lotus leaves meeting centrally in legs and stretchers, of
winged feet on tables and cabinets, of console supports on
tables and seats, and of varied fashionable decorative ornaments such as stars and bolt heads.” -Pict dict of British 19th
cent furnit design, p. xviii.
4to, mid 20th century marbled sides, polished calf spine and corners.
Engr. t.p. and 43 engr. plates. Outer blank margins of t.p. somewhat
browned, else a very good copy of a rare book.
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 21 ]
78. STOKES, J. The complete cabinet maker, and
upholsterer’s guide. Fourth edition. London: Dean & Munday,
[1838]
$350.00
Originally published 1829 with 16 plates; all editions are
now scarce. The text of the present edition is unchanged
from the first edition; the plates of drawing exercises and
cabinet ornaments are retained but the 10 plates of furniture
forms are omitted. It is essentially a practical manual on
cabinet making and the associated processes (staining,
lackering, gilding, varnishing). This edition is complete
with 5 engraved plates even though they are numbered 2-6
(as is always the case). Abbey Life, 75, cites the first edition.
See The first American furniture finisher’s manual (Dover,
1987) which includes a highly useful essay on these books
by Robert Mussey, who states that much of the Stokes
manual is based on a similar work by G. A. Siddons but that
the real authorship of both is lost in the mists of time. OCLC
locates 2 copies in USA of the edition of 1838; none of the
present edition.
Small 8vo, orig. embossed cloth, gilt spine. 167 pp. with 5 engr. plates.
Inner hinges tender; small chip in upper rear hinge.
79. [THOMSON, P.]. The cabinet maker’s assistant: a
series of original designs for modern furniture, with descriptions
and details of construction. Preceded by practical observations on
the materials and manufacture of cabinet-work with instructions in drawing adapted to the trade. Glasgow, Edinburgh,
London, & New York: Blackie & Son, 1853
$1650.00
First edition. Though the work was issued without the
author’s name on the title page it is shown to be by Thomson
by the signatures on the plates. It is often catalogued under
Blackie. “The work is in three sections. The first two follow
the traditional methods of earlier publications, such as the
Nicholsons, in presenting a treatise on geometry and drawing followed by practical observations on cabinet-making,
including a technical description of the thirty-nine most
popular woods used by the trade, directions for the most
economical methods of construction, and sections on veneering and carving. The third section is a trade manual. It
has 101 plates dealing with furniture of every kind preceded
by 63 pages of descriptions with instructional hints designed for practical use both by individual cabinet-makers
and by larger firms.” - Edward Joy, Pict dict of Brit 19th cent
furnit design, p. xxviii. Joy goes on to give a long analysis of
the designs. OCLC locates 12 copies but the work is not
easily found in the book trade. Very nice copy.
Folio, cont. 19th cent. polished calf spine and corners, cloth sides.
viii+60+lxxx+63 pp with 101 engr plates (as is correct). Plate 83 is the
frontispiece.
RARE VICTORIAN CABINETMAKER’S
PATTERN BOOK
80. THOMSON, P. The cabinet makers sketch book. A series
of original details for modern furniture. Glasgow and
[ 22 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
Edinburgh: Wm. Mackenzie, nd [ca. 1852-3] $2000.00
First edition, a rare book. Not included in the extensive list
of design books analyzed by Edward Joy in his Pict dict of
British 19th cent furniture design (but he does mention it in
passing in his entry on Blackie’s Cabinet-maker’s assistant
[which was also by P. Thomson]). The Cabinet makers
assistant is included in the bibliography by Jeremy Cooper,
“Victorian furniture, a guide to the sources,” but the present
work is not. A few of the designs reflect French influence.
The furniture forms are wide ranging and include a few
pieces of upholstered seating furniture, beds, door panels,
and ornamental detail. Several plates and a section of the text
are devoted to drawing in perspective. UCBA, II, 1983 (the
only work by P. Thomson; this entry gives the date of 18523). NUC locates four copies. OCLC locates three copies,
only one of which is in this country (NYPL).
I suspect, but cannot prove, that this work is of
Scottish origin. It is dedicated to Charles Trotter of
Edinburgh. The credit line at the foot of the plates is about
evenly divided between William Mackenzie, Glasgow,
Edinburgh and London and William Mackenzie, Glasgow
& Edinburgh.
Folio, orig. green cloth sides, black roan spine, rehinged, corners worn.
Engr. t.p., engr ded leaf, 96 litho plates, 1 lg fdg table, [5] ff of letterpress
bound within the plates and at the end 45 pp of letterpress text with
numerous illus. Curiously, on the verso of the final plate as well as the final
leaf of letterpress is a full-page plate.
81. “A WORKING UPHOLSTERER.” Practical upholstery by a working upholsterer. With original designs & illustrations explanatory of the text. London: Wyman & Sons, 1883
$300.00
First edition. A very useful and well illustrated work with
chapters on tools and materials, upholstering a chair, plain
seats, drawing room furniture, bedroom furniture, bed
draperies, bed hangings, carpet planning, and cutting of
blinds. Especially valuable for the illustrations which include
some patterns. Not mentioned in E. Cooke (ed)., Upholstery
in America and Europe (1987). NUC locates two copies only
of the second edition of 1883.
12mo, orig. cloth. viii+68+12 pp. with 28 text illus. Good copy.
82. YAPP, G. W. Art Industry. Furniture, upholstery and
house decoration illustrative of the arts of the carpenter, joiner,
cabinet-maker, painter, decorator, and upholsterer. London: J.
S. Virtue & Co., [ca. 1879]
$1750.00
A highly valuable work given a good note by Edward Joy:
“His Art Industry has some 1200 illustrations. An important
introductory section on woodworking has sketches of joints
and of machinery, with technical descriptions. There are
also descriptions of papier maché, carton pierre, and other
materials connected with furniture making. For illustrations
of furniture Yapp selects some of the more elaborate exhibits
from the International Exhibitions of 1851, 1855, and 1862
as well as examples from a collection of antiques shown at
Gore House, London, in 1853. He expresses approval of the
Gothic designs of Pugin, “a learned and skilful revivalist”,
but is strongly critical of the “modern mediaeval” of contemporary designers. Art Industry is backward looking; it
ignores the changes of the 1870s and stamps its approval of
mid-Victorian taste.” - Pict dict of British 19th cent furnit
design, p. xxxviii. Illustrations are as follows: furniture (151
plates); textile fabrics (84 plates); house decoration (47
plates) and carpets and floor cloths (38 plates). One of the
essential works for the study of Victorian furniture and
decoration. NUC locates 5 copies (DLC; CtY; TU; MiGR;
NN).
Folio, Old half black morocco spine & corners, cloth sides. vi+76 pp with
several hundred wood-engr. text illus and 320 fine full-p. wood-engr.
plates. Old bookplate; small 19th cent. library stamp on t.p. and following
leaf.
Part II: Trade Catalogues
83. BROOKS MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
Brooks “Master Built” furniture. Catalogue no. 16. Saginaw,
Michigan, January 1914
$275.00
Uncommon catalogue of mission and Arts and Crafts
furniture. This was good quality, high-grade, quarter sawed
oak furniture. All forms of household furniture are shown;
also shown is fiber furniture; also “artistic” lighting devices,
also kitchen cabinets and refrigerators, a couple of mirrors
and one clock. Brooks Company also manufactured small
boats, both in knock-down or completed form. This title not
in OCLC (though there is a generic entry for Brooks
Furniture in the Romaine Trade Catalogue Collection in
UC Santa Barbara). The company was established in 1901.
This copy has a loosely laid-in color plate of stains and
leathers; most copies which have survived down to the
present have lost this.
8vo, orig. stiff printed wrappers. 72 pp., profusely illus. Covers dusty but
a very good copy.
84. CHESHIRE CHAIR CO. Illustrated catalogue of
Cheshire Chair Co. manufacturers of oak, walnut, maple, cane
seat and basket seat chairs, also chestnut wood seats. Philadelphia, 337 No. Second St., 1883
$350.00
A substantial catalogue (52 pp) illustrating a wide variety of
machine made chairs; the factory was in Keene, New
Hampshire. Cane seat rockers, spindle and slat back cottage
and dining chairs, library chairs, high chairs, children’s
chairs, stools, fancy rockers, etc. Rare; not in Romaine, not
in McKinstry. OCLC locates only one copy, in the Wisconsin Historical Society.
8vo, orig. printed wraps (fore-edge of cover wrapper with a few chips; rear
wrapper missing). 52 pp., profusely illus with fine wood-engravings.
ORIGINAL BROCHURE FOR A FAMOUS
GORHAM OBJECT
85. GORHAM CO. Inlaid writing table exhibited at the
Panama Pacific International Exposition by the Gorham Co.,
New York. [N.Y., 1915]
$375.00
Fine copy of a rare and important little brochure, the
descriptive pamphlet for the famous inlaid silver and ebony
writing table and chair designed by William C. Codman and
made by the Gorham Co. in Providence, R. I. in 1903. They
were exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904, and later
at the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. “The price set on
them was $25,000. They were purchased for a Lady Esther,
in whose English drawing room they remained for a number
of years. Lady Esther’s maiden name was Antoinette
Heckscher, and her father was August Heckscher, a wellknown American financier. In 1954 the writing table and
chair turned up at Christie’s in London. It was purchased for
$3500 by Mr. & Mrs. Frederick B. Thurber of Providence,
descendants of John Gorham’s partner Gorham Thurber,
and given to the Rhode Island School of Design.” - Carpenter, Gorham Silver, pp. 208-9 and fig 219. OCLC locates two
copies: Brown & Winterthur (I sold Wint. their copy).
8vo, orig. stiff printed wraps, sewn with orig. string. Letterpress descr on
insides of front and rear cover; 4 halftones on coated paper (2 fdg) of the
chair and table. In fine condition.
A GOLDMINE FOR THE STUDENT OF
VICTORIAN FURNITURE & UPHOLSTERY
86. HAMMACHER, SCHLEMMER & CO. Illustrated
catalogue and price list of cabinet makers’ hardware, mechanic’s
tools and upholstery goods. New York, 1886
$600.00
A massive catalogue of 406 pages offering every imaginable
piece of hardware for Victorian furniture and interior
decoration; also upholstery fabrics. The final dozen pages
are given over to curtains and include 6 full-page illus of
curtains hanging both free and tied back. According to
OCLC various versions of this catalogue was issued in at
least six different years between 1885 and 1896 (though the
copy I offer here has more pages than any of the others). The
OCLC locations are in one copy each (except for one issue
which of which two copies are located). Romaine, p. 170
locates one copy of an edition of 1890, with 210 pages (his
characteristic comment: “fine ill. ref.”). I have never owned
any of them before.
Large 8vo, orig. cloth, title stamped in gilt on upper cover. x+406 pp with
thousands of fine illus. Very good copy.
87. HAMPTON & SONS. Illustrated designs of cabinet
furniture engraved from photographs of stock at their new
premises and manufactory. London: 8 Pall Mall East, [ca
1860]
$500.00
Fine copy of an attractively designed and well printed trade
catalogue of a Victorian furniture maker. The catalogue
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 23 ]
contains 715 consecutively numbered illustrations of every
conceivable form; a sampling: bagatelle boards and stands,
baths, bedsteads (iron, chair, cabinet, folding cots, cribs,
wood arabian); bedstep commodes, bidets, blinds, bookcases, bookshelves, bookslides and bookrests, brackets, cabinets, etc. Of chairs alone there are 23 different varieties; of
tables 23 varieties. The plates are very handsome and
carefully executed wood-engravings printed against a grey
background. The title page and contents leaf are printed in
red and black. McKinstry (ed), Trade Cats. at Winterthur,
870. A nice clean copy in the original binding in very good
condition.
4to, orig. dec. cloth, a.e.g., gilt die stamp on front cover, a.e.g. T.p., intro.
leaf and contents lead in letterpress; wood engr. frontisp. and 105 leaves
of wood-engravings containing 715 illus.
88. HEYWOOD WAKEFIELD COMPANY. Reed and
fibre furniture, complete suites and separate pieces. Seven factories and eleven warehouses in the United States and Canada.
Catalogue 98A. N.p., N.d. [Wakefield, Ma., (1924)] $350.00
A fine catalogue with well over five hundred fine halftones.
“Every piece of Heywood-Wakefield reed furniture has its
beginnings in Borneo or some other islands in the Dutch
East Indies. In the jungles of these places grows the rattan,
from which reed is secured and eventually woven into
furniture.” A good illustrated essay explains this story. The
catalogue offers every conceivable kind of reed furniture
under the sun; the index lists 57 entries). This was the
highest quality reed and rattan furniture made in this
country; see the excellent reference by J. Adamson, American wicker, woven furniture from 1850 to 1930. Surprisingly,
this is not in OCLC.
Oblong small folio (10 x 13 ½"), orig. stiff embossed wrappers. 112 pp.,
printed on high quality coated paper with well over 500 halftones.
89. ITALIAN FRAME CO., INC. Manufacture of artistic furniture. Factory in Milan, Italy. [Bergamo: Officine
dell’Instituto Italiano d’Arti Grafiche, n.d. (ca. 1910)]
$275.00
Extensive catalogue of furniture frames in historic styles:
Louis XV, XVI, Renaissance, French Renaissance, Spanish,
Italian, Queen Anne, Stuart, Sheraton, Chippendale...etc.
The style names have absolutely nothing to do with the
actual furniture frames - it is very curious. Includes side
chairs, arm chairs, benches, small tables, and a few cabinets,
fire screens and beds. Styles are uniformly florid and ornate.
This copy turned up in Los Angeles and is rubber stamped
M. E. Gray, 660 S. Cochrane Ave., L.A. Not in OCLC.
Large 8vo, orig. printed wrappers. 62 pp., with hundreds of halftone illus.
Sewn with cord. Printed on coated paper. Good copy.
[ 24 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
SIMPLE MODERN FURNITURE
90. JOURDAIN, FRANCIS. Les meubles modernes de
Francis Jourdain. Paris: Editions d’Art des Annales, n.d. [ca.
1925]
$250.00
Francis Jourdain (1876-1958) began his career as a painter
but after 1911 became more closely involved with the
decorative arts, as a designer of furniture, textiles, wallpaper
and ceramics. He generally worked in a very simple rectilinear style designed for inexpensive mass-production. He was
commissioned by the ‘Editions d’Art des Annales’ to design
“un certain nombre de meubles, longuement etudiés, d’un
type comfortable et pratique, et qui, tout en étant d’un prix
extraordinairement modéré, conservent un caractere d’art et
de luxe...” Shown here, in this folding color-printed brochure are 3 illustrations of a dining room and library, with
prices and dimensions. Not in OCLC.
8vo. (1 sheet, 9 ½ x 12" folded to make 4 pages). With 3 color printed illus.
RUSTIC FURNITURE
91. KING, JAMES. Rustic work. Rustic chairs, settees,
vases, hanging baskets, &c. in variety. Splendid for ornamenting
suburban residences. New Haven, James King, P. O. Box
1233, Conn. N.d. [ca. 1880-1890]
$325.00
A charming small broadside illustrating, with captions,
twelve items of rustic work: nine flower vases, a hanging
basket, a rustic settee, and a rustic arm chair. These pieces
were clearly inspired by English garden furniture patterns of
the late 18th century, and one pattern book in particular:
Ideas for rustic furniture (Anonymous), London, 1790-97.
Of this King broadside OCLC locates but one copy: U of
Del.
Single sheet (8 ½ x 11 ¼"). Printed on one side only. Professionally
restored by Green Dragon Bindery.
EVERYTHING TO FURNISH A HOUSE
92. MAPLE & CO. Illustrations of furniture. London,
n.d. [ca. 1920-25]
$450.00
Excellent copy of a catalogue of Maple’s furniture and
furnishings for the domestic market. Maple considered
themselves the largest house furnishing establishment in the
world. Founded in 1841, by the 1920s they occupied forty
acres of showrooms, factories and workshops. Just a sampling of the contents here include furnishings for dining
rooms, chairs and armchairs, salons, bedrooms, etc. The
home company was located on Tottenham Court Road in
London; it was one of “the sights of London.” This edition
is well printed on good paper with high quality fine screen
halftones. This edition includes 6 fine color printed plates of
fine china. Some of the ‘contemporary’ furniture is in the
arts and crafts manner; it is not so stated but I think some
of this was designed by Heal & Son. Maple did a huge
business selling to the British colonies; their “imprint” states
London, Paris and Buenos Aires. McKinstry 918 lists a
similar Maple catalogue.
Oblong 4to, orig. boards, cloth spine. (viii)+306 pp with thousands of
fine halftone illus. & 6 color plates. Covers lightly soiled but an excellent
copy.
93. OTT, L. W. Illustrated catalogue, L. W. Ott, manufacturer of Ott’s patent improved sofa beds, parlor bed lounges,
single lounges, rockers and reclining chairs. Indianapolis, Ind.,
1885
$250.00
A rare catalogue, not in OCLC nor in any of the relevant
bibliographies. Fine full-page bold wood-engraved illustrations of bed lounges, sofa bed lounges (shown open and
closed), single lounges, library lounge, patent rocker, and a
patent reclining chair. Some of the wood-engravings are
signed: A. Lorenz Co. CHI, Minturn Inds., Chandler SG,
F. C. Moller Eng. Co. Cleve O.
Oblong 8vo, orig. printed wrappers. (32) pp with 29 full-p. wood-engr
illus. Rear cover shows a perspective view of the manufactory building.
Small chip in foreedge of front cover; else a nice copy.
94. PAINE’S FURNITURE COMPANY. [Illustrated
catalogue]. [Boston, ca. 1890-95]
$350.00
Fine copy of an early and very extensive Paine catalogue. All
of the illustrations are from wood engravings, and some
appear to be from a decade or so earlier. A sampling of the
contents: chamber sets, wardrobes, chiffoniers, parlor suites,
sofas, lounges, reclining chair, easy chairs, rockers, cabinets,
tables, sideboards, dining chairs, bookcases, etc. A veritable
cross section of mid-Victorian household furniture.
McKinstry 955. Romaine pp. 158-9 citing several other
editions. The firm was founded in the 1830s and was still in
business until recently.
Small 8vo, orig. printed wrappers. 256 pp. profusely illustrated. Fine
copy.
RATTAN FURNITURE TRADE CATALOGUE
95. (RATTAN FURNITURE). A small album containing 28 mounted albumen photographs of rattan furniture. N.p.,
n.d. (ca. 1870s)
$1250.00
The origin of this catalogue is a mystery. I bought it from a
French dealer who knew nothing about it. The furniture
could be made in the East or in Europe. About half the
photos are of chairs, the other half of stands for flower pots,
sewing baskets, and the like. The furniture is quite sophisticated with lots of filigree work and fine ornamental detail.
The photos are all albumens, each carte-de-visite size and
each numbered in the margin in pen. It was clearly a trade
catalogue, probably taken around by a factor or sales agent.
The introduction to Adamson’s American wicker (1993)
gives a little background: “The history of cane furniture in
the East remains obscure, but its use was widespread throughout the tropics: India, Ceylon, Burma, the Malay Peninsula,
the Moluccas, Indochina, the Philippines southern
China...wherever rattan palms, the sole source of cane grew
wild in the steaming jungles and rain forests...”
8vo, orig. cloth. With 7 stiff card leaves bound on stubs, each with 4
mounted c-d-v size albumen prints. Prints are good and not faded.
RUSTIC FURNITURE MADE IN
UPSTATE NEW YORK
96. SINCLAIR, F. A., Proprietor of the Union Chair Co.
Illustrated catalogue, F. A. Sinclair’s common sense chairs,
rockers, tables, and settees. Retail price list. Syracuse, New
York: Press of Currier Printing Co., 1892
SOLD
The factory was in Montville, Onondaga County, New
York. The frames were made of hard wood, principally of
Maple, Oak, Hickory, and Rock Elm. “Like all first class
goods, my chairs have their counterfeits, and I hereby
caution all persons before buying, to see that my name is
stamped on the chair.” In addition to various chairs, the
catalogue includes a foot stool, cottage table, cane seat
lounge, and cane back settee. I cannot locates a copy in
OCLC but Romaine, p. 160, lists a copy of this edition with
a location at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
8vo, orig. printed wraps, partially cracked at the spine fold. (20) pp with
18 fine wood-engr illus.
STICKLEY’S CRAFTSMAN FURNITURE
97. STICKLEY, GUSTAV. Craftsman furniture made by
Gustav Stickley at the Craftsman Workshops, Eastwood, N. Y.
July, 1910
$800.00
Very good copy. Includes the full range of furniture, metal
work, lamps and lighting fixtures, fabrics and needlework,
willow furniture, rugs and finally a page of text on the
Craftsman Home Building Co., Craftsman Houses and The
Craftsman Magazine. Opens with a six page essay ‘Craftsman Furniture.’ Stickley (1858-1942) was a major force in
the American Arts and Crafts movement; a good note on
him and his work is found in The Ideal Home (Janet Kardon,
editor), Abrams, p. 249. All early editions of these Stickley
trade catalogues are now very hard to find. Of this edition
OCLC locates just one copy (SUNY at Albany). While the
workshops remained at Eastwood, N.Y. as of 1910 Stickley
had shops in New York City and Boston.
8vo, orig. printed wrappers. 128 pp with hundreds of fine quality halftone
illus.
98. STILLE & DUHLMEIER CO. There is only one sure
way to business success: Buy and Sell Good Furniture. Cincinnati, Ohio, 1908
$225.00
Fine copy, almost as new, of chamber suites, wardrobes,
chiffoniers, chifferobes, etc. manufactured by Stille &
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 25 ]
Duhlmeier Co. Laid in is the printed price list of January
1908; also a printed flyer of the “Merchants and Manufacturers Association” of Cincinnati. Not, as far as I can find,
in OCLC.
Oblong 8vo, orig. stiff card printed and embossed wrappers, bound with
a string tie. 63 pp with 123 halftones. Printed by the James Bayne Co.,
Grand Rapids, Mich.
A GRAPHIC MASTERPIECE
99. WAKEFIELD REED CHAIR COMPANY. Illustrated catalogue of Reed Furniture manufactured by the
Wakefield Reed Chair Company, Wakefield, Mass. Boston:
Rand Avery made this book, n.d. [ca. 1880]
$450.00
Founded in the 1820s, this was one of the largest companies
in the world which manufactured reed and rattan furniture.
The introduction to the present catalogue states: “In presenting this, our first and preliminary catalogue...” It is
undated but looks to be about circa 1880. It consists entirely
of reed chairs: high chairs, arm chairs, rockers, child’s,
misses, ladies, gents, reception and one settee. They are
presented four to a page in brilliant white-on-black rectangular wood engravings (many signed in the block ‘C. H.
MATTHEWS’); it is a graphic feast for the eye.
There are at least two histories of this company on the
internet, but the major source is an exhibition catalogue to
a 1993 show at the Smithsonian of rattan and wicker
furniture. Of the 80 pieces on display, about 90% were
made by the Wakefield Rattan Co or the Heywood Bros
Wakefield Company. See J. Adamson, American wicker,
woven furniture from 1850 to 1930 (NY, Rizzoli, 1993).
OCLC, under title, locates nine closely related catalogues
but not this exact one.
4to (11 ¾ x 9 ½"), orig. printed wraps. 32 pp. with 99 superb woodengravings. Slight old smudge on cover but close to a fine copy.
WONDERFUL CATALOGUE OF WICKER
FURNITURE
100. WHIP-O-WILL-O FURNITURE CO. Manufacturers of high grade willow furniture and baskets. Scranton,
Pa., n.d. [ca. 1925]
$250.00
A fine catalogue of 50 large full-page halftones of wicker
furniture, many of the photos taken in fully furnished room
settings. Includes all kinds of forms: floor reading lamp,
square back chair, arched top plant box, desk lamps, desks,
window seat, waste baskets, bird cage stand, breakfast
alcove set, day bed, etc. etc. The halftones are fine screen and
give good sharp images. Wicker furniture from the twenties
and thirties has not survived well; thus catalogues such as
this are important documents. On this subject see J. Adamson,
American wicker, woven furniture from 1850 to 1930 (1993).
Oblong 4to, orig. stiff printed wraps. 52 pp with 49 pp of halftones. Orig.
order blank still laid in.
[ 26 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
RARE THONET CATALOGUE
101. THONET BROTHERS. VIENNA. Meubles en
madera maciza curvada. Thonet Hermanos. Extracto del
Catalogo Principal. Barcelona, n.d. [ca. 1895-1900]
$1500.00
A fine trade catalogue for the Spanish market of this most
important furniture maker. It is given a good note in
Fleming & Honour, Dict. of the decorative arts: “Michael
Thonet (1796-1871) was the most original of German
furniture makers and designers, he perfected the bentwood
process for chair-making and pioneered the mass production of standardized furniture. He was far in advance of his
time, both technically and in design. Several of his chairs
have become classics and have been in continuous production for over 100 years. The best look extraordinarily
modern, almost as if they had been designed by some early
20th century ‘functionalist’ of genius...By 1871 he had
established salesrooms not only in the main cities of Austria
and Germany but also at Brussels, Marseilles, Milan, Rome,
Naples, Barcelona, Madrid, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa,
New York and Chicago. After Michael Thonet’s death the
still expanding business was carried on by his sons but no
important new design of chair was invented by them, except
a folding theatre seat in 1888...” (pp. 789-90). The folding
theatre seat is illustrated in the present catalogue along with
the classic bentwood chairs, settees, rockers; also stools,
desk chairs, upholstered chairs, beds, dressing tables,
jardinières, plant stands, hall coat racks, cribs, etc. Rare, and
in very good condition.
Oblong sm. folio (9 ½ x 13"), orig. printed wraps. 40 pp., profusely illus.
RARE & EARLY TRADE CATALOGUE
OF SHAKER CHAIRS
102. UNITED SOCIETY OF SHAKERS. Illustrated catalogue and price list of Shakers’ Chairs manufactured by the
Society of Shakers. Mount Lebanon, New York, n.d. [ca.
1880]
$1750.00
Shaker chair catalogues are among the legendary rarities of
nineteenth century American furniture trade literature. I
have owned one other similar catalogue in the past 45 years.
The present example illustrates slat back chairs with arms
and rockers, web back ditto and upholstered ditto. Also foot
benches and floor rugs. These catalogues were thin and tiny
- they were ephemeral pieces and most surely disintegrated
or were thrown away. The full and very interesting story of
this phase of Shaker craftsmanship is told in Edward Deming
Andrews, Shaker furniture (1950), pp. 107-109. Winterthur
Museum has the Andrews collection of Shaker literature,
documentation and ephemera; it is the best in existence. The
present catalogue is listed in McKinstry, Trade catalogues at
Winterthur, 1008. OCLC locates four copies: Hamilton
Coll., Syracuse Univ., Ma Hist Soc & Western Reserve H.S.
There is another aspect to this Shaker chair catalogue
which deserves mention. It is well known that Shaker
design, in its spareness and simplicity, was one of many
influences on the formation of “modern” design in the
decorative arts. Much has been written on this subject; see,
for example, J. Fleming & H. Honour, Dictionary of the
decorative arts (1977), p. 727.
24mo (5 ½ x 3"), orig. printed wraps. 16 pp., profusely illus. Expertly
conserved by Green Dragon Bindery.
III. GLASS AND LIGHTING
THE MASON JAR
AN ICON OF AMERICAN MATERIAL
KITHEN CULTURE
103. APPEAL from the decision of the Hon. Commissioner of
Patents in the matter of the interference between the application
of S. B. Rowley and that of J. L. Mason, for letters patent for
improvement in fruit jars. Hearing in the case of S. B. Rowley vs.
J. L. Mason before the Hon. G. P. Fisher, of the Supreme Court,
District of Columbia. [Philadelphia: Ringwalt & Brown,
Printers, (1869)]
$600.00
The Mason jar was invented and patented in 1858 by
Philadelphia tinsmith John Landis Mason. They were made
of soda-lime glass with screw-on zinc caps. Wikipedia gives
an interesting article on them and states that “In the 18601900 timeframe, a great many patents were issued for
various jar closures. The more esoteric closures were quickly
abandoned, and can fetch high prices in today’s antique
market.” The present publication has to do with a dispute
between Rowley and Mason over the priority of invention
of a jar closure. Judge Fisher decided in favor of Rowley but
there is no question that J. L. Mason invented the Mason jar.
When I was a boy in the forties I can remember my mother
putting up rows and rows of tomatoes in mason jars from
our victory garden. Old Mason jars are avidly collected
today. This publication is rare; I cannot locate a copy in
OCLC.
8vo, orig. printed wraps. 104 pp with 32 text illus. Occas. old faded library
stamps. Front printed wrapper is present but is broken along the left
(spine) margin; can be easily restored.
FLOURESCENT LIGHTING FIXTURES
104. ARMEAL. Tout le matériel pour l’éclairage à
flourescence. Bruxelles, 113, Rue Royale Sainte-Marie, N.d.
[ca. 1949-1950]
$200.00
A nicely designed folder with nine printed sheets laid in,
each illustrating and describing a ceiling fixture, either
hanging or mounted flush. Each with a different name, e.g.
kitchen, industrial, champs-elysees, opera, etc. “Les lumieres
bleutées proviennent des tubes a flourescence, dernier progrès
en matiere d’eclairement, et elles sont destinées a remplacer
peu à peu nos antiques ampoules à incandescence, qui
n’auront plus qu’à rejoindre au paradis des choses mortes
quinquets fumeux et lampes à pétrole.” Not in OCLC; not
in CMoG.
4to folder (11 x 8 ½"), printed on glazed stock in red and blue on white.
Great graphic design. Laid inside the folder are 9 printed sheets.
FLINT GLASS
105. ARTIGUES, [AIME GABRIEL D’]. Sur l’art de
fabriquer du flint glass bon pour l’optique. Paris: Imprimerie de
. Gueffier, 1811
$600.00
First edition, inscribed by the author on the title page.
Artigues (1773-1848) was a chemist and industrialist. “Flint
glass is optical glass that has relatively high refractive
index...With respect to glass, the term “flint” derives from
the flint nodules found in the chalk deposits of southeast
England that were used as a source of high purity silica by
George Ravenscroft, circa 1662, to produce a potash lead
glass that was the predecessor to English lead crystal.” Wikipedia. See also H. Newman, An illustrated dictionary of
glass (1977) for another definition. The present work is
scarce; OCLC locates but six copies in American libraries.
Not in Duncan.
Sm. 8vo, old marbled paper wraps. (ii)+80 pp.
ONE OF THE BEST LIGHTING FIXTURE
CATALOGUES OF ALL TIME AND ONE OF THE
BEST GLASS CATALOGUES
106. BACCARAT. Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat
Articles d’Éclairage. [Trade Catalogue]. Meurthe-et-Moselle,
France. [Paris: Imp. Buttner-Thierry & Cie], 1907-8
$5500.00
A spectacular trade catalogue from this major and world
famous French glasshouse. It is entirely devoted to lighting
fixtures for oil, alcohol and electricity. Some of the best
pieces are chandeliers in the full blown art nouveau style.
The plates, which are mostly in colors, illustrate bobeches,
prisms, candlesticks, chambersticks, globes, candelabra,
chandeliers and sconces, chimneys, portable oil lamps, footed
lamps, hanging lanterns, etc. The introduction is given in
French, German, English, Portuguese, Italian and Russian.
Baccarat Glass was established in 1765 by the Bishop
of Metz to encourage industry. The Verrerie de Sainte Anne
at Baccarat made all types of utility glassware and flourished.
The company changed hands twice, finally emerging as the
Compagnie de Baccarat in 1822. It soon became, and still
remains, the foremost glassworks in France. It won a medal
at the French Industrial Exhibition of 1823 and many more
thereafter. A sketch of the company and its wares is given in
The Random House Collector’s Encyclopedia, p. 31. Duncan,
Bib of Glass, nos 501-3 cite several articles about Baccarat but
no trade catalogues. I cannot locate this specific issue in
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 27 ]
OCLC (but there is a copy in the Corning Museum of Glass
which I sold them in 1990).
4to, orig. cloth, title stamped on cover in wonderful art nouveau lettering;
neatly rebacked. T.p., xii pp of observations generales and 131 plates
(mostly chromolithographs, many heightened with gold; also
photogravures in two colors) numbered as follows: 1-70, 70*, 71-72,
72*, 73-77, 77*, 78-81, 82-95, 95*, 95**, 95***, 95****, 96-98, 98*,
99-102, 102*, 103-111. The separately bound price list of 56 pages is
present in a pocket in the rear cover.
107. BELGIUM. MANAGE. Société Anonyme des Verreries
et Gobeleteries Nouvelles de et a Manage (Belge). Seneffe
[Belgium], Imprimerie Laurent, n.d. [ca. 1920] $300.00
A rare trade catalogue; I can find no bibliographical citation
for this catalogue nor any mention of this glassworks.
Subtitle is in French and English: “Crystal and half-crystal,
tumblers of all shapes, thin, half-heavy and heavy (gasfinished) wines, decanters, jugs, bottles, and ups plain,
pressed, cut, engraved, panotography. Horns for stamping.
Table glassware.” The plates illustrate tumblers, wines and
other stemmed glasses, carafes, pitchers, covered dishes and
a few other forms as well as the final four plates of decorative
patterns. The plates are nicely printed; the glass pieces
appear against a dark brown background and “read” easily.
Oblong 4to, orig. printed wrappers, edges chipped, front hinge broken.
T.p. and 19+(5) plates each with a blue-printed surround. Nicely printed
on coated paper. (Edges of cover and front hinge should be repaired; I can
have this professionally done at the buyer’s expense).
GLASS MIRRORS, TABLE TOPS, AND SMALL
PIECES OF FURNITURE
108. BOIVIN, BUREAU. BUREAU & CIE., Le Suc.
Miroiterie. Paris, 81 83, Faubourg St. Antoine, Paris, N.d.
[ca. 1930]
$250.00
A nice little trade catalogue issued without text, showing a
series of 8 rectangular or circular panels, some with etched
decoration - either mirrors or tabletops. These are followed
by a wall bracket table, a bedside case of four small drawers
and three tables (actually dressing tables), all in the Style
Moderne. These all look like they were made of glass or
finished with glass surfaces. Not in OCLC.
12mo, orig. printed wrappers, sewn with cord. 13 plates printed on
coated paper and printed in a light green tint.
A STUNNING CATALOGUE
109. CONRAD, FRANZ R. Fabrik fur Beleuchtungs Korper
zu Elektrischem Licht. Objets d’eclairage / Fittings for electric
light / Articulos de alumbrado para lux electrica. Catalogue
No. 52. Berlin, [1926]
$750.00
A fine catalogue, 184 pages printed on high quality semicoated paper with well over 1000 halftones. Includes every
conceivable manner of hanging lamps, chandeliers, lustres,
(including crystal chandeliers); wall and bracket lamps,
[ 28 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
electrified sconces, ceiling lamps, desk lamps, standing floor
lamps, etc. Ninety-nine percent were made of bronze; just
a few small fixtures of porcelain. Laid in is the price list and
two other pieces of Conrad ephemera. A fine copy. Rare;
not in OCLC; not in CMoG.
Oblong small folio (10 x 13"), orig. stiff embossed wraps. (ii)+viii+184
pp with about 1000 halftones.
ORIGINAL ADVERTISING PHOTOGRAPHS FOR
LIGHTING FIXTURES FOR RAILWAY
CARRIAGES
110. CRERAR, ADAMS & CO. Railway supplies. [A
group of five fine albumen photographs of lighting fixtures titled
“Dews” Patent Centre Lamp for Mineral Sperm Oil]. Chicago,
late 1870s-early 1880s
the five: $850.00
Crerar, Adams & Co. of Chicago were a major firm for the
manufacture and sale of railway supplies. OCLC lists 15 of
their trade catalogues between 1876 and 1957, mostly in
one copy each, some in microform only. The present
photographs, of large size and good sharp clarity, seem to
have been part of a unique trade catalogue. Four of the five
have carefully written manuscript captions and penciled
prices; three are Dews Patent Centre Lamps and one is a
patent side lamp. The final one is not captioned but is clearly
a centre lamp. They all have oval or ovoid glass globes which
are etched. They could be had bronzed or plated. Dews must
have held the patent but the lamps themselves were manufactured by Crerar, Adams & Co. Nineteenth century
advertising photographs of this sort are rare as hens’ teeth;
they just did not survive.
5 albumen prints on 10 x 8 inch stiff cards; photos themselves are 7 ¾ x
5 ¾". The stiff cards were formerly pasted or laid down on to some other
surface; they have been removed and show traces of paste on the reverse.
In good condition and color.
“EVERY VARIETY OF USEFUL OR
FANCIFUL DEVICE”
111. [DANGER, T. P. (“A French Artist”)]. The Art of
Glass Blowing, or plain instructions for making the chemical and
philosophical instruments which are formed of glass; such as
barometers, thermometers, hour-glasses, funnels, syphons, tube
vessels for chemical experiments, toys for recreative philosophy, etc.
London: Bumpus & Griffin, 1831
$375.00
Originally published in Paris in 1829 as L’art du souffleur a
la lampe. The present English translation was published as
Vol I of ‘The Polytechnic Library.’ “Artists and students of
the Experimental Sciences will find this work adapted to aid
them effectually in the in the economical preparation of
their apparatus; and persons who would willingly employ
their leisure hours in practicing the charming art of working
glass and enamels with the blowpipe, but who have hitherto
been deferred by the anticipated expense of the instruments,
and the imaginary difficulties of the undertaking, are taught
here in the simplest, most expeditious, least expensive and
most effectual methods of working glass into every variety
of useful or fanciful device.” This is the first copy of this book
I have seen in my 46 years in the book trade. OCLC locates
7 copies in US libraries. Duncan 2885.
12mo, orig. boards, orig. printed paper labels on cover and spine (the
latter worn). x+112 pp with 4 fdg engr. plates (final plate somewhat
foxed).
112. DERNIER, LOUIS & HAMLYN. Louis Dernier &
Hamlyn, Ltd. Designers and makers, decorative lighting fittings, general metalcraft, ornamental and precision work, silk
shades and mounts, vases and adaptations. All productions are
made and designed in our London studios and workshops.
London, N.d. [ca. 1930s]
$400.00
The firm was established in 1888. In perfect condition,
perhaps due to the warning given in the introduction: “We
trust you will make good use of this catalogue, and assist us
by not defacing it by cutting out illustrations. We will
forward loose sheets of any pages you may require.” Some
idea of the comprehensive content is given in the sectional
index: accessories, billiard pendants, brackets, ceiling fittings, dish fittings, electroliers, galleries, glass shades, lanterns and lobby pendants, lustres, mounted vases, figures,
etc., outside fittings, rise and fall pendants, shadelights,
standards, switch plates, tortoiseshell candle screens, workshop fittings, yacht fittings. The price list is part of the
pagination. Rare; not in OCLC, not in CMoG.
Folio, (12 x 10"), orig. cloth, title in gilt on cover. xix+184 pp with
perhaps a thousand halftones. Colophon gives Hudson & Kearns Ltd., as
Printers and Engravers, London. Printed on high quality coated paper.
NOT IN OCLC
113. EGINTON, WILLIAM RAPHAEL. Reference to
some of the works executed in stained glass by William Raphael
Eginton, Newhall-Street, Birmingham, Glass stainer to their
Royal and Serene Highnesses the Princess Charlotte of Wales
and Saxe-Coburg, and his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex.
Birmingham: Printed by R. Jabet & Co., N.d. [ca. 1816]
$500.00
Clearly a piece of self-promotion, this rare little pamphlet
lists about fifty windows made by Eginton, including Carleton
House, “Large window at the end of the conservatory...”,
also William Beckford Esq., M.P., “eight windows in sanctuary”, also work for Longleat, Arundel Castle, Crawford
Priory, Bradby Hall, Taymouth Castle, and for the Duke of
Wellington, as well as numerous other commissions. Not in
OCLC though that source does list a closely related title,
Short account of some of the works executed in stained glass by
W.R.E. (1818) in three copies only, all in the U.K.
12mo, modern but appropriate wrappers. 8 pp. Fine copy.
GLASS AT THE VIENNA EXPOSITION OF 1873
114. EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE DE VIENNE,
1873. Documents & rapports des juries & délégues Belges. IX
groupe, 3e section. Industrie de la Verrerie. (by) Leon Mondron.
Bruxelles: Imprimerie et Lithographie de E. Guyot, 1874
$350.00
An extensive report; sections of the text as follows: 1.
Apercu générale de l’industrie verriere dans les differents
pays; 2. Verres à vitres; 3. Cristaux et Gobleteries (reports
on 11 countries); 4. Glaces (reports on 7 countries); 5.
Bouteilles (reports on 6 countries); 6. Produits divers
(perles, pierres artificielles, optique, verres de montres,
cylindres, verres pour appareils de chimie, 7. Des
perfectionnements recents apportes dans l’industrie verriere
(fabrication des glaces, polissage des glaces, platinage du
verre, instrument a couper le verre, sable taille-pierre and
fours siemens). There is one large folding litho plate numerated pl. II; plate I is is not missing, it was never issued (for
which see record no. 97108 of the library of the Corning
Museum of Glass). OCLC locates one copy in USA (U.
Rochester); also CMoG has a copy. Duncan 8937.
8vo, orig. printed wraps. 70 pp with 1 fdg litho plate. Wants the rear
wrapper, else a good copy.
EXTENSIVE CATALOGUE OF LIGHT FIXTURES,
SHADES AND GLOBES
115. FALK, STADELMANN & CO., (VERITAS LIGHT
COMPANY). Veritas incandescent light catalogue. London
& Glascow, August 1907
$400.00
Fully illustrated catalogue of mantels, gas burners, hardware
of all sorts, globes of glass and crystal, chimneys, reflectors,
etc. Almost all of the globes are etched. Some are moulded,
satin finished, opalescent, straw patterns, blob mould, zebra
striped, web optics...the variety is endless. “Falk, Stadelmann
& Co is one of the best known names in the history of
lighting in the UK and Europe...” Both Falk and Stadelmann
were of German origin; both moved to the UK in the 1880s
to build their company. OCLC lists 8 other catalogues by
this company, all in one copy each, but not the present
catalogue.
Large 4to (12 ½" x 10"), orig. printed wrappers. Ps 401-473+iv+iii pp.
Many hundreds of fine illus. Covers (only) with slight foxing; internally
clean. Excellent copy.
INCLUDES SECTION ON
“MANUFACTURES OF GLASS”
116. FRIENDS OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRY. Address of
the Friends of Domestic Industry, assembled in convention, at
New-York, October 26, 1831, to the people of the United States.
Published by order of the convention. Baltimore, Nov. 10, 1831
$300.00
The Friends of Domestic Industry favored protective tariffs
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 29 ]
to support and encourage American manufactures. The
“Report on Manufactures of Glass” occupies pages 121-128
and is full of valuable information. For example, there were
21 furnaces for the manufacture of flint glass, and they give
the locations; the report is full of industrial facts and figures,
capital, annual value of flint glass manufactured, wages paid,
numbers of men and boys employed, annual consumption
of the most important materials used in the manufacture
(pearl ash, sand, coal, wood, saltpeter, fire clay, iron, brass,
tin &c used for timmings)...etc. Also gives information on
the mfg of cut-glass; also window-glass. Includes information on the history of glass mfg in the US. Ditto for glass
which was imported from England, France and Germany.
Some of the passages are fascinating: “The Committee are
aware that there exists in the U.S. several manufactories of
green bottles, demijohns, and apothecaries’ ware and shop
furniture but they have not been able to procure detailed
statements of their extent, except from the large establishment of Dyott, at Kensington near Philadelphia...The Committee have not been informed of more than one manufactory of black glass bottles, carboys and demijohns; this is
near Boston... Gives statistics and locations of manufactories of crown window-glass. Lists 23 manufactories of
cylinder-window glass. “On the whole it seems quite reasonable to believe that the value of the glass manufactured in the
US is $3,000,000...” Hard to summarize; one must read the
whole report, including the figures.
Following the glass report is a one page report on the
“Manufacture of Cabinet Ware.” American Imprints 7163
with different collation.
was $10.00, a substantial sum at the time and reflects the fact
that information such as this was a valuable commodity.
Duncan 4962. OCLC locates three copies: CMofG, LC and
Hagley. I have never owned a copy before.
8vo, orig. cloth. iv+175+1 pp. Slight rubbing to binding but a good
copy.
INCLUDES TEN WONDERFUL CHROMOLITHO
PLATES OF GLASS JEWELED LAMPS
8vo, later cloth. 44+197+1 pp. Untrimmed and mostly unopened.
Scattered light foxing.
119. GLEASON, E. P. MFG. CO. Manufacturers of patent
lever argands, all kinds of brass and iron gas burners, street and
fancy lanterns, globes for gas or electric light, shade and globe
holders, opal, plain, and decorated shades...etc. Tenth edition September 1887
$550.00
Fine copy of a really excellent trade catalogue of gas lighting
hardware and fixtures. More than half of the contents of this
catalogue are objects of glass: smoke bells and shades, cone
shades, argand chimneys; hundreds of globes (squat globes,
Moehring globes, cones, moulded globes, crown globes,
crown etch globes, fancy shape etch globes, wonderful cut
glass globes, cylinders, sand blast squat globes, etc.). There
are about 70 pages of elegant lamps in regular woodengravings (mostly one to a page) and the best part: ten
chromolitho plates as follows: jeweled oval lamp, jeweled
oblong lamp, jeweled diadem lamp, lettered; circular jeweled diadem lamp, wine room lamp, jeweled Manhattan
lamp, Turkish lamp, jeweled daisy lamp, jeweled cafe lamp,
and jeweled cigar [sign]. OCLC locates one copy
(Winterthur). CMofG has a badly defective copy of a later
edition.
IRON LIGHT FITTINGS
8vo, orig. flexible pebble-grain cloth, title and date in gilt on cover.
298+(ii) pp with hundreds of illus., both wood-engraved and litho., also
10 full-p. chromolitho plates. Fine copy.
117. GALSWORTHY LTD. Iron lighting fittings. Catalogue no. 1. London, [Whitefriars Press, London &
Tonbridge], N.d., (ca. 1930s)
$125.00
Illustrated and priced catalogue of new electric light fittings
in Wrot (sic) and Malleable Iron. Includes hanging fixtures,
wall fixtures, hall lamps, standing lamp, iron lanterns and
brackets, yard lamps, garage lamp and bulkhead fitting. The
company logo was an interlocked “LEF”; it is not clear what
this derived from. Rare; not in OCLC; not in CMoG.
4to (10 x 8 ½"), orig. printed wrappers. (ii)+12 pp with 51 good clear and
sharp halftones. Staples rusted; centerfold leaf detached but present.
118. GESSNER, FRANK M. (ed). Glassmakers’ hand book
containing recipes for making flint, bottle, window and architectural glass, plain and in colors; plate glass - American, French,
Belgian, German and Bohemian formulas; also, recipes for strass
and artificial gems. Pittsburgh, Pa.: George E. Williams,
1891
$275.00
First edition. The author was assisted by August Weyer and
Thos. J. Irwin. The original price of this book, when new,
[ 30 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
120. GROLL, ANDREAS. Photographie oder Lichtbilder
auf Glas. [Wien], 1850
$800.00
Separately paginated offprint with its own title page from
the Sitzungsberichte der mathem-naturw Classe der kaiserl
Akademie der Wissenschaften, November 1850 and possibly
the first report in German of albumen-on-glass negatives. In
1847 Niepce de St. Victor introduced the first practical
method of making photographic negatives on glass, socalled albumen negatives. The process, to use a film of
sensitized albumen on glass, was used for a few years only,
replaced by collodion negatives, which were introduced by
F. Scott Archer in 1851. Heidtmann 4624. Not in OCLC.
8vo, 5+1 pp.
WATCH GLASSES (i.e. CRYSTALS)
121. HAMMEL, RIGLANDER PENNANT CORPORATION. V.T.F. Mifans. Fancy shaped watch glasses for wrist,
bracelet, and pocket watches. New York City, 1932 $150.00
An amazing catalogue. I would never have imagined there
could be so many different brands of watches (and mostly
different shapes). “Approximately 1640 different Mifans are
illustrated in the following pages, and these will fit over
2720 watch cases...” Watches came in various shapes, for
example: hexagon, tonnneau, barrel, square corner, Arounded corner, cut corner, diamond, pansy, tulip, oval, etc.
A few of the watch brands that I do recognize include
Bulova, Elgin, Gruen, Wittnauer, Benrus...but there were
many others. These were made for the “after-market”, i.e.
for jewellers and watchmakers to replace broken crystals.
Rare; not in OCLC.
4to, orig. stiff covers, embossed and printed in silver and black on a pale
blue stock. 56 pp with several thousand identified watch shapes.
122. HAVRENNE FRERES. Catalogue No. 1. Verrereries
Gobeleteries Faiences Porcelaines & Cristaux. Société Cooperative Jumet-Brulotte (Belgium), n.d. [ca. 1920] $275.00
Extensive 58 page fully illustrated catalogue of glass
tablewares. All manner of forms: goblets, stem ware, decanters, candlesticks, pitchers, platters, bowls, dishes, vases,
footed cake dishes, mugs, etc. etc. Most of the patterns are
shown in sets (‘services’). This copy is complete with three
extra inserts (1) mimeographed price list (undated), (2)
illustrated 8 page supplement and (3) a separate catalogue
in larger format of bottles (8 page fold out, fully illustrated).
Nothing in OCLC for Havrenne Freres. Not in Rakow
Library, (CMG). Excellent condition throughout.
4 pieces. Oblong 8vo, orig. printed wraps. 57 pp., each page illus., (of
which 2 are halftones on coated paper). Supplementary inserts described
above.
BOTTLES, BOTTLES, BOTTLES
123. HAVRENNE FRERES. Verreries, Gobleteries. Société
Cooperative Jumet. Catalogue des bouteilles a bière, eaux,
limonades, vins, liquers, lait, huiles, etc. Jumet [Imprimerie P.
Hosdain, Jumet], N.d. (ca. 1925-30)
$150.00
The Rakow Library holds a copy of this item with the
following note: “Havrenne Freres appears to be a conglomerate of companies. ‘Verreries gobleteries Havrenne Freres’
printed on front cover. Backpage indicates three departments within Havrenne Freres: Department A - bottles and
flasks; Department B - tableware; and Department C lighting. The present catalogue includes bottles for lemonade, wine, beer, liquor and milk. Also includes medicinal
bottles, graduates, etc.” Havrenne Freres were a major firm;
several years ago I owned a large-format 58 page Havrenne
catalogue of all sorts of glass tablewares. Not found in
OCLC.
Long sheet (28 x 10 ¾") folded down to four pages (10 ¾ x 7 inches);
printed on both sides. With 60 line or shaded illus.
124. HIGGINS & SEITER. Fine China, rich Cut Glass.
Catalogue no. 8. New York, New York, n.d. [ca. 1898]
$450.00
This major firm was founded in 1890 or before. Fully
illustrated throughout, includes rich cut glass, Bohemian
glass novelties, Rhine wine or hook glasses, gold glass,
iridescent glass, engraved glassware, glass sets, punch sets,
dinner ware, toilet ware, fish sets, game sets, chocolate and
soup sets, chop sets, steins, plaques, art lamps, clocks,
Dresden clocks, hall (tall) clock, Vienna ware, French vases,
Doulton, genuine Holland Delft, plates and other forms,
English Cauldon china, Beleek ware, ivory busts, jardinières
and garden seats, teakwood pedestals, umbrella jars, etc. etc.
These H&S catalogues were issued annually and they had
changing contents from year to year. Romaine, p. 100
listing Catalogues 9, 10, 12 & 13, “one of the best pict.
records.” McKinstry 337 and 338 cites catalogues 9 and 12.
Oblong 8vo, orig. wraps, title embossed in red and gold on cover.
198+13 pp. Profusely illus with fine process illustrations. Excellent copy.
INCLUDES A PLATE OF FURNITURE MADE OF
GLASS (!)
125. JULIA DE FONTENELLE, [JEAN SEBASTIAN
EUGENE]. Manuel complet du verrier et du fabricant de
glaces, cristaux, pierres precieuses factices, verres colorés, yeux
artificiels, etc. Paris: Roret, 1829
$750.00
First edition. Though the literature of glass making goes
back a long way before 1829, this must still be considered
as the state of the art as of the date of publication. In addition
to the usual technical aspects of the manufacture of glass, the
present work includes material and illustrations on the
making of decorative objects of glass and crystal: candlesticks, butter plates, candy dish, a large cut-glass urn, a
gueridon, a dressing table, a chair and a footstool. Such
early furniture made of glass, though very rare, does exist.
OCLC locates 9 copies of this first edition in American
libraries, but the work is rare in the marketplace. This is the
first copy I have had in 42 years and there are no copies in
the book auction records 1975-present. Fine untrimmed
copy in the original wrappers. Duncan 4322: (“manual for
the makers of glazes, crystal, precious stones, colored glasses,
artificial eyes, etc.”) Julia de Fontenelle (1790-1842) was a
famous chemist and pharmacist, and prolific writer of
technical manuals.
12mo, orig. printed wrappers. (iv)+335+36 pp with 3 fdg engr plates
and a large fdg table. Untrimmed copy.
RARE ILLUSTRATED TRADE CATALOGUE OF
FAMOUS SWEDISH GLASSWORKS
126. KOSTA GLASBRUCKS. Pris courant. [Illustrated
trade catalogue]. [Kalmar, Sweden: Hos Strohm & Broder
Westin, 1855]
$1750.00
A very rare catalogue (WORLDCAT locates but three
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 31 ]
copies: Corning, Nat’l Lib of Sweden & V&A). The descriptions of wares and prices are printed from type on the
right half of the page; the left margins are filled with
lithographed images of the various works of glasswares.
Includes goblets, wine glasses, carafes, mugs, pitchers,
pressed glass, chemical glassware and bottles. One of the
leading glassworks in Sweden, the Kosta firm was founded
in 1742 in the glass-making region of Smaland; it is the
oldest still in operation. It was founded by Anders Koskull
and Georg Bogislaus Stael von Holstein (the first letters of
their names give the name Ko-sta). It first made crown glass
for windows, then chandeliers, and wine and beer glasses.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the products were
wide ranging, as shown in this catalogue. The Rakow
Library catalogue entry (Corning Museum) notes that their
copy lacks prices for pages 13-18; that is true in the present
copy as well.
8vo, litho printed self wraps. 28 pp with numerous litho illus on every
page. Fine copy.
SOUVENIR FROM THE CHICAGO WORLDS FAIR
127. LIBBEY GLASS CO. Libbey Glass Company’s factory
in full operation at the World’s Fair located on the Midway
Plaisance adjoining Illinois Central RR. [Toledo, Ohio, The
Company, 1893]
$150.00
“A glassworks at Toledo Ohio that resulted from the leasing
in 1878 of the New England Glass Co. by William L. Libbey
(1827-83) and from its transfer by his son Edward
Drummond Libbey (1854-1925), to Toledo in 1888, changing its name to Libbey Glass Co. During its so-called
“Brilliant Period” (1890-1915) it became the largest cutglass factory in the world. In 1893 it operated the Glass
Pavilion at the Chicago World’s Fair with 130 craftsmen
blowing and cutting glass; much of the glass made there sold
as souvenirs, marked “Libbey Glass Co. Worlds Fair 1893.”
- An illus dict of glass, p. 183. The present little souvenir
shows the expo building and 5 vignette illustrations: making
a wineglass, cutting glass, spinning glass, weaving glass and
drawing glass rods.
12mo, single sheet folded to make 4 pages. 5 illus and letterpress.
INCLUDES FINE ART NOUVEAU FIXTURES
128. MAPLE & CO. Appareils d’eclairage et articles de
cuiverie. [London, Paris, Buenos Aires], N.d. (ca. 1910)
$400.00
A fine fully illustrated catalogue which includes hanging
lamps, suspension lamps, pendant lamps, lustres and chandeliers, table and wall lamps, standing floor lamps, hall
lamp, desk lamps, etc. The final few pages illustrate copper
fire screens and copper and iron fire dogs. Maple considered
themselves the largest house furnishing establishment in the
world. Founded in 1841, by the 1920s they occupied forty
[ 32 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
acres of showrooms, factories and workshops. The home
company was located on Tottenham Court Road in London; it was considered one of the “sights of London” and is
illustrated on the title page of the present work (as are the
huge premises on Rue Boudrerau Paris). This catalogue is
a ‘separate’ in its own binding, with its own title page and
introduction but the pagination is part of a larger volume,
starting at 300 and ending at 322.
Oblong 4to (9 ¾ x 12"), orig. paper sides, cloth spine, title printed in gold.
(ix)+pp. 300-322 with 119 halftone illus.
129. MCELROY, P. J. McElroy’s syringes. [Illus. trade
card]. East Cambridge, Mass., [1872]
$150.00
McElroy was a “practical glass blower” at 137 Bridge Street,
East Cambridge, Mass. His specialty (or one of his specialties) were glass syringes, and they are illustrated in a
wonderful image on the front of this trade card. The reverse
gives details of the sizes and types of syringes he made.
Surely rare, but there is a copy of this card in the Rakow
Library of the Corning Museum of Glass.
Trade card, printed on stiff card stock (4 ¾ x 6 ¾"). Printed on both sides.
Excellent condition.
RARE TRADE CATALOGUE OF
MEISENTHAL GLASS
130. MEISENTHAL. Verreries de Meisenthal (Moselle).
Société par Actions. Services de table et a liqueurs. Gobleterie.
Articles Divers. [Paris: Imprimerie B. Arnaud], N.d. (ca.
1930s)
$450.00
This catalogue was put together at the factory or warehouse
and is, in effect, “custom made” as it is in the form of a twohole loose leaf binder. The plates are arranged in numerical
sequence from 1 to 151 but are erratic. There are a total of
82 plates (some printed on rectos only; others on rectos and
versos). They are numbered as follows: 1-5; 10; 15-19; 26;
30; 35; 40-43; 46-47; 51; 56-58; 61; 66-72; 81; 86; 91; 93;
101-106; 110-111; 111A-111F; 112; 112A; 115-120;
121-129; 129A; 130-141; 150-151. I am certain that the
catalogue was issued this way and has not had plates
removed. Includes footed glasses and goblets, carafes, table
services; fluted glasses; beer, glasses, mugs, lemonades,
bottles, water bottles and glasses, pitchers, vases, goblets,
footed dishes, pressed glass of all sorts, sugar bowls, salts,
butter plates, candle sticks, butter dishes, and several dozen
plates of guillochage (mechanical decorative ruling patterns), engraved patterns, etc. The Meisenthal glassworks
was founded in 1711. This catalogue is rare; it is not in
OCLC. CMoG has 33 other Meisenthal titles but not this
one.
4to (11 x 9"), orig. printed stiff wrappers, “bound” with a cord. Printed
title page and 82 plates. Excellent condition.
TRANSLUCENT GLASS PAVING STONES
131. MOMBEL BOSSART & FILS. Dallages translucides.
Bruxelles, [Georges Van Steen, Imprimeur], 1927 $150.00
The paving stones were made by the Val-Saint-Lambert
Glassworks. They are illustrated; they are abstract symmetrical designs (and some are quite beautiful). Not in
OCLC (but there is a copy in the Rakow Library, Corning
Museum of Glass).
8vo, orig. two-color printed wraps. 16 ff (i.e. 32 pp) with 22 halftone illus.
Excellent copy.
THE “PATENT CRYSTALLO CERAMIE”
132. [PELLATT, APSLEY, JR.]. Memoir on the origin,
progress and improvement of glass manufactures: including an
account of the patent crystallo ceramie, or, glass incrustations.
London: J. B. Holdsworth, 1821
$2500.00
First edition, rare. This work is of particular interest for the
eight engraved plates showing a cut glass decanter and wine
glasses; toilet bottle and water jug; two ornamental candlesticks; a small dining-room lustre (i.e. cut glass chandelier);
a sinumbre lamp; a girandole; seals, brooches, knobs, etc.
and miscellaneous small pieces. All of these pieces incorporate Pellatt’s patent crystallo ceramie. “In 1819 he introduced into England and patented a French method of
decorating flasks, paper-weights, pendants, etc. with cameolike portrait busts, classical heads, figures of putti etc., made
of a porcellaneous white material enclosed in the thickness
of the clear crystal glass, i.e. crystallo-ceramie or ‘sulphides.’
He obtained a patent for their manufacture in 1831.” See J.
Fleming & H. Honour, Dict. of the decorative arts, pp. 5945 (from which the above quote is taken and which gives
further bibliography). OCLC locates nine copies in American libraries. There are no copies in the book auction records
1975 to the present. Duncan 10005.
4to, orig. boards with printed paper label; spine (which appears to be
original) with “Pellatt’s Glass” stamped in gilt. (ii)+ii+36+6 pp with 8
engr. plates and an engraved frontisp. A pleasing copy.
WITH PLATES PRINTED IN
DELICATE PASTEL COLORS
133. PILKINGTON BROS LTD. Designs for embossed
glass. St. Helens, [U.K], 1904
$600.00
An attractive trade catalogue with the plates printed in
several pastel colors (pink, dark blue and light blue); most
of the illustrations are for windows and some are lettered,
for example for hotels. Pilkingtons were a major firm with
offices all over the western world; the company was started
in 1826 as St. Helens Crown Glass Co. by John William Bell
and Associates. In 1945 Chance Brothers Ltd. of Birmingham became a subsidiary of Pilkington. Both firms are still
in business and make a great variety of industrial glass, plate
glass, laminated and safety glass, etc. A good note on the
firm is given in H. Newman, An illustrated dictionary of glass
(1977). Duncan lists 31 entries for them ranging in date
from 1895 to 1940. The present work is not in Duncan.
Oblong 4to, printed boards. 2 ff of letterpress and 18 plates with a total
of 62 design, all printed in colors. The cover is lithographed in two colors
in a handsome art nouveau design.
FINE COLOR ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF
OPALINE GLASS
134. PORTIEUX VALLERYSTHAL. Société Anonyme
des Verreries Reunies Vallerysthal (Alsace Lorraine) & Portieux
(Vosges). Etablissement de Portieux. Collection des Dessins &
Prix-Courant. Articles divers, decors a froid. Septieme Partie.
[Paris, Lith. Berger-Levrault, Nancy, Paris], 1914
$400.00
The fact that this is the ‘Septieme partie’ (only) initially put
me off, but it is a fine copy, beautifully color illustrated, and
OCLC locates one copy only (NY,MMA) of this seventh
part (only). If there exists anywhere a complete copy of all
parts, there is no record of it in OCLC nor in CMoG. The
plates are beautifully color printed by lithography and
include gold. There are a total of nine plates which include
candlesticks, sugar bowls, butter dishes, two plates of ‘Articles Divers’ and two plates of vases. The final leaves are
prices to correspond with the color plates.
4to (10 ½ x 8 ½") in orig. printed wrappers. (ii)+9 color litho plates plus
9 pp of letterpress. A fine copy.
RAILWAY CAR ILLUMINATION
INCLUDES SOME FINE ART NOUOVEAU
FIXTURES
135. SAFETY CAR HEATING AND LIGHTING CO.
Electric fixtures. New York City, 2 Rector Street, 1922
$275.00
This company had been in the railway car illumination
business for more than thirty years. This is a handsome trade
catalogue illustrated throughout with one image per page,
some in regular halftone, others in two tints to show the
bronze part of the fixtures in contrast to the glass shades.
Fixtures for ceiling lighting, also wall brackets and table
mounted lamps. Many fixtures are shown with facing sectional diagrams to show part numbers. Some of the best
fixtures are in a late art nouveau style. Rare; not in OCLC;
not in C.M.ofG.
8vo, orig. stiff printed paper wraps. 85 pp with 47 black & white halftones,
17 illus in two-tone tint and 16 line-drawn diagrams. Well printed on
coated paper.
136. SAINT GOBAIN, CHAUNY, CIREY. Manufactures des glaces et produits chimiques de St. Gobain, Chauny,
Cirey. Societe Anonyme fondée en 1665. Direction des Ventes
pour Belgique, 19 rue du Congres, Bruxelles. Usines de Franiere
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 33 ]
(pres de Namur). [Brussels], N.d. (ca. 1930s)
$125.00
The catalogue opens with a two page “Nomenclature des
produits vendus en Belgique: glaces polies, verres coules,
produits opaques pour revetements, verres a vitres, moulages en verre, produits diverses.” The catalogue contains 52
plates of halftones of decorated patterns of sheet glass (each
is identified). Though St. Gobain was a French company,
they had a huge factory in Franiere, Belgium (illustrated
here). The cover title of this little catalogue is “Verres
Speciaux.” I cannot locate a copy in OCLC.
12mo, orig. printed wrappers. (vi) pp with 52 plates of halftones of
patterned sheet glass each with a green printed surround. Bound with two
grommets. Good copy.
“VERRES IMPRIMES, VERRES ARMES,
VERRES DE TOITURES”
137. SAINT GOBAIN, CHAUNY, & CIREY. Manufactures des Glaces et produits chimiques. [Paris, Imprimerie
Buttner-Thierry], N.d. (ca. 1930S)
$225.00
Fine illustrated catalogue, with text in French, Spanish and
English: “Patterns of figured glass, wire glass, rolled glass,
sold on export markets. Most of the patterns shown in this
catalogue are also made in colours.” A visually stunning
catalogue as the patterns, reproduced as halftones on blue
and gray backgrounds appear almost as abstractions. Founded
in the late seventeenth century, the St. Gobain Glass Co. is
the French national glass company for making plate glass
and mirrors. OCLC locates one copy: Smithsonian Institution.
Oblong 4to (8 ½ x 10"), orig. printed wraps. 32 pp with 60 halftones.
Printed on coated paper in gray, blue and black. Two faded old lib. stamps.
Crease down the middle were it was once folded.
A STUNNING CATALOGUE
WITH 49 COLOR PLATES
138. S.V.E.[ANCIENNE SOCIETE DES VERRERIES
POUR L’ECLAIRAGE]. Pétrole. Gaz. Electricité. Paris [J.
Gussac, Imprimerie, Paris], 1915
$750.00
Also on the title page (in smaller type, at the bottom) is the
name “Cristallerie a Kamenz, (Saxe)”, thus suggesting they
were a partner, or junior partner, in some way with S.V.E.
A very comprehensive catalogue with hardware, fixtures
and globes for petroleum, gas and electrical lamps. Very well
illustrated with 49 color plates, all of which are devoted to
glass shades (or in some cases beaded shades). I cannot
locate this catalogue in OCLC but Corning Museum has a
copy (record number 54370) in Rakow online catalogue.
Lg. 4to (12 ½ x 9 ¾"), orig. stiff printed wrappers, with embossed and
color printed cover; also with a stunning red and black title page. 170 pp
with thousands of halftone illus and 49 handsome color plates.
[ 34 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
SPLENDID COLOR PRINTED
CATALOGUE OF MIRRORS
139. SION, GEORGES; SION & BOUVET, Succrs. Album de glaces & miroirs. Modèles de style & de fantaisie. Sion
& Bouvet, fabricants. 17 rue Richard-Lenoir. [Paris: Imp.
Eugene Verneau], Paris, N.d. [ca. 1890-95]
$600.00
A fine large-format trade catalogue of mirrors, 50 two-color
litho plates, most with two images to a page, printed against
a pale blue background, the glass surfaces of the mirrors
shown with a very pale and subtle washing of blue across the
surface. Very effective, indeed, quite beautiful. It has two
features of special interest, both of which I have never seen
before. First, the printed title page, which is present is
actually loosely laid in. It has original perforation marks
along the left margin and you can see the stub where it was
originally attached. The idea was for the factor or commercial travellor (i.e. the salesman) to remove the title page
before showing the catalogue to his customers to prevent
them from going directly to the manufacturer. This copy
was pretty certainly never used for the purpose of selling.
The second feature of interest is a statement printed along
the bottom margin of the title page: “Ce tirage étant épuisé,
l’Album ne sera pas renouvelé” i.e. ‘This issue being out-ofprint, the album will not be reprinted.’ Mirrors are shown in
the following styles: Empire, Louis XV, Louis XVI, Louis
XIV, Renaissance, Japonais, Venise, Henri II, Louis XIII,
Psyché, Florentin, and Bambous. Towards the end are
shown console tables with oval mirrors in Louis XVI, ditto
Venetian mirrors also with Louis XV console, ditto in Louis
XVI style, Plate 50, the final leaf, shows a series of moulding
profiles. Not in OCLC.
Oblong folio (11 x 15"), orig. red cloth, titled in bold gilt lettering. Printed
title (see above) and 50 two-color litho plates. On the front pastedown is
printed label: “No. 1094 presenté a H. Fontbonné.” Laid in are two large
illustrated broadsides (folded up) Albert Pongor & Cie. Fabrique de
Miroiterie.
140. TIFFANY STUDIOS. Tiffany bronze lamps. New
York, Tiffany Studios, Madison Ave & 45th Street, n.d.
(reprint, ca. mid 20th century?)
$250.00
Originally published about 1910. OCLC locates no copies
of the original edition. The present item is a modern reprint
of uncertain date. OCLC lists four modern reprints of this
catalogue: 1. by Paula Ellman, Rego Park, NY, undated. 2.
by The Gilded Age Press, Washington Mills, N.Y., 1980; 3.
by Breslin Associates, Evanston, Ill, 2002 (spiral bound);
and 4. “Reprint by unknown publisher of undated catalogue
of ca. 1910.” Copies of three of these four reprints are held
in the Rakow Library, Corning Museum of Glass. The
OCLC note on reprint no. 4 is very detailed and corresponds
exactly with our catalogue which has 31 pages, the last leaf
of which is a list of shades numbered from 1400 to 1599.
The general contents include table and floor lamps, smoker’s
stands, other Tiffany products, bronze candlesticks. There
were several of these bronze lamp catalogues published as
new by Tiffany Studios; I have never seen any of them. They
would bring a very strong price in today’s marketplace.
IV. EARLY PHOTOGRAPHIC
MANUALS
12mo, orig. stiff printed wrappers. 31 pp with 50 illus of individual lamps
and 2 plates of groups of objects. Fine copy.
A TIFFANY RARITY
141. TIFFANY STUDIOS. Mosaic curtain for the National
Theatre of Mexico. New York: Tiffany Studios, N.d. [1911]
$450.00
Fine copy of a very rare publication, not in OCLC and not
in the Rakow Library (CMoG). But it was known to Robert
Koch, who wrote the following: “While Cram was engaged
in closing up the Tiffany chapel its designer was watching
the finishing touches put on a mammoth vista in stained
glass, the drop-curtain for the National Theatre in Mexico
City, some thirty years after his first modest venture for the
Madison Square Theater. The building itself was begun in
1904 by Adamo Boari in a style blending classic and Art
Nouveau in a most unusual manner. The contract for the
glass curtain was awarded to Tiffany in 1909, and he
retained the painter and stage designer Harry Stoner to
make the design. Stoner was sent to Mexico to inspect the
new building and to familiarize himself with the Mexican
landscape. The resulting scenic design, representing a panoramic view of the Valley of Mexico with its majestic
mountain peaks as seen from the President’s Palace, was
translated into glass by workmen at the Tiffany Furnaces at
Corona and required twenty workers more than fifteen
months to complete. When finished, it consisted of 200
panels containing in all nearly a million pieces of glass, each
panel three feet square, and when assembled, weighed a total
of 27 tons. Its estimated value was $250,000. It was first
exhibited in New York in April 1911, and then shipped to
Mexico City, to be installed in the Palace of Fine Arts. More
of an accomplishment in engineering than a work of art, it
is operated by hydraulic pressure and counter-balances and
only seven seconds are required to raise or lower it.” - Louis
C. Tiffany, rebel in glass (1964), pp. 83-84. The present
pamphlet shows a fine halftone of the theatre in course of
construction, a double-page spread of the interior of the
theater and the mosaic curtain and a sculptured group over
the main entrance in alto relievo by Leonard Bistolfi. Fine
copy.
8vo, orig. printed wrappers. (12) pp with 3 halftones (2 full-p., one
double-page). Nicely printed by R. L. Stillson Co. of New York.
142. BOUSFIELD, EDWARD C. Guide to the science of
photo micrography. Second edition, entirely rewritten and much
enlarged. London: J. & A. Churchill, 1892
$325.00
First edition in book form; the work originally was published as a brief pamphlet in 1887. The work was meant to
serve as a technical guide to solving the problems of photomicrography. The frontispiece is an enlargement of 6 photomicrographic slides from the writer’s negatives reproduced
by Edkin & Co’s “Glass print process.” Epstean Collection
(Addenda), first edition of 1887. Roosens/Salu 8399.
8vo, orig. cloth. xvi+174+14+ii pp. with 34 wood-engr text illus and
frontisp as above. Spine a bit dull.
143. DAWSON, GEORGE. A manual of photography,
founded on Hardwich’s photographic chemistry. Eighth edition.
London: J. & A. Churchill, New Burlington Street, 1873
$300.00
Though it is clearly stated on the title page that this book is
“by” George Dawson, it is in fact the eighth edition of T. F.
Hardwich’s Manual of photographic chemistry, and is listed as
such in the NUC. Hardwich’s Manual was first published
1855; editions one through seven all were titled the Manual
of photographic chemistry, but in this edition the title is
changed. Johnson D230. Roosens/Salu 6423. Very nice
copy.
8vo, orig. cloth. xvi+276+12 pp with wood-engr. illus.
OCLC: NO COPY IN AMERICA
144. DE LATREILLE, EDOUARD. Nouveau manuel
simplifié de photographie sur plaque, verre et papier suivi d’un
petit traité sur les instruments d’optique appliques a la
photographie de la veritable theorie de stéreoscope, et de formules
et renseignements nouveau. Nouvelle edition. Paris: Roret,
1856
$950.00
Originally published one year earlier in 1855 in 96 pages.
Roosens & Salu list this first 1855 edition (their number
6526). Of the present nouvelle edition, OCLC locates three
copies, two in France and one in Canada. No copies in
America.
12mo, orig. paper sides, pebble grained cloth spine, nice copy. 166 pp.
AN EARLY DAGUERREOTYPE MANUAL
145. GAUDIN, M[ARC] A[NTOINE AUGUSTIN].
Traité pratique de photographie exposé complet des procéedés
relatifs au daguerreotype. Paris: J. J. Dubochet et Cie, 1844
$2750.00
First edition, fine untrimmed copy in the original wrappers.
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 35 ]
This work saw a second edition in 1845 and an Italian
translation in 1845. Gaudin was an optical instrument
maker and a pioneer daguerreotypist. Gernsheim states:
“With still smaller and therefore faster cameras than those of
Lerebours, and accelerating with bromide vapour, Marc
Antoine Gaudin was able to take some instantaneous street
views in 1/10 of a second showing people and traffic,
provided they were not moving too rapidly. He showed a
distant view of the Pont Neuf with traffic to the Academie
des Sciences in October 1841...Gaudin seems to have been
the earliest to attempt portraits of little children, in 1843,
and realizing that this demanded a psychological approach
as well as an instantaneous process, he invented the stock
phrase used by photographers of children all over the world
to this day: ‘Now look into the box and watch the dickeybird!’” (History, p. 118). The present work is a general
manual of daguerreotype photography as it existed in 1844.
Roosens/Salu 2855. Epstean, 1942 Addenda under G.
8vo, orig. printed wrappers, untrimmed. (iv)+iv+248 pp.
146. GORE, GEORGE; MARCUS SPARLING &
JOHN SCOFFERN. The circle of the sciences...Practical
chemistry...Photographic art...and the chemistry of artificial
illumination. London: Houlston & Stoneman, 1856
$450.00
First edition. The photographic section (pages 101-304)
was written by Sparling and is important; it was published
separately by its author under the title Theory and practice of
the photographic art; including its chemistry and optics, initially
in 1856. The volume offered here is listed as Gernsheim,
Incunabula, 770. Marcus Sparling was the assistant to
Roger Fenton in taking the Crimean photographs. His
book is a thorough treatise and discusses optics and cameras; also the processes of Talbot, Sir W. J. Newton, Mr.
Llewellyn, Gustave Le Gray (wax-paper process), Dr. Diamond, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Teasdale, M. Geoffroy, and
Lespinault. And much on chemistry and processing. This
work was originally part of “Orr’s Circle of the Sciences.”
We offer here both volumes I & II (vol I is titled Practical
Chemistry). Vol II as listed above. The Sparling work saw a
second edition in 1859, revised by James Martin. Roosens/
Salu 4238. Epstean catalogue, addenda under “S. “The final
section on “The chemistry of artificial illumination” (pp.
429-552 with 60 illus) is also important.
2 vols. 8vo, cont. marbled sides, calf spines. I. viii+528 pp with numerous
wood-engr illus. II. xvi+574 pp. The photographic section contains 123
text illus; the section on illumination has 60 text illus. Very good set.
147. GROLL, ANDREAS. Photographie oder Lichtbilder
auf Glas. [Wien], 1850
$800.00
Separately paginated offprint with its own title page from
the Sitzungsberichte der mathem-naturw Classe der kaiserl
Akademie der Wissenschaften, November 1850 and possibly
the first report in German of albumen-on-glass negatives. In
[ 36 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
1847 Niepce de St. Victor introduced the first practical
method of making photographic negatives on glass, socalled albumen negatives. The process, to use a film of
sensitized albumen on glass, was used for a few years only,
replaced by collodion negatives, which were introduced by
F. Scott Archer in 1851. Heidtmann 4624. Not in OCLC.
8vo, 5+1 pp.
PIONEER WORK FOR THE PHOTOCHEMICAL
BASIS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
148. HOFFMANN, FRIEDRICH. Observationum Physico
Chemicarum Selectiorum Libri III. Halle: Rengeriana, 1736
$800.00
First published 1722. The present is the second edition. An
important collection of chemistry experiments by “one of
the most distinguished physicians of the 17th-18th century
“ (Ferguson) who also made numerous important contributions to the field of chemistry. The present work includes an
experiment in which the darkening of silver salts due to light
is first described which in turn laid the ground work for the
photochemical basis for photography (see Partington IV, p.
713). A much longer and more interesting account of
Hoffmann’s contributions is given in Eder, History of photography, pp. 67-68.
4to, contemp. speckled boards. (xxviii)+342+(xxii) pp. Title printed in
red and black. Light browning and scattered light foxing to text.
“THE BEST GENERAL TREATISE...”
149. LEREBOURS, N[OEL] P. Traité de photographie
derniers perfectionnements apportés au Daguerréotye (quatrieme
edition). Juin, 1843. Paris: N. P.-Lerebours, [1843]
$2750.00
This would appear to be a revision of Gaudin & Lerebours
Derniere perfectionnement apportes au daguerreotype of 1841.
The preface states: “Notre troisieme édition, tirée en Mai
derniere à 1800 exemplaires, étant entirèment épuisée depuis
deux mois, nous nous sommes déterminés à faire paraitre ce
nouvel ouvrage.” An English translation appeared in 1843,
called by Gernsheim “the best general treatise until the
publication of Hunt’s manual in 1851" (Incunabula 665).
Lerebours was a very important figure not only as an author,
but also as a publisher and maker of optical and photographic instruments. He was the publisher of the Excursions
Daguerriennes which is advertised at the back of the present
work. Some of his instruments can today be seen at the
Musée des Arts & Metiers in Paris. The final sixteen pages
of the present work advertise his daguerreotype cameras and
lenses, a Stanhope microscope, and the ‘Excursions Daguerriennes.” Epstean 574. Roosens/Salu 2842. Boni, p. 69.
Tall 8vo, contemp. marbled sides, black morocco spine, gilt. (iv)+203+16
pp with 1 fdg engr plate. Scattered light foxing; a very nice copy.
FIVE RARE MANUALS FROM THE FIFTIES
150. PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNICAL MANUALS.
Bound volume of five early technical manuals, all French, all
pub. in Paris between 1855 and 1859
$4000.00
All first editions. Titles as follows: (1) PORRO, I., Sur le
perfectionnement pratique des appareils optiques pour l’astronomie
et pour la photographie. Paris: Mallet-Bachelier, 1858. 54 pp.
with 1 engr. plate. The author was the inventor of several
devices for taking and developing panoramic photographs
and the photogrammetric principles developed by him
formed the basis for all later photographic mapping processes. The present work describes a prototype scanning
panoramic camera and offers a long explication of the
optical principles upon which it is based. Roosens/Salu
7631. OCLC locates 2 copies in USA. (2) DISDERI, [A.
A. E.]. Renseignements photographiques indispensables a tous.
Paris: l’auteur, 1855. 46 pp. A general treatise explaining the
new art of photography for the intelligent amateur. Didseri
was the great popularizer of photographic portraiture; he
held the first patent on the “carte-de-visite” format, and
through that medium profoundly influenced the growth of
photographic portraiture both in France and abroad. Not in
Roosens/Salu. OCLC locates 2 copies in USA. (3) ROBERT, GEORGES. Photographie élémentaire: traité de
photographie sur collodion. Positifs et negatifs sur verre. Tirage
des épreuves positifs sur papier. Paris: L. & H. Wulff, 1859.
46+1 pp. Roosens/Salu 2091. Epstean 607. OCLC locates
2 copies in USA. (4) GEOFFRAY, STEPHANE. Traité
pratique pour l’emploi des papiers du commerce en photographie.
Nouveau procédés améliorateurs. Paris: Bureau de Cosmos,
1855. 104 pp. A key early work on the production and
purification of photographic papers. Geoffray is best remembered for his pioneering work on photographic papers,
having developed procedures which for paper for negatives
rivaled the quality of glass. See: E. Janis & A. Jammes, “The
art of the French calotype,” (1983), p. 182. Epstean 686.
Roosens/Salu 7808. OCLC locates 3 copies in America. (5)
VAN MONCKHOVEN, D[ESIRE]. Procédé nouveau de
photographie sur plaques de fer et notice sur les vernis
photographiques et le collodion sec. Paris: Gaudin & Secretan,
1858. 104 pp + 4 p. catalogue. Monckhoven was the author
of the magisterial “Traité générale de photographie” (1856)
which established him as one of Europe’s foremost photographic authorities. The present work details a new method
for printing on ferrous plates, a process which evolved into
the ubiquitous tintype of the 1860s. Not in Epstean. Not in
Roosens/Salu. OCLC locates 4 copies in American libraries.
5 titles in one vol. 8vo, orig. marbled sides, morocco spine. Orig wraps not
bound in. Paginations noted above.
photography in a wider context through a series of 49 essays,
a sampling of which are the first camera photograph, status
of the photographer, publication of photographs, pupil to
a photographer, with the camera on the continent, ownership of the negative, business tact, photolithography, national photographic portrait gallery, photographic museum, photographic societies, etc. etc. Roosens and Salu
6422.
8vo, original cloth, beveled edges, title in gilt on cover, excellent copy.
iv+220 pp with scattered text illus.
152. RODGERS, H. J. Twenty three years under a sky light,
or, life and experiences of a photographer. Hartford: H. J.
Rodgers, 1873
$350.00
First published 1872. An important book, one of very few
firsthand autobiographical accounts of early photographers;
the author emphatically states in the preface: “This book is
one of solid truth...” It is not unknown to historians;
Welling quotes a page from it in his Photography in America,
(p. 212). Marni Sandweiss’s Photography in 19th cent. America
(1991) makes two references to it (pp. 55, 71). Roosens/
Salu 9369. NUC locates six copies.
8vo, orig. publisher’s cloth. 236 pp. with 53 wood-engr. illus. Spine
slightly faded else a nice copy.
X RAY PHOTOGRAPHY
153. SANTINI, E. N. La photographie a travers les corps
opaques par les rayons electriques, cathodiques et de Rontgen avec
une étude sur les images photofulgurales. Paris: Ch. Mendel,
[1896]
$600.00
The presumed first edition (date is taken from the last leaf
of adverts). 1896 was the first year of popularization of the
new kind of penetrating rays discovered by Professor Roentgen at the end of 1895. Of particular interest in the context
of picture conservation; to quote Ruhemann, “X-rays are
the best known and most spectacular of the technical aids in
picture examination.” Ruhemann states that Roentgen himself or friends of his examined paintings with X-rays soon
after their discovery in 1896. Epstean Collection 1075. Not
in Roosens/Salu (they do list of number of titles on radiography, starting in 1896, but not Santini). The present work
includes two fine full-page halftones of negative and positive
X-ray photographs.
8vo, old cloth. (vi)+102+(ii) pp with wood-engr. author’s portrait, and
17 illus. of which 14 wood-engrs. and 2 full-p. halftones. Ex-lib., 2 old
rubber stamps on t.p.
VERY EARLY DAGUERREOTYPE MANUAL
151. PRITCHARD, H. BADEN. About photography and
photographers. A series of essays for the studio and study. To which
are added European rambles with a camera. New York:
Scoville Manufacturing Co., 1883
$500.00
Fine copy. A fascinating and important work looking at
154. SMEE, M. & E. DE VALICOURT. Nouveau manuel
complet de galvanoplastie...suivi d’un traite de daguerreotypie
contenant tous les perfectionnements apportés a cet art, depuis son
origine jusqu’a ce jour d’apres M. Lerebours, Gaudin, Ch.
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 37 ]
Chevalier, Buron, etc. Ouvrage publie par E. de VALICOURT.
Paris: Roret, 1843
$1250.00
First edition; this is a very early manual of daguerreotype,
the exact authorship of which is difficult to determine.
The daguerreotype manual “contenant tous les
perefectionnements qui ont été publies relativement a cet art
depuis sa decouverte; la description et l’usage des nouveaux
appareils; et des notes detailles sur l’emploi des substances
acceleratrices, sur les portraits daguerriens et sur les papiers
photogeniques - par un amateur.” While de Valicourt is
listed on the title as “publisher” he would seem to have
served as editor, the real authors being Lerebours, Gaudin,
Chevalier, Buron, etc. The two folding plates illustrate a
daguerreotype camera by Chevalier and lenses and other
accessories by Gaudin, Lerebours, and Buron. There was a
later (“nouvelle”) edition of this work on its own published
by Roret in 1851. Epstean Collection, Accessions 1938-41
under “Smee.” Eder, History of photography, p. 314 gives a
few notes on Gaudin and Lerebours. Roosens and Salu
4189.
12mo, orig. half calf, nice copy. vi+7-453+36 pp with 2 fdg. engr. plates
(both of which are devoted to the daguerreotype section). Plates only
lightly browned. The daguerreotype section occupies pages 317-444.
155. THORNTHWAITE, W. H. A guide to photography,
containing simple and concise directions for obtaining views,
portraits, etc. by the action of light on prepared surfaces of paper,
glass and metal, including the calotype, daguerreotype, and the
improved processes with collodion, albumen, and waxed paper.
[Fifth edition]. London: Horne, Thornthwaite & Wood,
1852
$750.00
Originally published 1845. This edition has bound at the
rear a separately paginated and illustrated 20 page “Catalogue of photographic apparatus and chemical preparations
manufactured and sold by Horne, Thornthwaite and Wood.”
Gernsheim, Incunabula, 676. Johnson T623. Epstean 702
citing a ninth edition. Roosens/Salu 6364 citing editions as
late as the 17th (1860). All edition are rare these days.
8vo, orig. printed cloth, title on upper cover. (iv)+92+20+(iv) pp with
47+33 illus. Nice copy.
156. VAN MONCKHOVEN, [DESIRE]. Traité général
de photographie. Septieme édition. Avec planches et figures
intercalées dans le texte. Paris: G. Masson, 1880 $450.00
Originally published in 1856, this was a standard and long
popular work, here offered in its seventh edition. “Dr.
Désiré Charles Emanuel van Monckhoven (1834-1882)
was one of the most versatile and zealous representatives of
scientific and applied photography in the latter half of the
last century. He came from the Flemish race and spoke
German fluently, although his daily conversation was carried on in French. He studied chemistry, did not engage in
a business or profession, lived at Ghent, and devoted himself
early in life to photographic studies. In his eighteenth year
he published his Traite general de photographie, of which
[ 38 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
seven editions were published and which was translated into
French, German, Italian, and Russian.” - Eder, Hist. of
photog., p. 428. Epstean 38 (7th edition). Roosens/Salu
4239.
8vo, old half black morocco, spine with gilt lines. viii+pp. 5-431 with 182
text illus and 3 mounted plates hors texte (two prints from different
negatives (‘epreuve heliotype d’apres un cliche au gelatino-bromure
d’argent’) and a carbon print (‘epreuve au charbon’).
157. WILKINSON, W. T. Photo engraving, photo etching,
and photo lithography in line and half-tone; also collotype and
heliotype. Revised and enlarged by Edward L. Wilson. American
(sixth) edition. New York: Edward L. Wilson, [1888]
$275.00
A fine bright copy. The first American edition was published
1888. This would appear to be a combination of two
separate works originally published in London in 1886 and
1887 (see Bridson/Wakeman, E47 and E48). As Wilson
points out in the preface progress in these fields was so fast
(“improvements are announced almost weekly”) in the late
eighties and early nineties that every edition of this and
similar works is necessary to follow technical developments.
The Epstean collection has various editions (1203-1208).
Roosens/Salu 8175. This is a nice copy in the original
publisher’s decorated Eastlake style binding.
8vo, orig. dec. cloth. xvi+pp.9-188 pp with 23 illus and 3 halftone illus.
Inner hinges slightly cracking.
WORKING DETAILS OF THE
CALOTYPE PROCESS
158. TALBOT, [WILLIAM] H[ENRY] F[OX]. The process of Talbotype (formerly called calotype) photogenic drawing,
communicated to the Royal Society, June 10th, 1841 by H. F.
Talbot, Esq. [London: (Privately printed) by J. & H. Cox
Bros.], 1841
$5000.00
First edition, very rare. The first separate publication on
photography in the world was Talbot’s Some account of
photogenic drawing (London, 1839); the present sheet is a
more detailed account of this branch of photography,
devoted to the calotype. Both of these publications were
privately printed by Talbot for presentation to friends and
editors and both are very rare.
The process of the calotype was one that Talbot
discovered rather than one that he set out to invent. Comparing it to photogenic drawing, Talbot claimed that with his
new process “certainly a much better picture can now be
obtained in a minute than by the former process in an hour.”
It is not clear when he first devised this term; the first time
that it appears in his research notebooks is on 30 January
1840, but this entry appears to be merely the recording of
a name, not associated with any process.” - Schaff, The
photographic art of William Henry Fox Talbot, pp. 20-21. He
renamed the process Talbotype and then patented it in
1841, first revealing the working details in June 1841. The
fundamental difference between the calotype negative and
Talbot’s earlier photogenic drawing negative is that in the
calotype process only a latent image is created during the
actual exposure. This allows for a considerable increase in
the speed of exposure. The paper negative is later developed,
at which time the image becomes visible. Gernsheim, Incunabula 655.
4to, 4 pp., drop-title. Fine copy.
V. WORLDS FAIRS & EXPOSITIONS
Part I: 1798-1849
THE FOUNDATION STONE OF ALL MODERN
INDUSTRIAL EXPOSISTIONS
159. (PARIS: 1798). EXPOSITION PUBLIQUE DES
PRODUITS DE L’INDUSTRIE FRANCAISE. Première
exposition des produits de l’industrie francaise. Jours
complémentaires de l’an VI. Catalogue des produits industriels
qui seront exposés au Champs-de-Mars pendant les trois dernieres
jours complémentaires de l’an VI; avec les noms, départemens et
demeures des artistes et manufacturiers qui ont concours à
l’exposition. [Paris: De l’Imprimerie de la République, Jours
complémentaires an VI (1798)]
$5000.00
First edition, first issue. This is the catalogue of the first
“official” exhibition of French industry (there had been an
unofficial exhibit the year before, but it had no published
catalogue and was primarily an effort to sell some of the
products of the Gobelins tapestry works, Sevres porcelain
works and the Savonnerie carpet factory to raise cash to pay
the workers). For the present exposition, organized by the
Marquis de Avèze and Francois de Neufchatel, the venue
was “in the city itself, at the Hotel d’Orsay, and the scope of
the display was greatly extended to include exhibits from
many trades besides the three which were represented on the
first occasion. There were furniture and inlaid work, clocks
and watches, fine bookbinding, silks and works of fine art,
besides carpets, porcelain, and tapestries.” - Luckhurst, The
story of exhibitions, p. 72. This exposition was the first of a
more-or-less regular series; there were ten ever larger industrial exhibitions in France between this one and 1849. For
this exhibition there were 110 exhibitors arranged in 68
arcades. The arcaded square was designed by the painter J.
J. L. David. Paul Greenhalgh has pointed out that one of the
features of this exhibition was “a specially compiled catalogue containing the names and addresses of participating
firms. The potential of this publication as an effective free
advertiser was quickly realized by manufacturers, making
them keen supporters of succeeding events.” - Ephemeral
vistas, pp. 5-6.
The copy on offer here is the first edition, first issue
with 24 pages. It was printed in Paris by the Imprimerie de
la République. It is located in OCLC in two copies; one in
the BN and one at Yale (I sold them that copy). There was
a second issue later in 1798 with 30 pages and with the
imprint of Grenoble. Carpenter, p. 474.
Small 8vo, stitched into modern wraps. 24 pp. Good clean copy.
NOT IN OCLC
160. (PARIS: 1801). ARRETE relatif à une exposition
publique et annuelle des produits de l’industrie francaise. Du 13
Ventose an IX de la République francaise, une et indivisible.
(Drop head title). [Paris: De l’Imprimerie du Dépot des Lois,
place du Carrousel, (1801)]
$350.00
This exposition, the second of its kind, was organized under
the supervision of the famous chemist and minister of the
interior, J. A. C. Chaptal and is signed by him in print. In
nine paragraphs the present document lays out the basic
rules and regulations of the exposition. It lasted for five days
and was held in the courtyard of the Louvre, a temporary
arcade being erected around the walls. The number of
exhibitors was 220, exactly double the number in 1798. At
head of title: Bulletin des Lois no. 73. Rare; not in OCLC.
4to, one sheet, printed on both sides. Lower blank corner (one inch) torn
on blank back page; else fine.
INDUSTRIE FRANCAISE, EXPOSITION DE 1819
161. (PARIS: 1819). COSTAZ, M. L. (ed). Rapport du
Jury Central sur les produits de l’Industrie francaise...rédigé par
M. L. Costaz. Paris: L’Imprimerie Royale, 1819 $1500.00
This was the fifth industrial exposition to be held in France.
The jury consisted of the following members: Berthollet,
Breguet, Brongniart, Chaptal, Christian, Costaz, D’Arcet,
D’Artigues, Fontaine, Gérard, Heron de Villefosse, Molard,
De La Rochefoucauld, Tarbé de Vauxclairs and Ternaux.
The editor was L. Costaz.
Early in 1819, French manufacturers having expressed a desire for a renewal of the tradition, a Royal
ordinance was issued and a committee was set up to organize the fifth exhibition, which took place from the 25th of
August until the 30th of September 1819. The committee,
presided over by the Duc de la Rochefoucauld, began to
inspect industrial products in early August, appointing
Costaz the official reporter of the exhibition. Medals were
awarded to new manufacturers, and the exhibition, together
with its report, aimed to demonstrate progress made since
the last exhibition of 1806.
After the editor’s introduction, the present Rapport
lists all exhibitors, with details of their industries, an appraisal of their products, and announcement of their medal
awards, both past and present. Divided into various categories (woolens, silks, cottons, leather goods, paper, glass,
metals, musical instruments, etc.), the survey is followed by
the report of the central jury, a list of those exhibitors
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 39 ]
presented to the king, copies of the official ordinances,
reports and circulars relative to the exhibition, and an
alphabetical listing of prize-winning manufacturers and
artisans from all five exhibitions. Carpenter, p. 475. Kress
C.375. Goldsmiths’ 22370. Querard II, p. 298. OCLC
locates nine copies in American libraries.
8vo. recent boards, morocco lettering piece. xxiv+492 pp.
162. (AVIGNON: 1827). Société des amis des arts de la
bonne ville d’Avignon...Notice des produits des beaux-arts et de
l’industrie qui ont figuré a l’Exposition de l’Anne 1827.
[Avignon: De l’Imprimerie de Seguin ainé, (1827)]
$450.00
This is not found in OCLC but there were a number of
similarly named “Société des amis des arts” in the 1820s in
France; OCLC locates similar publications or reports by
them in Douai, Cambrai, Lyon, Geneva and one or two
other cities in this decade. Also Carpenter does not make any
attempt to list the publications of any French exhibitions in
any cities other than Paris. However, he does state: “For a
list of exhibitions in the provinces, see Tamir, p. 28. Statistik
adds Mulhouse 1828, 1836, 1839; Lyon 1834, 1838; Tours
1841.” The present catalogue lists 36 artisans, craftsmen or
artists, and their products: foulards, Gros de Naples (a dress
fabric); different colors of silk (shown by a dyer); ebénisterie,
model of a pump, sheets of laminated lead, cast medals,
turnings, knives, faience, bookbindings, a lithograph (by
Magny), sculpture, etc.
8vo, stitched into modern wraps. Pages 21-51+(1). Fine clean untrimmed
copy.
163. (PARIS: 1827). HÉRON DE VILLEFOSSE, A. M.
Des metaux en France. Rapport fait au jury central de l’Exposition
des produits de l’Industrie francaise, de l’année 1827 sur les
objets relatifs a la métallurgie. Paris: Mme. Huzard, 1827
$350.00
As with the report on metallurgy of 1823, this report was
made by the same four members of the jury: Héricart de
Thury, Molard, Migneron and Héron de Villefosse. It
covers plomb, cuivre, laiton, zinc, étain, bronze, platine,
tole, fer-blanc, trefileries, aiguilles, cardes, peignes ou rots,
alènes, toiles métalliques, clouterie, bijoutier d’acier,
serrurerie, coutellerie, outils divers, armes blanches, armes
a feu etc. Kress C.1945. Carpenter, p. 475. OCLC locates
but three copies in American libraries (Yale, Indiana State &
U of Wisconsin).
8vo, old dec. paper sides, cloth spine (but not ex-library). 222 pp. with 2
large folding tables.
164. (SARDINIA: 1830). BONAFOUS, [MATTHIEU].
Coup d’oeil sur la premiere exposition des produits de l’industrie
agricole et manufacturiere dans les etats de S.M. Le Roi de
Sardaigne. Paris: Madame Huzard, [1830]
$500.00
[ 40 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
Fine copy with author’s presentation inscription, published
under the auspices of the Société d’Encouragement in Paris.
This was the first such exhibition held in Sardinia. The
contents are brief essays on the categories of goods exhibited: étoffes de soie; étoffes de laines; coton filé et étoffes de
coton; toiles de chanvre et de lin; broderie et bonneterie;
soies greges; passementerie; chapellerie de paille et de
feutre; fleurs artificielles; machines diverses; instrumens de
musique; ébenisterie et serrurerie; porcelaine et poterie;
verres et cristaux; cuirs et peaux; produits chimiques,
papeterie etc.; encre et cire a cacheter; lithographie,
imprimerie, impression, etc; orfeverie; marbres et ciments;
plaques d’or, d’argent, etc.; quincaillerie; épingles et clouterie;
compositions d’etain, étamage, etc.; fonte, fer laminé et
ouvrages en cuivre; acier, et objets divers. Though it is
written in French this was printed in Turin at the Imprimerie
de Chirio et Mina. OCLC locates two copies, Harvard and
CMoG. But it is not in Carpenter.
8vo, orig. pink wrappers, untrimmed. 52+1 pp. Inscribed on the wrapper:
“a l’Academie de Padova / homage de l’auteur / son correspondant.”
165. (PARIS: 1834). FLACHAT, S. L’Industrie. [Paris:
L. Tenré, (1834)]
$950.00
One of the best publications on the 1834 exposition as it is
well illustrated. Copies of this work vary; some copies have
as few as ten plates; the present copy has 28 (erratically
numbered), a few copies have 33 plates, and I had one once
with 38 plates. The work opens with a long historical
introduction; then follow chapters on bronzes, porcelaines,
faiences, poterie, verreries et cristaux; lutherie et pianos;
produits chemiques; orfeverie, plaque; l’eclairage, lampes;
horlogerie; tissus, etc. All of these categories are illustrated
in the highly detailed engraved plates. The final five pages of
this copy give a list of awards, arranged by category of
goods. In this copy the first leaf is a prospectus for a multivolume work on French and foreign industry edited by
Flachat (see next item).
This exhibition was the eighth in the French series,
which started in 1798. It marked a decisive development in
the size and number of exhibitors, popularized the concept
of these exhibitions throughout Europe, and led eventually
to the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Tall 4to, orig. cloth spine, paper sides, outer edges of covers worn.
(ii)+160+(i) pp with 28 engr. plates numbered erratically.
166. (PARIS: 1834). FLACHAT, STEPHANE. Traité
élémentaire de mécanique industrielle. Second publication de
l’Industrie. Paris: L. Tenré & Dupuy, 1835
$750.00
This is an interesting and rare work; it was intended as a
second volume to the work above but often is not found
with it (it is part of the ‘Publications de l’Industrie Francaise’
series as listed in the prospectus included in the copy
described above). It deals with industrial mechanics and is
a resumé of the treatises of de Christian, Poncelet,
d’Aubuisson, Coriolis, Hachette, Lanz et Betancourt, Ch
Dupin, Borgnis, etc. Flachat was himself a civil engineer and
author of the standard work on the 1834 exposition (see
item above).
Tall 4to, recent marbled sides, calf spine. (iv)+212 pp. with 23 fdg. engr.
plates and 1 fdg. table.
OCLC: NO COPY IN AMERICA
167. (PARIS: 1834). Exposition de 1834, sur la Place de la
Concorde. Notice des produits de l’industrie francaise, précédé
d’un historique des expositions antérieures et d’un coup d’oeil
général sur l’Exposition actuelle. Paris: Everat, Imprimeur,
1834
$1600.00
A rare book, of which OCLC locates only one copy (BN)
and no copies in America. It also is very unusual in that it is
illustrated; most similar exposition reports were not. It
contains 16 wood-engraved illustrations placed within the
text. They include looms, a pump, a lamp, nursing bottle,
cast iron fire front, a medal, a steam powered roaster for
chocolate nuts, etc. The arrangement is strictly numerical,
from 1 to 1958. There is no apparent order (at least not that
I can figure out) but the entries are extensive and descriptive.
8vo, orig. blue paper wrappers. xxiv+260 pp with 16 wood-engr. illus.
Very good copy.
NOT IN OCLC
168. (DIJON: 1837). Société des Amis des Arts de Dijon.
Compte Rendu de l’Exposition des produits des beaux arts et de
l’Industrie. Dijon: Typographe de Madame veuve Breugnot,
1838
$425.00
A rare publication, not in OCLC. In his article on the
literature of these industrial expositions, for France, Kenneth Carpenter lists only the expositions held in Paris (with
one exception, Valence,1839). But he states: “For a list of
the expositions held in the provinces, see Tamir, Les expositions internationales a travers les ages (1939). Statistik adds:
Mulhouse, 1828; 1836, 1839; Lyons, 1834, 1838; Tours,
1841.” The present publication is extensive; pages 1-53 are
devoted to the fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture,
medals, copper engraving, wood engraving, lithography,
and calligraphy). The section on industrial arts is found on
pages 55-151. It covers a wide range of industry: agricultural machinery, musical instruments, typography and lithography, fabrication de papiers, bookbindings, textiles,
cabinetmaking, glass (esp. wine bottles made by Verreries
d’Epinac), crystal, etc. Medal winners are listed in each
category. The final section is an alphabetical list of exhibitors. This copy is waterstained in the margins throughout
and is priced accordingly (but is clearly legible all the way
through).
8vo, old wrappers. 151 pp.
169. (FLORENCE: 1839). Rapporto della pubblica
exposizione dei prodotti di arte e manifatture Toscane...ed
eseguita in Firenze. Firenze: Nella Stamperia Piatti, 1839
$750.00
First edition of the official report of the first industrial
exhibition held in Florence. By royal decree a one month
exhibition of the products of Tuscan artisans and manufacturing industry had been organized in 1839, to be repeated
every third year. The present report has chapters on silk,
wool, cotton cloth, hemp, hats and bonnets, straw hats, felt
hats, paper manufacturing, leather goods, works in metals,
chemical manufactures, glass, optical instruments, furniture
and luxury objects, irises and gladiolas. Finally, at the end,
an alphabetical list of the artisans and manufacturers who
won premiums. Not, as far as I can find, in OCLC. Carpenter, p. 482 (and he does indicate there is a copy at Harvard).
8vo, modern brick-red paper wraps. xx+54+(1) pp. Clean copy.
170. (VALENCE: 1839). Exposition des produits de
l’industrie de departement de la Drome. Valence: Imprimerie
de L. Borel, 1839
$650.00
In addition to the major industrial exhibitions in Paris, there
were similar exhibitions held in provincial cities. Carpenter,
p. 477, lists exactly one of these (the present item) with the
note: “This exposition was sponsored by the Société de
Statistique, des Arts Utiles et des Sciences naturelles du
départment de la Drome. The “Compte-Rendu” is by
Dupré-Deloir.” He further states: “For a list of exhibitions
in the provinces see Tamir (Les expositions internationales a
travers les ages, 1939), p. 28. Statistik adds Mulhouse 1828,
1836, 1839; Lyon 1834, 1838; Tours, 1841.” In the
present work, Dupre-Deloir begins with an opening essay
and goes on to discuss tissus du soie, laines et draps,
impressions sur toile, coton et soie; peaux et maroquins,
métaux, poteries, meubles, imprimerie et papeterie, vins
and produits divers. The final few pages list the distribution
of prizes and medals. I cannot find any copies of this original
edition located in OCLC but Harvard has a copy.
8vo, orig. printed wrappers, stitched, untrimmed. 48 pp., very good copy.
OCLC: NO COPY IN AMERICAN LIBRARIES
171. (VIENNA: 1839). Verzeichniss der im Monathe May
1839 in Wien offentlich ausgestellten Gewerbs-Erzeugnisse der
Osterreichischen Monarchie und Nahmen der Aussteller in
chronologischer Ordnung deer Eisendungen, mit doppeltem
Register und der Angabe der Nummern nach den einzelnen
Ausstellungs-Localitaten. No place, no printer, no date [1839]
$1100.00
The first industrial exhibition to be held in Austria was in
1835; this was the second. It was organized by a special
commission under the chairman Anton Freiherr von Lago.
The present report is a list of the 721 exhibitors including
address and short notes on their exhibits. The appendix
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 41 ]
includes the names of all exhibitors in alphabetical order as
well as an index by category of goods starting with farming
tools and bathing apparatus, also cottons, chemicals,
ironware, musical instruments, and ending with physical
instruments, watches and matches. There are five entries
under glass: Glas mit eingebrannter mahlerei;
Glaserzeugnisse; Glasblaser-Arbeiten; GlasfadenErzeugnisse and Glasperlen. Carpenter, p. 472 (which
means there is presumably a copy at Harvard). OCLC
locates just one copy in a library in Italy.
8vo, contemp. marbled boards, red gilt title piece on spine. 165+1 p of
errata. Old paper library sticker at base of spine, but a fine copy.
172. (BARCELONA: 1844). Esposicion Publica de productos
de la Industria Espanola, verificada en obsequio de S.S. M.M.
Y.A. durante su permanencia en esta capital. Barcelona: J.
Taulo, 1844
$500.00
This was the first industrial exhibition held in Spain (or at
least it is the earliest listed by Carpenter, who lists this
catalogue on his page 484-5). The exposition included 670
exhibitors-agricultural machinery, textiles, furniture, paper,
metalwork, painting, ivory, marble, pottery, etc. Palau 85523.
This catalogue is rare; it is not found in OCLC or RLIN.
8vo, recased in modern wrappers (a Xerographic reproduction of the t.p.).
68 pp.
PRODUITS DE L’INDUSTRIE FRANCAISE
173. (PARIS: 1844). CURMER, L. (and others).
L’Industrie Exposition des produits de l’Industrie Franciase en
1844. Paris: L. Curmer, 1844
$2500.00
Unusual for these exposition reports, this one is illustrated
with 14 finely engraved plates. The French national industrial exhibitions were started in 1798; their purpose was to
showcase the latest products of French industry. In all there
were eleven of these exhibitions, all held in Paris, between
1798 and 1849. The present exhibition was the tenth. It was
held in the Champs-Elysees in purpose built buildings. A
good account of the these exhibitions is given by K.
Luckhurst, The story of exhibitions, pp. 70-82. The present
work includes 14 engraved plates hors texte; most of these
reports were unillustrated. Curmer was clearly the publisher
and may have been editor; the essays were written by various
others, including E. Lamulonière and Louis Leclerc, Jobard,
Fabre d’Olivet, etc. Subjects of the essays include pianos,
chromolithographie (by M. Engelmann), optics, ebenisterie,
meubles en fer, bijouterie, orfeverie, marbres artificiels,
lithographie (by M. Bertauts), optique, ciment anglais,
carroserie, lithophanie, etc. In addition to the essays there
are the usual long lists of exhibitors. Carpenter, p. 477. No
copy in Kress. I cannot locate a copy in OCLC.
Small folio, orig. publisher’s cloth, title in faded gilt on cover. (iv)+255
pp of double column letterpress and 14 engr. plates (of which 1 fdg). The
first plate is a plan of the exhibition building. One or two plates loose in
binding. Binding somewhat rubbed; cloth dull.
[ 42 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
ILLUSTRATED SURVEY OF THE
PARIS 1844 EXPO IN GERMAN
174. (PARIS: 1844). “Die Industrie Ausstellung in Paris im
Jahr 1844”. Supplement zur Illustrirten Zeitung. No. 61, III
Band, Leipzig 31 August 1844
$450.00
An extra number of this major newspaper, 28 pages with
about 76 wood-engraved illustrations. Covers all classes of
exhibits, arranged in 14 categories. I cannot determine for
sure but I suspect that this is a translation into German from
a French newspaper. And it looks like the wood engravings
were printed from the original French blocks; some of them
are signed in the block (Clerget; Bresant; Renard; Champin)
- these are obviously French names. It goes to show the keen
international interest in these exhibitions.
Folio (14 ¾ x 10 ½"), disbound. 28 pages with about 76 wood-enr illus.
Printed by F. U. Brockhaus in Leipzig. Excellent copy.
175. (BRUSSELS: 1847). EXPOSITION OF INDUSTRIAL ART AT BRUSSELS, 1847. The Art Union, monthly
journal of the fine arts (Vol IX) containing a good two-part
illustrated article “The Exposition of industrial art at Brussels,
1847” (pages 337-344; 381-387). London, 1847 $300.00
Industrial exhibitions in Belgium took place in 1803, 1820,
1825, 1830, 1835, 1841, 1847 and 1849. A checklist of
publications on these exhibitions is given by Carpenter; all
of the Carpenter titles are in French; the present essay is one
of very few general overviews and unusual in that it is in
English. The first of this two-part article contains 22 illustrations; the second part 19 illus. There are further references to this fair on pages 298, 334, and 399.
Lg 4to, orig. half dark green morocco, gilt spine, a.e.g. 416 pp. Inner
hinges cracked but a nice copy in an elegant binding.
176. (STOCKHOLM: 1847). RAWERT, O. J.
Konungariket Sveriges industriella tillstand ar 1847.
Stockholm: C. A. Bagges Forlag, 1849
$750.00
This report was originally written in Danish; this is a
translation into Swedish. It is listed by Carpenter, p. 486.
OCLC locates three copies in American libraries (Yale, U of
KS and UTAustin).
8vo, orig. marbled sides, black roan spine. (vi)+304 pp. Very fine copy.
177. (PARIS: 1849). Group of four trade cards from exhibitors at the Paris 1849 Industrial Exhibition. [Paris, 1849]
$150.00
(1) HENRY WILLIAMS de Londre, Manufacture de Papiers
en imitation de bois et de marbres. 111 Rue de Charenton;
Rue Beauveau N.1. Exposition de 1849.
(2) Mlin LORTIC, Relieur Doreur. 199 rue Saint Honoré,
199. Reliures anciennes, modernes, & demi-relieurs en tous
genres. Exposition 1849, Mention Honorable.
(3) A. HOUETTE & CIE. Paris, 27 Faubourg Montmartre,
Fabrique de cuir Venice, Tannerie et Corroyerie. Medaille
d’Argent 1844 - Medaille d’Or, 1849.
(4) BATHIER, a la nouvelle chaussure, Membre de
l’academie Nationale. Fabricant et inventeur des sabots
facon botte, guetre botine. A la Souterraine (Creuse),
Depot a Paris, 27, Quai de la Tournelle. Exposition de 1849,
2 mentions honorables.
Part II: 1851-1939
IN A SPLENDID CONTEMPORARY
DELUXE BINDING
178. (LONDON: 1851). The Art Journal illustrated catalogue of the Industry of All Nations. London: George Virtue,
1851
$600.00
A splendid copy, bound in full polished sheep, all edges gilt.
The spine is divided into six panels with raised bands, each
panel except for the title highly gilt. Both covers are decorated with wide and narrow line borders, strapwork panels,
and central cartouches surrounding title. The binding is
signed along the bottom border of the upper cover: “OAKEY,
BINDER, PRESTON.” It is impossible to tell if this is a
publisher’s binding or a one-off; my instinct is that it is the
former. But I have never seen another copy bound thus.
The text is a fine profusely illustrated catalogue of objects
d’art from the Great Exhibition preceded by a history of the
exhibition and followed by five essays, by Robert Hunt,
Mrs. Merrifield, Edward Forbes, Lewis Gordon, and Ralph
Nicholson Wornum. The books of the fairs, no. 10.
Folio, full sheep as described above. xxvi+328+xvi+viii+vii+viii+xxii
pp with hundreds of wood-engr illus. Front flyleaf creased, but a fine copy.
IN PRINTING & THE MIND OF MAN
179. (LONDON: 1851). Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. Reports of the Juries on the subjects in the thirty
classes into which the exhibition was divided. London: W.
Clowes & Sons, for the Royal Commission, 1852 $450.00
A classic report on competition results of the first international exposition; it is listed in Printing and Mind of Man,
331. The contents are not mere lists of names and objects;
they are narrative and descriptive accounts and are of much
value. The subject of photography, for instance, is covered
in extensive detail with very enthusiastic comments on the
daguerreotypes from the United States (Lawrence, Brady,
Whipple, Mayall, Evans, Meade Bros., Pratt, Richmond &
Co., etc). Davis, p. 56. The books of the fairs, no. 57. This copy
is still in the familiar gilt stamped red cloth binding.
Thick 4to, orig. red cloth, all edges gilt. (vi)+cxx+867+16 pp with
scattered wood-engr. text illus and 3 color lithos. Piece of the blank
margin of t.p. skillfully repaired. Wants blank front fly leaf; front inner
hinge weak but a good copy.
180. (LONDON: 1851). Lectures on the results of the
Exhibition, delivered before the Society of Arts, Manufactures
and Commerce, at the suggestion of H. R. H. Prince Albert,
president of the Society. London: Printed for the Society, 1853
$300.00
An uncommon and important volume of essays (this volume contains both the first and second series). Contents:
Inaugural lecture by Dr. Whewell; Mining by H. De la
Beche; Raw materials from the animal kingdom by R.
Owen; Chemical and pharmaceutical processes and products by Jacob Bell; Chemical principles involved in manufactures by Lyon Playfair; Substances used as food by John
Lindley; Vegetable substances in relation to commerce by
Edward Solly; Machines and tools for working in metal,
wood and other materials; Philosophical instruments and
processes as represented in the Great Exhibition by James
Galisher; Civil engineering and machinery generally by
Henry Hensman; The arts and manufactures of India by J.
F. Royle and On the progress of naval architecture by
Captain Washington. The second series includes essays by
Digby Wyatt on the principles which should determine
form in the decorative arts; by Owen Jones on the employment of colour in the decorative arts and by George Shaw
on the manufacture of glass. The books of the Fairs, no. 40.
8vo, old cloth sides, polished calf spine. 539 pp with scattered text illus and
color plate facing p. 335. Old bookplate. Front hinge cracked.
THE RARE “SCIENCE AND MECHANISM”
181. (NEW YORK: 1853). GOODRICH, C. R. (Ed.)
Science and mechanism: illustrated by examples in the New York
Exhibition, 1853-4, including extended descriptions of the most
important contributions in the various departments. New York;
G. P. Putnam & Co., 1854 (BOUND AFTER)
GOODRICH. The world of science, art, and industry illustrated. New York, 1854
$750.00
The first title is the companion volume to the more common
World of science, art and industry edited by Messrs. Silliman
& Goodrich. For some reason, the Science and mechanism
volume is rare; this is only the second copy I have had in
forty-six years. It is most valuable as it is in fact an annotated
catalogue of the articles exhibited in each class. For example,
under Section II, Class X (Philosophical instruments) nos.
108-140 are American daguerreotypes and photographs by
a long list of photographers. Other photographs are described under the entries for their respective countries. This
seems in fact to be a complete catalogue of the objects in the
fair, with many entries annotated. Davis, p. 61. Not in the
book auction records since before 1940. See E. Coleman,
“The Exhibition in the Palace, a bibliographical essay,” Bull.
N.Y. Pub. Library, Sept 1960, no. 32.
2 vols in one. Folio, orig. cloth. I. (xxii)+208 pp with hundreds of woodengr illus, some full page. II. (x)+5 ff. of wood-engr. plates and 258 pp.
with scattered wood-engr. text illus. Pages v/vi, vii/viii and ix/x of first title
loose in binding but nothing missing. Binding dusty; spine faded.
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 43 ]
182. (NEW YORK: 1853). GREELEY, HORACE (revise & edit). Art and industry as represented in the exhibition
at the Crystal Palace New York 1853-4 showing the progress and
state of the various useful and esthetic pursuits from the New
York Tribune. New York: Redfield, 1853
$350.00
First edition. A collection of essays from the New York
Tribune, by at least a dozen different writers, revised and
edited by Horace Greeley, on departments in the exhibition,
each essay including “a retrospective glance at the origin and
growth of the art or arts involved.” Includes chapters on the
palace, sculpture, reaping, mowing and threshing machines;
porcelain, glass; firearms-rifles and revolvers; daguerreotypes; wool and woolen manufactures; paper and its manufactures; bookbinding; machinery and inventions, etc. Davis,
p. 61. The books of the fairs, no 73. Coleman 11. A highly
valuable book.
12mo, orig. cloth, good copy. xxv+13-386+(vi) pp.
THREE RARE CATALOGUES BOUND TOGETHER
183. (PARIS: 1855). Exposition Universelle de 1855. Catalogue des produits naturels, industriels, artistiques, présentés par
le Royaume de Sardaigne. Précédé d’une introduction et avec
notes explicatives. [BOUND WITH] Catalogue des produits
naturels, industriels et artistiques présentés par le Grand-Duché
de Toscane a l’Exposition Universelle de 1855 précedé d’une
introduction...[BOUND WITH] Catalogue des envois de
l’empire d’Autriche a l’Exposition Universelle de Paris en 1855,
avec un apercu général de la production agricole et industrielle
de la monarchie autrichienne. Paris, [various publishers],
1855
$700.00
The publishers or sources were as follows: 1. Sardinia,
“Extrait de la Revue France-Italienne Journal
Hebdomadaire;” 2. Tuscany, “Extrait du numero de 14 Juin
du Monde Industriel, Journal des Expositions;” and 3. Austria, “Librairie Centrale de Napoléon Chaix et Cie.” All
three of these works are rare; of the first and second OCLC
locates but one copy (BN); of the third they locate two
copies: U of Chicago and V&A. This is a very nice copy
bound in an appealing contemporary binding.
12mo, orig. dec. paper sides, polished calf spine, titled in gilt. 112; 48;
viii+216 pp.
184. (LONDON: 1862). Cassell’s illustrated family paper
exhibitor, containing about three hundred illustrations, with
letter-press descriptions of all the principal objects in the International Exhibition of 1862. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin,
1862
$300.00
A scarce and well illustrated book, comparable to the Art
Journal catalogues but including also machinery and technology (these subjects were not covered by the Art Journal).
A sampling of the illustrated articles: lathes, bookbinding,
mats & matting, terra cotta, enameled tiles, philosophical
instruments, etc. Also gives a good account of the building.
[ 44 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
Davis, p. 166. The books of the fairs, no. 91.
4to, contemporary marbled sides, polished calf spine, highly gilt. xvi+272
pp with “over 300” wood-engr. illus. A handsome copy.
THE OFFICIAL ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE
185. (LONDON: 1862). The International Exhibition of
1862. The illustrated catalogue of the Industrial Department.
British Division, Vol I-II. London: Printed for Her Majesty’s
Commissioners, 1862
$1250.00
A complete set in two volumes. Vol I opens with a separately
paginated “Concise History of the International Exhibition
of 1862” by John Hollingshead. This consists of 183 pp
with 27 illus; includes much on the early exhibitions and
those of the Society of Arts. The catalogue itself is arranged
in 36 “Classes”, each is separately paginated and profusely
illus. Vol I contains classes I-IX; vol II classes X-XXXVI.
Includes all classes of industry including philosophical instruments; photographic apparatus and photography;
horological instruments; woolens, carpets, all kinds of other
fabrics; paper, stationery, printing and bookbinding; furniture and upholstery including paper hanging and papier
maché; glass; pottery; and other categories related to material culture. A tremendously valuable resource.
2 vols. Lg. 4to, orig. gilt dec. cloth, a.e.g. I. (xiv)+183 pp with 27 illus
(several full-p). Then follow: Classes I-IX each separately paginated;
finally, at the end 36ff [72 pp] of “Official Illustrated Catalogue Advertiser.”
II. Chromolitho frontisp + 4 chromo plates within the text. (iv) pp of
prelims with classes X-XXXVI paginated in series, each profusely illus.
Finally, at the end 36 pp index.
AUTOGRAPH LETTER CONCERNING
PUBLISHING
186. (PHILADELPHIA: 1876). GEBBIE & BARRIE,
PUBLISHERS. Signed autograph letter from G & B to a W.
S. Strickler, a clothing manufacturer in NY, concerning an
entry in the The Illustrated Catalogue of the Phila. Centennial
Exposition. Phila, 4 March 1876
$200.00
An interesting letter shedding light on publication details of
the catalogue. It reads, in part: “I am somewhat at a loss to
determine whether the articles you will exhibit would do for
our Illd. catalogue: you will see what our prospectus lays out
for us, & whether your articles would meet the requirements
I really cannot tell, & must wait until I can consult the editor
of Industrial department & my partner before replying; if it
be suitable we would charge you the cost of drawing and
engraving on wood in the best manner & $10 for the page
which the illustrations & text would occupy & I think one
page would certainly be quite enough to give specimens of
what you would exhibit.
We are not going to exhibit any clothing in our book,
and we are exceedingly cautious to keep away any appearance of advertising in our book & it is that which makes me
doubtful about the suitableness of your articles. But in the
meantime let me know whether you would bear the above
noted expense and will perhaps save ourselves some trouble
& thought if you say no. Yours very truly, Gebbie & Barrie.
Single sheet, 8 ½ x 11", written on both sides. Handsome printed
letterhead. Short tears at the middle fold, else very good.
187. (LONDON: 1886). Reminiscences of the Colonial and
Indian Exhibition. Illustrated by Thomas Riley. Edited by
Frank Cundall. London: Published by the sanction of the
Royal Commission by William Clowes & Sons, Ltd., 1886
$375.00
“The Colonial and Indian Exhibition (CIE), 1886, was the
first fair devoted solely to imperial themes...it was promoted
under the patronage of the Prince of Wales (the future
Edward VII) during a period of great colonial rivalry...” Findling, Hist. Dictionary of World’s Fairs (1990), pp. 95-97
who states that there are over fifty books and pamphlets on
this Exhibition. That may be so, but they are all rare; this is
the first book on this fair I have ever had. It is a handsome
book with well illustrated chapters on the Mediterranean
colonies, Indian empire, Ceylon, Eastern possessions,
Australasia, Dominion of Canada, Western possessions (i.e.
West Indies &c) and African colonies. The illustrations are
impressive; they include 7 original etchings and 2 chromolithographs. The design for the cover is taken from a
inlaid brass panel from the Punjab and the endpapers and
flyleaves are copies from an Indian embroidered canopy.
4to, orig. dec. cloth as described above. All edges gilt. xvi+116 pp with
7 etchings, 2 chromos and numerous other illus in line process and
halftone. Very nice copy.
SOUVENIR ALBUM OF FINE PHOTOGRAPHS
188. (PARIS: 1889). EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE,
1889. Folio album titled on cover “Paris 1889.” Contains 12
large format albumen prints. [Paris], 1889
$850.00
Most of the photos are signed “N.D.” or “X”. This was
Neurdein Freres, a prolific firm of commercial photographers active in Paris from the 1860s to ca. 1910; I believe
they held the concession for photographs at this exposition.
The twelve views are as follows: 1. Notre Dame; 2. Place de
la Concorde; 3. Avenue des Champs Elysées; 4. View of the
Seine bridges; 5. Opera; 6. Eiffel Tower & the Exposition;
7. Eiffel Tower with the Trocadero in the distance; 8.
Champ de Mars; 9. Swiss or Swedish Cottage (part of the
Expo); 10. Galerie des Machines; 11. Rue des Nations and
12. Ethnographic photo (group of SE Asian dancing girls).
There are two possibilities for the origin of this album; it was
put together by the photographers and sold “as is” or the
buyer could select the views he or she wanted. There is no
way of telling.
Oblong folio (12 ½ x 16"), orig. half polished sheep, gilt title on cover.
With 12 stiff card leaves bound on stubs; photos average between 8 x 10
and 9 x 11 inches. First print is a bit pale; others are dark with good
contrast. A bit loose in binding.
189. (PARIS: 1889). Reports of artisans selected by the
Mansion House Committee to visit the Paris Universal Exhibition, 1889. The Right Hon. James Whitehead, Lord Mayor.
London: C. F. Roworth, 1889
$600.00
A fascinating and compelling volume, a collection of essays
and reports written by English working men (both employers and workers) recounting their impressions and experiences at visiting the exhibition. Sixty-four trades are represented, from barometer making to zinc working. Includes
trades in which there is much present-day interest, for
example: bookbinding, cabinet making, chair making, clock
making, glass bottle blowing, glass making, glass painting,
lampmaking, lithographic artists work, lithographic printing, typefounding, upholstery, etc. Not in The books of the
fairs.
Thick 8vo, orig. cloth. xii+696 pp with numerous text illus. A very good
clean copy.
190. (PARIS: 1889). Souvenir de l’Exposition Universelle de
1889. Histoire des habitations humaines. Paris: Librairie
Hachette, 1889
$275.00
A set of 19 Dujardin heliogravures printed by E. Dufrenoy.
This “history of human habitation” is well known as one of
the architectural features of the 1889 fair: “Back across the
pont d’Iéna on both sides of the [Eiffel] tower along the quai
d’Orsay were forty-nine small, highly detailed constructions
designed by the eminent architect of the Paris Opera,
Charles Garnier, depicting the history of human habitation.” - Findling, Hist. Dict of world’s fairs. Together with A.
Ammann in 1890 and 1892 Garnier wrote a figurative
history of domestic architecture as erected at the Exposition
Universelle of 1889, Constructions élevées aux Champs de
Mars, and L’Habitation humain.
Oblong 8vo (5 x 7"), in the orig. rec cloth chemise with title printed in gilt
letters. 19 plates printed on thick stock.
A MINT COPY IN THE ORIGINAL MAILING
ENVELOPE
191. (CHICAGO: 1893). WORLD’S COLUMBIAN
EXPOSITION. Souvenir of a ride on the Ferris Wheel at the
World’s Fair, Chicago. [Chicago: The American Engraving
Co., 1893]
$350.00
George Washington Gale Ferris (1859-1896) was a noted
civil and bridge engineer who “conceived the idea of the
enormous observation wheel while drawing plans for bridges.
It was built, 250 feet in height, at the Columbian Exposition.” - “Biographical dictionary of American Civil Engineers,” pp. 42-3 with illus. The souvenir booklet is illustrated with 13 fine halftones from excellent photographs.
OCLC locates 12 copies in libraries but rare in the market
place; I have owned one other copy in the past 46 years.
Oblong 8vo, orig. printed wraps (in red, pale blue and gold). (16) pp with
halftone portrait, 2 pp of letterpress and 13 halftones. Preserved in the
original printed mailing envelope (never sent).
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 45 ]
192. (GLASGOW: 1901). Photographic souvenir of Glasgow
International Exhibition, 1901. [Glasgow, 1901] $175.00
A view book with 24 fine gravure plates made from photographs by Messrs T. & R. Annan & Son, Glasgow. Not in
The books of the fairs (which does list three other publications
on this fair). OCLC locates six copies in American libraries.
1915 putting the city on display as a model of progressive
government, efficient services, prosperous industries, beautiful public places, enlightened labor policies, and inexpensive housing. The effort quickly fell apart and the idea of a
world exposition in Boston was never realized. OCLC
locates 9 copies, six in Mass., two in NY and one in Wisc.
Oblong 8vo, orig. printed cloth. T.p. and 12 ff each with 2 gravure plates,
one on each side. Captioned in the negatives. Nice copy.
Lg 8vo, orig. printed wraps. (xviii)+(v)+pp. 19-61 ;x+23; 51+82 pp.
Slight edge chipping of cover wrap., else a nice copy.
THE BOOK & THE BINDING DESIGNED BY
PETER BEHRENS
195. (CHICAGO: 1933). The official pictures of A Century
of Progress Exposition Chicago 1933. Introduction by James
Weber Linn. Chicago: R. R. Donnelley Corp., 1933
$425.00
A fine book printed and bound by the Lakeside Press, R. R.
Donnelley & Sons. The cover especially is a marvelous piece
of progressive thirties graphic design. Fine copy in the
original slipcase. Wonderful exhibition item.
193. (ST. LOUIS: 1904). [BEHRENS, PETER]. International Exposition, St. Louis, 1904. Official Catalogue. Exhibition of the German Empire. Berlin: George Stilke, [1904]
$675.00
A work which is of particular interest in the history of the
book, and especially book design as practiced by architects
- the design and typography were the work of the architect
Peter Behrens (1868-1940) who was then Director of the
Kunstgewerbeschule at Dusseldorf. The binding and typography is reminiscent of the Jugendstijl style. Behrens is
known for his work in book design; John Lewis writes: “The
foremost typographers and book designers in Germany at
this time [1900-1905] were Otto Eckmann, Peter Behrens,
and Rudolf Koch...” (The 20th century book, 1984, p. 27).
The exhibits themselves are not illustrated but all 3717 of
them are described, including the suite of rooms designed
by J. M. Olbrich. Printed in three colors throughout on
good quality paper (by Messrs. J. W. Zanders). The edition
was limited to 300 copies. The books of the Fairs, no. 1471.
This binding is illustrated in E. K. Morris & E. Levin, The
art of publisher’s bookbindings, (2000), no. 207.
8vo, orig. full gilt and blindstamped polished sheep, (the binding by
Hubel & Denck, Leipzig). (xii)+538+32 pp. of ads. with double page
plan of the exhibition. Red edges. This binding has been expertly restored;
rehinged, the original spine preserved and laid down. A good copy.
AN EXPOSITION THAT NEVER WAS
194. (BOSTON: 1915). “1915” Boston Exposition. Official
catalogue and the Boston 1915 year book. Part I- Official
Catalogue. Part II- Year Book. III-Commercial Exhibits (advertising). Boston: [The Chapple Press] for the 1915 Boston
Exposition Co., 1909
$275.00
The Boston 1915 Exposition was a progressive plan to
transform and modernize the City of Boston, improving the
way the city was governed, planned and developed. Begun
in 1909, the plan was “to use the six years immediately
preceding 1915 as a time to coordinate the individual efforts
of local civic, educational, recreational, health, labor, and
charitable organizations to develop a comprehensive physical and social plan for the city (T. O’Connor, Building a new
Boston). The idea was that after six years of hard work it
would all culminate in a huge world exposition in Boston in
[ 46 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS
Small folio, orig. cloth, title in large letters in silver on cover. 10 pp of
letterpress with numerous plates, both in color and black and white. In
orig. slipcase.
196. (PARIS: 1937). Exposition Internationale des Arts et
Techniques. Promenade a travers l’Exposition. (A collection of
20 detachable gravure photo picture postcards of the pavilions
and exhibits, both exteriors and interiors). Paris: H. Chipault
1937
$400.00
A fine series of photo post cards, complete, unused and in
excellent condition. All cards identified in the lower margins
of the image and with printed captions on the versos which
include name(s) of the architects. Pavilions and architects as
follows: Yugoslavia by M. J. Seissel, Sweden by Sven Ivar,
Hungary by M. Gyorgyi, Norway by Schistad-Korsmo
Knutsen, URSS by Boris Jofan, Egypt by M. Lardat,
England by Olivier Hill, Belgium by Van de Velde, Italy by
Piacentini, Pavilion de Tourisme by Sardou, Pavilion de
Aeronautique by Audoul-Hartwig-Gerodias, Pavilion de la
Radio by Mathon-Chollet-Sors, and Porte de la Concorde
by Paul Bigot. The credits for the foreign pavilions all give
the names of the French collaborators. For an excellent essay
on this fair see J. Findling (ed), Hist. Dict of Worlds Fairs &
Expos, pp. 283-290. The most lasting monument from this
exposition is the Palais de Chaillot designed by Louis
Hippolyte Boileau, Jacques Carlu and Leon Azema. It is
now a museum of architecture.
12mo (3 5/8 x 6 inches), color printed covers. 20 postcards printed in
sepia, detachable at the perforations but all are present.
LARGE FORMAT DOCUMENTARY
PHOTOGRAPHS
197. (SAN FRANCISCO: 1939 40). GOLDEN GATE
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION. Group of 15 large format documentary photographs of the pavilions and gardens of the
exposition. San Francisco, 1939-40
$750.00
The photos, while clearly taken by a professional, are
anonymous. They are mostly not titled, but a former owner
has provided the following captions: The Tower of the Sun
taken from the Court of the Moon (night view); The Tower
of the Sun and the Christian Science Monitor Building
(night view); San Francisco Pavilion taken from beneath the
structure (night view); View across the Court of the Moon
towards the Homes and Gardens Building within one of the
south towers; View towards the Court of the Seven Seas;
The Japanese Pavilion (two different views); The gardens of
the Japanese Pavilion; The Japanese Pavilion from the
surrounding gardens; The Fountain of Life; The Scotch
Pavilion restaurant; The Palace of Fine Arts (designed by
Bernard Maybeck for the PPIE of 1915). The Golden Gate
International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay was the last of the old-style world’s fairs. It was
held in part to celebrate the building of two great bridges,
the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Franciscan Oakland
Bay Bridge. And also to provide jobs.
15 large (average 11 x 14") matte finish black and white photographs. The
aesthetic suggests slight influences of the Pictorialist Movement. Excellent
condition. Unmounted.
THE MAN BEHIND THE V&A AND THE
CRYSTAL PALACE EXHIBITION
198. COLE, SIR HENRY. Fifty years of public work of Sir
H. C., K.C.B. accounted for in his deeds, speeches and writings.
London: George Bell & Sons, 1884
$550.00
Henry Cole (1808-1882) was an English civil servant and
inventor who facilitated many innovations in commerce and
education in 19th century Britain. He was the key organizer
and manager of the Crystal Palace Exhibition under the
Presidency of Prince Albert and was instrumental in the
development of the Victoria & Albert Museum. He was the
first director of what was initially called South Kensington
Museum from 1857 to 1873. It later became the V&A.
199. INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS. Report of the
Committee appointed by the Board of Trade to make enquiries
with reference to the participation of Great Britain in Great
International Exhibitions, together with the appendices thereto.
Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of His
Majesty. London: H.M.S.O., 1907
$300.00
At head of title: “International Exhibitions Committee.” A
goldmine of information and a rare book. The first part (pp.
1-65) deals with the general effect of Exhibitions on British
arts, industries and trade. The final appendix of this section
is a table showing “actual expenditure from public funds in
respect of the participation of this country in international
exhibitions.” It runs from New York, 1853 (£2432) to New
Zealand, 1906-7 (£8000). The two highest expenditures
were Paris, 1867 (£120,556) and St. Louis, 1904
(£128,000). The Appendix (377 pp., separately paginated)
is a verbatim transcript of the minutes of evidence taken
before the International Exhibitions Committee. There
were 56 witnesses including many who were well known
figures in the worlds of art, industry and trade. All the
questions are given; all the answers are given. It makes for
fascinating reading as well as excellent historical source
material. I cannot locate a copy in OCLC.
Small folio, recent cloth, morocco lettering piece. iv+65; vii+377 pp.
Thoroughly and extensively indexed.
200. LEWINSKI, JAN ST. L’evolution industrielle de la
Belgique. Bruxelles, Leipzig & Paris: Misch & Thron, 1911
$150.00
Includes a very good bibliography (pages 355-444) covering the period 1800 to 1909.
8vo, orig. cloth. xiv+444 pp. Inner rear hinge tender.
2 vols, 8vo, orig. cloth, gilt. xiv+398 and x+412 pp with 25 illus. Large
folding sheet (“Specimen of postage charges in 1839”) still present in rear
pocket of vol II. Spines faded, else an excellent copy.
CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS [ 47 ]
TERMS
30 days, postage and insurance billed at cost. Libraries, museums, and institutions
billed; deferred billing on request. Due to delays in surface mail, overseas orders will
be sent by Air, registered, unless we are instructed otherwise. Payments from outside
the U.S. should be by wire transfer in U.S. dollars.
Member:
Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America
International League of Antiquarian Booksellers
Cover design by Jerry Kelly
Typeset by Laura Nunn, Chelmsford, MA 01824
Printed by The Covington Group
April 2013
[ 48 ] CHARLES WOOD RARE BOOKS