Rare books from Design Books

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951. This is the 2nd edition published 3 years after the original first edition. This copy signed and inscribed by Laughlin. Unpaginated, but 100 beautiful full-page black and white plates. This copy is signed by Laughlin and a friend. This is a very good cloth copy, with some foxing mainly to the page-edges (visible when book is closed), and also to endpapers. Plates clean. Slight wrinkling to the bottom portion of the pages. The dust jacket is 95% there, missing a small fragment from the top of the spine, and a smaller chip out of the top right corner of the front panel (it just cuts off the corner of the "M" in Mississippi), also a few folds and creases on the edges. Still, a beautiful book, in pretty good shape, and quite rare signed. 13" high X 10" wide. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Signed by Author. 2nd Edition. Cloth. Very Good/Very Good.

Paris: Rapilly, Libraire et Marchand d'Estampes , 1875. This is a very good hardcover copy in withdark green leather spine and marbled boards. The leather spine has raised bands and titles and decorations in gilt. Deaccessioned from a small library, but just two small oval stamps to the half-title page. Wear to spine tips. There are two ghosts of removed bookplates inside the front and rear boards. Hinges strengthened, binding still very firm. Very clean inside. Text in French. One black & white illustration as frontispiece. 8 1/2" high X 5 1/2" wide, 374 pages. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Half-Leather. Very Good.

Paris: Vincent, Freal et Cie., Successeurs, 1953. This is a near fine softcover 2 volume set of this French classic on the history of garden design. Only slight flaw is lightly sunned spines, and very soft corner wear, otherwise completely clean inside and out. Pages uncut. 149 black & white plates illustrate the history of European garden design. Text in French. All the highpoints of English, Italian, Spanish and Islamic garden design are touched upon in the text and illustrated in the plates. Small 4to's, 9" high X 6 1/2" wide, 120 & 165 pages + plates in each volume. A beautiful set in stiff light green card wrappers. These books will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. 2nd Edition. Original Wraps. Near Fine.

Mainz am Rhein : Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1984. This is a very good hardcover 2 volume set of this important work. Very clean inside and out. Text in German. Text volume also has 68 black & white plates. The second volume is a cloth portfolio with 42 fold-out black & white technical drawings. Text volume 12" high X 8" wide, 213 text pages +plates. Portfolio volume 13.5" high 11" wide. These books will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Very Good.

New York: Abrams, 1969. This is a fine hardcover copy in a fine dust jacket. Completely clean inside and out. No wear at all. One tiny black star (remainder mark) to the bottom page-edge. Carl A.Schmitz was one of the great scholars in this field, and this was his last work completed just before he died in 1966. It unites all of his interests:culture, history, religion and art, and focusses on the area he knew best. With sections on Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia (where Schmitz made his greatest contribution) this is undoubtedly still the best 1 volume survey of the art and culture of this varied region. Bibliography. Stout oblong folio, 11" high X 12" wide, 405 pages. With 337 illustrations including 50 tipped-in color plates. Large heavy book, foreign shipping will be extra. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking. . Hard Cover. Fine/Fine.

Milan, Italy: S.A.Fratelli Treves Editori , 1935. This is a very good hardcover copy in gray linen cloth covers decorataed and titled in brown and gilt. Title on spine faded. Very clean inside and out. No marks anywhere, just light toning to endpapers. Text in Italian. This is a massive survey of traditional Sardinian arts and architecture. Finely printed with sophisticated typography and design by Fratelli Treves. 16 color plates by painter G.Biasi. Each section illustrated in black & white with photographs and reproductions of Biasi's paintings and drawings. 274 black & white plates with photographs and occasional line drawings. The survey covers textiles, lace and traditional costumes, jewellery, ceramics, basketry, furniture and other decorative arts, household implements, and architecture. 12" high X 9" wide, 133 text pages + plates. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Decorative Cloth. Very Good/No Jacket.

Paris: Charles Quinel, 1905. Fascicle 1. 12 full-page color lithographs of early 20th century ladies fashions. "Printemps & Ete 1905" Spring & Summer wear. With a title-page and 2 plates of hats & hairstyles, the other 10 plates are full length portraits of women in early twentieth century formal gowns and accessories. They are shown against pale gray or brown backgrounds, either in sumptuous interiors or in grand exteriors. The designs were created by "Louis Colas Compositions & Dessins. 74-76 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Paris". This is an oversize thin folio in very good condition, but some slight cover soil, and a bite taken out of the bottom corner of the rear board, with the title in large gilt script on the front cover, with 12 large color lithographs on a nice rag paper, with only occasional finger marks to the margin or front edge. 18" high X 12 1/2" wide. A nice set of these 12 really beautiful prints. This book will be securely wrapped and packed… Read More

Paris: Bibliotheque Des Ecoles Francaises d'Athenes et de Rome , 1983. This is a very good softcover copy of this two volume set with only light wear. This set belonged to the classical art scholar B.S.Ridgway and both volumes bear her signature. The text volume additionally has various annotations to the text in light pencil and one bibliographic notation to the front inside cover. Otherwise very clean both text and plate volumes. Laid-in is an annotated tear sheet of the review of the book that appeared in the American Journal of Archeology. Text in French. Text volume 398 pages. Plate volume has 144 black & white plates with 251 illustrations. 11" high X 9" wide. These books will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Soft Cover. Very Good.

London: Country Life Limited, 1929. This is a very good hardcover copy in the original gray and dark brown cloth, ruled and titled in gilt. Top of spine chipped. Completely clean inside and out. 239 black & white photographs and drawings. Bibliography. 13" high X 10" wide, 196 pages. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Very Good.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1924. This is a near fine hardcover copy in a near fine dust jacket with virtually no wear. Completely clean inside and out. This copy has been signed by Joseph Sinel and briefly inscribed to a colleague, under the limited edition information. This is copy 1360 out of 2000 available for sale. Beautifully printed by the Pynson Printers of New York. Illustrated in color and black & white. Pages uncut as issued. 12" high X 10" wide, 64 pages. Index. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Signed by Author. Limited Edition. 2000 Copies.. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Fine.

Chicago/ New York : The Werner Company, 1896. This is a very good hardcover copy in the original elaborately decorated gray cloth binding with titles and decorations in silver. This copy has been professionally restored. Original covers, spine with the original title in silver is all there, has been strengthened with lining just barely visible at the spine tips. A number of Japanese tissue paper repairs at hinges and internally. Binding sound. Top page-edge gilt. All photographs of the street types present and generally clean, but some soiling on margins and to text pages. Overall a very good restored copy in the original binding. 8" high X 6" wide, 191 pages. Digital photographs available. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Decorative Cloth. Very Good.

Milan, Italy: Ulrico Hoepli Editore , 1955. This is a near fine softcover copy in a very good dust jacket. The jacket has just minor wear to the edges, 1 tiny chip from the back panel top edge. The book itself inside is fine, no flaws. This is one of the most elusive of the volumes in the famous "Esempi" series. It was put together in the early 1950's and is a survey of the very best in modern glass design. It covers glass design from Europe, Scandinavia, and America. Text in English, French, German and Italian. 337 illustrations with numerous color plates. Large 4to, 11" high X 8 1/2" wide, 173 pages. This is very good copy of a very scarce title. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Soft Cover. Near Fine/Very Good.

Istanbul : Milli Egitim Basimenti, 1950. This is a very good hardcover copy in tan printed paper-covered boards and blue cloth spine. Completely clean inside and out. Text in French. Massive survey of Islamic decorative arts in Turkey over the centuries. 35 color plates (some are chromolithographs) + 717 black & white illustrations. 13" high X 10" wide, 360 pages. No date ca. 1950. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Very Good.

Stockholm: Tryckeri Aktiebolaget Thule , 1941. This is a near fine hardcover copy of the first edition, not the later reprint, with almost no wear. Completely clean inside and out, no previous owner markings. Bound in plain green polished cloth boards with the title in gilt on the spine. This title was issued as Publication 15, Volume VII Archaeology 2, of the Reports from the Scientific Expedition to the North-Western Provinces of China under the Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin. Introduction by Folke Bergman. Appendix on 'Spinning tools' by G. Montell. Text in English. Glossary. Concordance (list of objects). 15 plates accompany the text, including 1 color plate with 20 pieces on it. Also 3 plates with the appendix. 2 maps. 34 drawings in the text. Bibliography. 12" high X 9" wide, 127 pages. This is a beautiful copy of the superior first edition. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Near Fine.

Hong Kong: Christie's, 2004. This is a near fine hardcover 5 volume set with almost no wear. No marks inside or out, completely clean. These sales were held on different dates in Hong Kong and New York. Part 1 was held in Hong Kong on Sunday April 25, 2004. Text in Chinese and English. Introduction by Hugh Moss. Lots numbered 881 through 888. All with lengthy catalogue entries and color photographs. Parts 2 through 5 were held in New York on March 30, 2005, March 29, 2006, March 22, 2007and September 17, 2008. Part 2, lots 1-88. Part 3, lots 1-88. Part 4, lots 1-88. Part 5, lots 1-88. All lots illustrated in color, some with several photographs. Lengthy entries include date, provenance, materials, etc. 11" high X 8 1/2" wide, 206, 175, 176, 168 and 168 pages. Prices realized sheets included. These books will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Near Fine.