Rare books from Design Books

Paris: Chez l'Auteur, 30 Rue Des Mathurins, 1939. Text in French. This is a very good copy of this portfolio in green paper-covered boards, containing 16 pages of text and notes and 30 photographic plates and 6 hand-colored watercolor plates. The text and plates generally very good, 2 plates with some foxing. The portfolio has some damp marks to the top corners, otherwise very good. This work appears to be a record of the author's collection of architectural elements and decorative art from his many excursions to the Orient. The photos appear to be of the author's own quarters at 30 Rue des Mathurins. A late work of undoubted "Orientalism", it sets out to create an atmosphere of The Thousand and One Nights. The 6 watercolor plates depict a man and a woman in Persian costume, inside the sumptuous dwelling, in romantic, but very chaste encounters. Absolutely charming work. Folio, 13" high X 10" wide. Quite rare among d'Allemagne's works. This book will be securely… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner Son's, 1932. This is a very good hardcover copy of the first edition in black cloth, titles in gilt still bright to front cover and spine. Top of spine a trifle worn. Very clean inside and out, but some foxing to endpapers and a few tiny spots to title page. Illustrated throughout in black & white with photographs and drawings. Map as frontispiece. Glossary. Lacking jacket. 14" high X 11" wide, 191 pages. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good.

Venice, Italy: Francesco Brunello , 1925. This is an about very good hardcover copy of a scarce trade catalog from the Venetian retailer, Francesco Brunello. The brown cloth leatherette covers are held together by cord. The back cover is mostly missing. The front cover has the company name and title in gilt script. Clean inside and out. Inside are 29 original photographs mounted to gray card stock leaves. All photographs bear a handstamp, either to the photograph or the margin of the leaf, with Francesco Brunello's name and adress in Venice. The first two photographs are different views of Brunello's showroom. The rest of the photographs are of individual pieces of furniture, in older Italian styles, very ornate, with elaborate veneer work and gilt mounts. Most photographs also have a tipped-on label of typed, or occasionally hand-written paper giving the model number and describing the piece, its' general style and materials. Most photographs with photographer information stamped on the… Read More

London: B.T.Batsford Ltd., 1942. This is a very good hardcover copy of the first edition. Some foxing to the preliminaries, endpapers and the page-edges. This book was printed on a very soft paper and so has attracted some foxing. Previously owned by the collector of 18th century English porcelain and pottery, Margaret Davison Black, and with her signature on the front endpaper. Foreword by R.L.Hobson. 145 black & white plates. Errata slip tipped-in. Bibliography. 10" high X 8" wide, 579 pages. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Very Good.

Paris: A.Levy Editeur , 1880. This is an album of 50 lithographed images in black & white of designs ca.1880 of elaborate storefronts, and doors and other pieces of furniture from stylish shops. Also kiosks, etc, each plate with metric scale that indicates relative dimensions. All designs by the architect A.Sanguineti. Quarto size, 10 1/2" high x 8 1/2" wide. There is a light brown moisture-stain to most plates, down at the lower margin, sometimes affecting the image. The back cover is a brown marbled paper, no front cover. The title-page serves as front cover, although it is hard to tell if this is intentional. The book is covered with a protective mylar jacket. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Original Wraps. Very Good.

Oxford, England: Museum of Modern Art, 1985. This is a near fine softcover copy with almost no wear. Signed by Michals as "Duane Duck" and inscribed, apparently to a family of ducks. Completely clean inside and out. Spine not creased. This is the 1985 edition, not the 1984. The book was printed again because of demand as the exhibition traveled through England. Short text by Marco Livingstone. Biography. List of works. Exhibition history. Illustrated in black & white with some color. Large 4to, 12" high X 8" wide, 160 pages. A near fine signed copy. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Signed by Artist.. Soft Cover. Near Fine.

Stuttgart: Julius Hoffmann, 1930. This is a very good hardcover portfolio with the text booklet and 80 loose plates with only light wear. The hardcover portfolio has a printed salmon-colored title label, also the same label on the text booklet. The portfolio boards have a little light fading or discoloration, but still very good. The hard spine of the portfolio has the title printed in salmon colored letters also very good. The text booklet is also very good, with almost no wear, just one tiny inscription to the front endpaper of the booklet. The loose plates are also very clean and fresh. Text by Joseph Lux in German. All plates are reproduced in black & white. Seven drawings of interiors reproduced in black & white in the text booklet. This is the 7th edition of this important collection of Empire and Biedermeier furniture and decorative arts assembled by Joseph Lux and with his introduction and notes. All in all, one of the nicest copies of this we've seen. 13" high X 9"… Read More

Louisville, KY: The Standard Printing Company, 1939. This is a very good hardcover copy in blue cloth boards decorated and titled in gilt. Toned and soiled around the edges. Spine faded. Patterned endpapers darkened around the edges, but clean. Blank endpapers foxed. Otherwise clean throughout. This is the 2nd limited edition of 350 copies. One of the scarcest architectural books about Kentucky traditional architecture and gardens, and rare in any condition. It was produced with the assistance of a group of about 200 subscribers, who quickly brought out another edition after the first limited edition of 250 copies was gone. Illustrated throughout in black & white and printed on a heavy stock glossy paper, it has survived relatively well. All text and illustrations clean. It covers over 250 of the most interesting and historically significant structures in Kentucky. Almost all illustrated with at least one photograph. 12" high X 10" wide, 180 pages. This book will be securely wrapped and… Read More

Rutland, Vermont/Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1958. This is a very good hardcover copy in a very good dust jacket with only light traces of wear. The jacket is virtually complete, a small chip out of the top of the spine. Otherwise very good. Completely clean inside and out. This is a limited edition of 375 numbered copies. This collection of 32 sculptured heads from Bunraku theater represents the best work of its kind. All 32 puppet heads reproduced in full-page color plates and full catalog entries. Additionally there are twelve black & white photographs of more heads. And 26 figures in the text. Foreword by Roy Andrew Miller who also translated this edition. 14.5" high X 10" wide, 91 pages. A beautiful production. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Limited/Numbered Edition of 375 Copies. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good.

New York: American Art Galleries, 1929. This is a very good copy of the original catalog for the 1929 Girl Scouts Loan Exhibition, which has been bound in dark gray cloth, with red and gilt title label on the spine. The original green and gilt printed catalog cover bound in. Completely clean outside. Inside covers generally clean, but a few marks to front cover lower left, and one page with old tape repairs. This repaired page has a plate on each side (no.570-71), and the repairs are on either side of the photograph just touching its' border. A few pages have very faint tan streaks on them, possibly from the binding process. Also a few abrasions to texts. Otherwise very clean and fresh. Preface. Short texts introduce the sections. Texts by George S. McKearin, Andrew Varick Stout, Louis Guerineau Meyers and E.T.H. 926 works in the exhibition. All reproduced in black & white photographs. This historic exhibition was held at the American Art Galleries in New York from September 25th to October 9,… Read More

London: The Architectural Press, 1923. This is a very good hardcover set of the two volumes bound in gray blue cloth ruled and titled in gilt. They are both very clean inside and out. One volume belonged to the R.H. Macy Company and has a number of marks including blindstamps to a number of plates, a sign-out card on the rear endpaper, and a small paper label at the base of the spine. The other volume has a ghost of a circle on the front cover. Volume 1 is devoted to exteriors and volume 2 covers interiors and details. 200 black & white plates (100 per volume), both photographs and some measured drawings in volume 2. Volume 1 published in 1923. Volume 2 in 1924. 13" high X 8 1/2" wide, 16 & 19 text pages + plates. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Very Good.

Frankfurt A.M., Germany: Hobby Haas , 1974. This is a very good hardcover copy with just light wear. Bound in the original publisher's blue boards printed in black and white. Completely clean outside. Very clean inside, page edges darkening a little. Text in German. Preface in German and English. This is Band 3 only of this monumental multi-volume survey of old German toys reproducing many old catalogs by the Nurnberger toy manufacturers. Thousands of fine black & white illustrations of German toys, mostly metal toys, trains, boats, cars, trucks, planes, military equipment and magic props. Captions to illustrations are in German, English, French and Spanish. 12" high X 8" wide. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Very Good.

New York: Harry Abrams/Thames and Hudson, 1969. This is a very good hardcover copy in a very good dust jacket. A little clear tape to tips of jacket. Completely clean inside and out. Profusely illustrated with 220 black & white and 78 color plates tipped in. Introduction by John Russell. Select bibliography. Large folio, 13" high X 12" wide, 324 pages. 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. Very Good/Very Good.

Printed in Soviet Union , 1973. This is a fine hardcover copy in a near fine dustjacket and very good slipcase. Text in English and Russian. Introduction in English as well as descriptions of plates at end in English. 195 plates in black & white and color. All the furniture is 18th through late 19th century Russian work. Most photographs show the furniture in room settings, but close-ups of individual pieces. The book is organized into sections: 18th century, 19th century, to give the reader a sense of the development and styles. 12" high X 10" wide, 31 text pages + plates. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking.. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine.

Toronto, Canada: Toronto Public Library, 1965. This is a fine hardcover 6 volume set (complete), with almost no wear. Uniformly bound in maroon cloth with green title labels on the spines, titles in gilt. Frances M. Staton and Marie Tremaine (eds) Volume 1: A Bibliography of Canadiana Being Items in the Public Library of Toronto, Canada, Relating to the Early History and Development of Canada, with an introduction by George H. Locke, 828 pages, reprinted 1965. Gertrude M. Boyle, assisted by Marjorie Colbeck (eds) Volume 2:, A Bibliography of Canadiana, First Supplement, Being Items in the Public Library of Toronto, Canada, Relating to the Early History and Development of Canada, with an introduction by Henry C. Campbell, 333 pages, reprinted 1969. Sandra Alston, assisted by Karen Evans. (eds.) Second Supplement, (in 4 volumes) volume 1, 1512- 1800, 353 pages, published in 1989. Volume 2, 1801- 1849, 839 pages, published in 1985. Volume 3, 1850- 1867, 910 pages, published in 1986. Volume 4, Index,… Read More