70 resultados
ref. 66249Very Good. Silk scarf measuring 12" x 12". Two fold lines one horizontal one vertical through the center. 1" split in the cloth to the surface. A sporty design by John Held Jr. Utah Artist John Held Jr. 1889-1958 was a prominent illustrator of the 1920s and 1930s. He began by drawing sports and political drawings for The Salt Lake Tribune when he was just 16 years old. Held moved to New York City in 1910 where he went on to gain notoriety for his drawings in the popular magazines "Life" "The New Yorker" "Vanity Fair" "Judge" and "College Humor." His work epitomized the Jazz Age. He is most recognized for creating the short-haired "flapper. unknown books
1950ref. 211751950. Archive of fashion photography documenting African American women's participation in commercial and editorial modeling from the 1950s through the 1980s a period in which the American fashion and advertising industries remained overwhelmingly centered on white beauty standards and limited Black representation in print media. Working in Cultural / Representational Mode the material illustrates changing presentations of Black femininity glamour and natural beauty across several decades of American fashion culture. The photographs provide visual evidence of evolving aesthetic conventions surrounding race cosmetics hairstyles leisure and commercial image-making during the postwar and Civil Rights eras. Particularly notable are several 1970s images depicting Black models with natural hairstyles and minimal cosmetic styling reflecting broader cultural shifts associated with Black pride movements and changing representations of African American identity in fashion and advertising imagery. Collection comprises 23 silver gelatin photographs and one color photograph produced by several professional photographers between the 1950s and 1980s. Images include editorial fashion shoots casting and publicity photographs scanned negatives and studio portraiture featuring predominantly Black women alongside several white models photographed by the same studios. Two 1970s editorial images depict a lean Black model with closely cropped natural hair posed in a leopard-print wrap. Four photographs focus specifically on Black women including close-up portraits emphasizing natural presentation and informal styling. One younger woman appears without visible makeup wearing a bandana and t-shirt while another is photographed in a straw hat with hoop earrings and patterned sash. Additional photographs include a Black model posed in a bikini atop the rim of a classical fountain featuring Aphrodite imagery. Four professional photographs and one casting card depict singer and actress Sylvia Vanderbeilt in commercial studio poses. Several scanned negatives portray a Black female model in multiple outfits and poses characteristic of 1970s fashion photography including one sequence featuring both the model and a young Black girl during apparent test shoots. The latest material consists of scanned negative strips from an apparent 1980s fashion session featuring a Black model with a sleek bob hairstyle modeling padded blazers and contemporary commercial attire. Other photographs depict white women in evening gowns fur wraps and casual mid-century fashions including two images by photographer Lee Brian showing the same model posed in mid-length evening gowns amid neoclassical architectural settings one with an elaborate mink shawl. Several photographs bear photographer or studio stamps on the verso including L.W. Ward of Cedar Rapids Iowa and Lee Brian of Palm Beach Florida. The archive traces substantial shifts in fashion photography and racial representation across three decades of American commercial imagery from heavily stylized mid-century glamour photography to the more natural aesthetics associated with 1970s fashion editorials and Black cultural self-presentation. The inclusion of both editorial and test photography offers insight into the production practices of commercial modeling studios as well as the visual conventions used in presenting Black women to advertising and fashion audiences during a period of gradual but uneven industry integration. Minor wear and light handling marks throughout; photographs otherwise remain in very good condition overall. A visually strong grouping documenting African American representation within postwar American fashion photography and commercial image culture. unknown books
1950ref. 218271950. Fashion illustration archive circa 1950s-1960s documenting women's garment design and construction practices in the mid-twentieth century. The archive reflects shifting silhouettes and decorative approaches associated with mid-century fashion including structured postwar forms and emerging streamlined influences. Archive comprises over 100 original fashion illustrations each executed in ink on sheets measuring approximately 6.5 x 9 inches. The drawings depict a range of garments including cocktail dresses coats suits blouses and eveningwear with attention to silhouette drapery and surface embellishment. Many sheets include handwritten annotations in cursive along margins and versos detailing construction elements such as measurements fabric choices and stylistic variations. Examples include labeled designs such as "cocktail dress" "coat" and "suit" with notes specifying features like "turtle neck - bare cut out - colors - gold" and "square low neckline with studded pearls. colors - purple - gold." The annotations suggest iterative design thinking with references to materials color palettes and structural adjustments indicating use as a working portfolio rather than presentation-only sketches. This archive provides detailed evidence of mid-century fashion design practices at the level of individual garment planning bridging artistic representation and technical instruction. The combination of visual sketches and written notes demonstrates how designers translated aesthetic concepts into wearable forms contributing to the study of dressmaking textile use and women's fashion history during a period of stylistic transition. The volume and consistency of the material suggest sustained use potentially within a professional or training context. Light wear and minor handling marks; overall very good condition. A substantial working archive illustrating mid-twentieth-century women's fashion design and construction methods. unknown books
1885ref. 53168London: Frederick Bruckmann 1885. Hardcover. vg to vg. Quarto. 31pp. interleaved with 15 mounted photographs. Original period lavish brown cloth boards with decorative tooling lettering and ruling in black and gilt on the front cover and spine. Back cover blind-stamped. Edges in gilt. Lustrous textured thick white endpapers. Issued by the London branch of the pioneering art publishing house of Friedrich Bruckmann Frederick Bruckmann 1814-1898. The work contains 15 examples of clothing styles from various traditional ethnic and national fashions and clothing styles from around the world. Each style is exemplified by an original albumen photograph mounted on heavy stock paper accompanied by 1-2 pages of text which is decorated with large initials and engraved head and tailpieces. The regions shown are Alsace Lorraine Suabia Austria Denmark Bohemia Poland Russia Bulgaria Italy Spain Egypt Turkey Syria and China. Binding with only the most minor rubbing to corners. A few minor scratches on the back cover. Book block tight. Interior with minor to light sporadic foxing. Blind stamp on the front free endpaper. Period inscription in ink dated to 1885 preceding the title page. Light age toning to the edges of a few pages. Interior overall quite clean especially the photographs. Binding in very good interior in very good good condition overall. Frederick Bruckmann hardcover books
1788ref. 42077London: Fores 1788. Framed and glazed. Fores unknown books
1955ref. 962Chicago: Stone-Field Corporation 1955. Group of 115 wool mostly fabric swatches attached to 75 cards with descriptive text 8" x 10.5" promoting the company's line of products for the 1955 - 56 season with approximately 71 pieces of related ephemera contained within a hinged box 13" x 10" x 4" comprised of faux crushed black morocco over boards with clasp & handle. Box well worn including cracks splits & dents. Ephemera & sample cards very good but occasionally showing evidence of use. A fabulous sample case providing everything needed to secure a path to success in the exiting world of door to door sales! Ephemera includes two price lists one for the customer & another "confidential" list no doubt demonstrating the enormous profit potential for the salesman business cards envelopes several pieces of salesmanship advice lay away information & forms order forms two illustrated folio catalogs one spotlighting fall & winter fashions; the other for "16 ounce French Back Serge" with 3 swatches - even a tailor's measuring tape. The Stone-Field Corporation was actually one branch of a conglomerate under the auspices of the Progress Tailoring Company. The company ran afoul of the Federal Trade Commission in 1944 who citing evidence of deceptive trade practice particularly the frequent use of "free" as a descriptor concluded that "the aforesaid acts and practices of the respondents as herein found are all to the prejudice and injury to the public and to the respondents' competitors and constitute unfair methods of competition in commerce and unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce within the intent and meeting of the Federal Trade Commission Act." Interestingly in search of representatives the company advertised heavily to African Americans in publications such as Jet & Ebony throughout the 1960s. Stone-Field Corporation books
1920ref. 17641n.p. France: n.d. ca. 1920s architecture styles of historical periods in various geographical regions to the fashion styles of those periods. Styles illustrated include those of Greece Rome Egypt and Persia; late medieval Europe; the reign of Louis XIV; traditional Japanese attire; and fashionable 1920s dress. The background illustrations include a Roman archway seventeenth-century furniture and even a classical Greek vase that frames an illustration of three women. The fashion illustrations reflect certain design elements in the background illustrations for example the patterned fabric in the ancient Egyptian fashions match the decorative style of the columns in the background of the illustrations. . Original blue stiff paper folder with ribbon binding at spine. . 9 x 12 in. With twenty-eight pages of beautifully painted fashion designs dresses hats Greek chitons etc. from throughout history some with background elements furniture and architecture and two with real fabric accents pasted down and two pages of manuscript text explaining architectural and sculptural styles. Some of the fashion designs are captioned in manuscript. Also with eight tracing paper leaves illustrated in ink overlaying matching designs below one with pencil annotations noting types of fabric and other design elements. Some soiling to folder. Some offsetting and some foxing. Very good. We could not locate any information on Josette Eynac the student who illustrated this album though she was clearly a capable artist. books
1970ref. 48478Istanbul Turkiye: Tannerie Kazlicesme 1970. Very Good. Istanbul Turkiye: Tannerie Kazlicesme n.d. ca. 1970s. Quarto 25.5cm; publisher's brown post-bound card wrappers printed in gilt; title page and thirty 30 leaves of stiff black stock to which are mounted twenty-eight gelatin fashion photographs captioned in white ink manuscript. Wrapper margins a bit rubbed occasional white ink splatters else Very Good contents just about fine. Fun and fashionable trade catalog of Turkish leather goods especially outerwear and knee-high boots priced for the tourist market in US dollars. The tannery was located in Kazlicesme Istanbul's center of leather production since the middle of the 15th century when it was assigned for slaughtering tanning and chandlery by Mehmed the Conqueror. The first twenty-one images in this catalog feature the same young woman modeling seventeen different coats. The reminder feature a male model who got to try on just four leather coats a pair of patent leather loafers and a travel bag. Not separately catalogued in OCLC as of August 2026. Tannerie Kazlicesme unknown books
1996ref. 403084California 1996. Hardcover. Near Fine. A Collection of 100 used concert tickets featuring punk new wave and heavy metal bands performing in California from 1983 through 1996. The tickets vary in size from 3” x 2” to 5.25” x 2.5”. All items are near fine with light soiling and a modest amount of creasing except for three torn tickets and 4 tickets stubs from use. The L.A. and Bay Area rock scene started in the late 1970s until new wave and heavy metal bands became the central focus of the 1980s. Some of the bands include: Mötley Crüe Iron Maiden Guns N’ Roses Depeche Mode Fatal Attraction Porno for Pyros Billy Idol Culture Club and others. The tickets span from Los Angeles to San Francisco and cities in between from 26 different venues some of which include The Troubadour Coconut Teaszer The Stone Trocadero Transfer The Metro Cow Palace The Palomino and Filthy McNasty Station. Many of the tickets are bright colors with printed pictures and stamped band logos showing the typographic designs of the time frame. Many bands kicked off their careers in California during this time. Mötley Crüe a popular heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981 is featured here playing at Oakland stadium on October 10 1987. The band is well known for their heavy make-up shocking clothing high-heeled boots and their abuse of drugs and alcohol. In 1985 the band transitioned to a more glam metal style influencing the heavy metal signature look. Guns N' Roses formed in 1985 in Los Angeles and is featured here playing at the Warfield Theatre on February 5 1988. They are a hard rock band that quickly gained popularity after the release of their debut album “Appetite for Destruction” which has sold over 28 million copies worldwide. The band has been labeled as the "the most dangerous band in the world" due to their rebelliousness and were credited to the rekindling of rock music during a time of dance music and glam metal. 1n 1992 Porno for Pyros formed in Los Angeles as an alternative rock group formed out of Jane’s Addiction. They are featured here playing at the Trocadero Transfer on June 19 1996. Their shows featured props extras and pyrotechnics. The band lasted through the mid-1990s and mixed the sounds of grunge and rock together. In the 1980s California became the melting pot of music genres mixing in punk rock new wave and metal. Certain venues became synonymous with the music genres and bands of that time. The Stone opened in the 1980s and was linked to the Keystone Berkeley and Keystone Palo Alto. It was large enough for a capacity of 700 sold only hard liquor at the bar and attracted an audience with bigger hair bigger shoes and makeup. It featured many local and big name artists in its day and was an important part of the Bay Area rock scene in the 1980s. The Coconut Teaszer operated from the 1980s through the mid-2000s. It hosted bands from all genres and featured a downstairs acoustic bar named “8121”. Sawdust on the dance floor and giant goblets for draft beer were some of the popular trademarks of the venue. One of the notable and peculiar policies of the venue was “no open toe shoes” which was painted on the front door. The Troubadour which is still functioning today opened in 1957. New wave and punk was the main feature for The Troubadour in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Through the 1980’s the venue became synonymous with the heavy metal genre and glam bands during that time. Today The Troubadour is revered as one of Hollywood’s most respected places to see live music. An attractive collection of brightly colored concert tickets featuring popular heavy metal and punk bands from the 1980s through the mid-1990s displaying over a decade of music in California. hardcover books
1950ref. 206231950. Archive of three black and white silver gelatin photographs of black models dating from the 1950s-70s. Photographs measure approx. 8" x 10". This archive includes a press photo from 1974 showing model Beverly Bradshaw posed in front of a museum display of elephants wearing a traditional Nigerian Ibo wrapped dress designed by Angie Ihejirika. Article on verso from the Chicago Sun Times details Mrs. Ihejirika's demonstration of the art of African wrapping at the Field Museum of Natural History. Photo has a bald patch on left side not affecting subject matter. Also included is a print of twelve Kodak film cells showing actress and model Nancy Westbrook in a series of poses sitting within a large picture frame. Seven images show Westbrook in a bikini and five wearing only a fur stole. These photographs date to the early 1950s and least one the third down on the left appeared in Jet Magazine with a short profile of Ms. Westbrook in 1953. Another photograph undated shows a black model in profile from the neck up smiling in a sun hat tilted away from camera to frame her head with a halo-like effect. Modeling in fashion and print has historically been dominated by white women reflecting a bias in beauty standards in the United States. These images show black women claiming space in the often exclusionary fashion world of the mid-late 20th century. Overall very good condition. Three images of black fashion models in the US 1950s-70s. unknown books
1920ref. 199741920. Vernacular fashion illustration archive circa 1920s-1950s documents the evolution of women's dress and stylistic ideals across early and mid-twentieth-century design with emphasis on silhouette material and aspirational presentation. The drawings capture shifts from the elongated androgynous forms associated with 1920s and 1930s fashion to the structured tailoring and fitted garments of the postwar period. Elements such as exaggerated shoulders cinched waists and coordinated ensembles situate the works within broader developments in women's fashion including the influence of tailored suits and formal eveningwear. The illustrations also record accessory culture including gloves hats and jewelry positioning dress within a larger system of social signaling and presentation tied to class gender norms and modern consumer identity. United States and possibly Europe circa 1920s-1950s. Archive of six original gouache and pencil fashion illustrations on hard mat boards and one on thick watercolor paper each measuring approximately 10 x 7 to 10 x 15 inches. Several works bear artist signatures or initials including examples signed "Virginia" and "G. Wichner." Two dated compositions from April 11 1954 depict coordinated ensembles including a rose-toned set with a pencil skirt and structured blazer rendered with detailed attention to tailoring and fabric accents. Other illustrations include multi-figure studies of women in draped garments with belted waists a single-figure composition in a long gown with fur coat and elongated cigarette holder and portrait studies featuring headpieces veils and bold cosmetic styling. Use of shading color variation and line work emphasizes fabric texture garment movement and body form. Produced during a period of significant transformation in women's fashion these illustrations align with the development of modern fashion media including editorial illustration design sketching and commercial garment production. The visual emphasis on proportion tailoring and accessorization reflects the increasing codification of fashion as both industry and cultural expression in the twentieth century. As original works the drawings provide insight into the processes of design visualization and stylistic interpretation supporting research into fashion history gender presentation and visual culture. Light handling wear to mounts and sheets; overall very good condition. unknown books
1950ref. 218261950. Fashion design archive. 1950s-1960s. This group documents mid-century women's fashion design practice through a sustained body of original sketches and working notes showing how garments were conceived annotated and prepared for construction during a period of stylistic transition in American dress. The material provides direct evidence of design thinking at the level of silhouette fabric selection and pattern planning including repeated attention to cocktail wear outer garments and formal dress. It captures the movement from structured postwar styles toward more experimental and decorative approaches associated with later mid-century fashion with particular emphasis on the technical and aesthetic decisions made by a designer or dressmaker. Archive of over 100 original hand-drawn fashion sketches on individual sheets measuring approximately 6.5 x 9 inches executed in ink with extensive handwritten annotations on rectos versos and margins. The drawings depict a range of women's garments including dresses blouses coats and evening wear with recurring titles such as "cocktail dress" "cocktail cape" and "dress." The figures are rendered with attention to line proportion and textile texture often emphasizing drape fitted bodices and surface embellishment. Annotations provide detailed construction guidance including measurements fabric types and pattern instructions. One design for a strappy dress specifies "Pattern: leopard or zebra fur attached.fabric velveteen.color red -- orange -- black." indicating experimentation with bold materials and color combinations. The consistent pairing of image and instruction suggests use as a working portfolio either for client presentation dressmaking production or formal training. Mid-century fashion in the United States expanded through department stores home sewing and professional dressmaking with designers and students producing working sketches that translated style into reproducible garments. The presence of detailed technical notes alongside finished illustrations places this archive within that production process linking aesthetic design to practical construction. Light wear from handling; overall very good. A concentrated record of mid-century women's fashion design practice preserving both the visual language and technical methods used to create garments during a period of evolving style. unknown books
1950ref. 218281950. Fashion design archive likely 1950s to 1960s documenting women's garment design during the mid-century through original working sketches that preserve both style development and the practical language of dressmaking. The archive is strongest as evidence of how women's fashion was conceived on paper before production with repeated attention to silhouette trim fabric and construction. Dresses blouses coats and eveningwear appear throughout placing the material within the visual world of postwar American fashion as it moved from structured elegance toward sharper and more decorative later mid-century forms. Archive of over 100 original hand-drawn fashion sketches on individual sheets measuring approximately 6.5 x 9 inches. The drawings are executed in ink and depict a wide range of women's clothing including fitted dresses capes blouses coats and formal designs with careful attention to drape proportion neckline sleeve treatment and surface embellishment. Many sheets are accompanied by dense handwritten notes in the margins or on the reverse recording measurements fabric suggestions and pattern or construction instructions. The combination of illustration and notation gives the sheets the character of working designs rather than purely display drawings and suggests use in dressmaking training or client planning. The archive belongs to the history of women's fashion not only as a record of finished styles but as evidence of the design process itself preserving the intermediate stage between idea and garment. Such working sketches show how fashion circulated through manual skill technical knowledge and close attention to fabric and form in the decades before design became fully digitized. Light general wear from use; overall very good. A substantial mid-century design archive that preserves the visual and technical vocabulary of women's fashion making across more than one hundred original sketches. unknown books
1955ref. 16984n.p. Los Angeles areaa: 1955-57 Stored in a contemporary accordion-fold card paper portfolio hand-labeled "Sketches of Accepted Designs.". 137 sheets of hand-drawn sketches sixty-two on 9" x 11 " sheets 75 on 5 " x 8 " sheets. Most with handwritten design descriptions notes and accompanying fabric swatches pinned or taped onto the sheets. Also with price lists inventories and printed ads for the Candy Jr. brand ads correspond with designs made by Saunders that are included in the present set. Portfolio somewhat worn and creased. Enclosed are eight contemporary manila folders organized by season Holiday 1955 Fall 1956 Spring 1957 etc. all hand-labeled in pencil. Some designs signed "V. Saunders" or "Vivian Saunders." Some toning and creasing to leaves. A few fabric swatches detached from leaves. Overall a very good set of striking original sketches of 1950s-era fashion designs for young women. Most of the sketches are for party dresses and evening gowns made for young women in their early teens to early twenties juniors and misses. The designs include many iconic designs associated with the 1950s including "poodle" skirts with ample petticoats boleros and cardigans and sheath dresses with cinched waists. The 26 swatches indicate a wide range of textures colors and patterns like gingham plaid organza metallics appliques ribbon velvet fur and much more." unknown books
1941ref. 14713England 1941. Very Good. Substantial collection of original amateur artwork and fashion plates dated 1941 to 1945 by a young woman named Gladys Warren almost all pieces signed "G. Warren" "G.W." or "Gladys Warren". The collection consists of nine large format watercolors 56x38cm.; one small format watercolor 32.5x23; four large format pencil sketches 56x38cm.; and twelve small format pencil sketches 33.5x19cm. totaling twenty-six 26 individual pieces. Some dust soil and minor wear from handling watercolors not examined out of individual shrink wrap. A Very Good or better collection overall. Collection of drawings and watercolors almost exclusively depicting women in the latest fashions or in uniform. The range of the large format watercolors indicate that this was possibly a burgeoning professional dossier including examples of day wear sleep wear evening wear and swim wear. The large format pencil drawings include two historic fashion illustrations the only titled image in the group is "Madeira 1884" and one nude study. Of special note however is the series of twelve small pencil sketches all accomplished on the versos of what appear to be mimeographed World War II aircraft maintenance reports. Indeed the October 28 1941 "London Gazette" lists a Gladys Florence Warren among the members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force WAAF though we find little else to pinpoint the artist. With the dearth of ready paper experienced during World War II perhaps Warren filched these leaves on which to practice her art Most of these sketches depict attractive women either seen in close-up or as usual modeling the latest uniforms and fashions while the verso details the assemblage or maintenance of engine covers handbrakes or a "carburettor." A pleasing survival of the English home front juxtaposing fashion femininity and aircraft mechanics. unknown books
1951ref. 200661951. Fashion Women's fashion design sketches dated 1951 document the rapid transformation of female dress following the end of wartime rationing and the international adoption of Christian Dior's "New Look" silhouette. These drawings show designers experimenting with narrow waists structured bustlines wide skirts and dramatic outerwear styles that defined postwar femininity and reshaped global fashion culture in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Such instructional sketches provide visual evidence of how couture aesthetics circulated through design schools and professional training environments during a moment when fashion industries in Europe and the United States were rebuilding after World War II. Archive of fifteen original women's fashion design sketches executed on nine illustration boards measuring approximately 11 x 14 inches. Drawings are rendered in pencil ink watercolor and collage techniques and depict coats dresses trench coats and daywear ensembles characteristic of early 1950s style. Several boards include multiple designs including sheath dresses with high necklines and plunging backs bell sleeved coats trimmed with fur and children's pinafore dresses worn over blouses. One design shows a woman wearing a flight jacket cravat and pleated trousers recalling mid century women adopting traditionally masculine tailoring. One board bears the signature "Reindel" on the verso. Designs prominently feature hourglass silhouettes associated with Dior's New Look including cinched waists sloped shoulders and flared skirts. Other garments incorporate menswear inspired coats and tailored outerwear reflecting the hybridization of wartime practicality and postwar luxury. Boards show light foxing and minor handling marks. Very good condition. A visual teaching archive illustrating postwar fashion design practice during the early Cold War era. unknown books
1940ref. 33730Suzuka Japan et al. 1940. Very Good . Suzuka Japan: n.d. ca. 1940-1960. Nineteen original hand-stenciled designs ca 48x35cm; thirteen examples with rubber-stamp from two different craft shops the remaining six unattributed. Light wear and soil else a Very Good to Near Fine collection. Colorful multi-decade sampling of designs for the Japanese casual summertime cotton kimono known as yukata. The designs were almost certainly designed for children's outfits decorated as they are with baby birds puppies ducklings circus elephants bunnies musical instruments and teddy bears. The ten earliest examples all hail from the same shop and all use the same color scheme of navy blue slate blue and orange-brown. Later examples expand the color palate to much more vibrant and neon colors. One design in particular of a small child in a red bunny costume anticipates both the manga and the Hello Kitty aesthetic that became a global phenomenon beginning in the 1970s and 1980s. unknown books
1848ref. 229448Paris 1848. First editions. Engraved fashion plates 677 of which are hand-colored. Many entitled "Modes de Paris". 16 vols. 4to. Bound in marbled boards with paper spine labels. First editions. Engraved fashion plates 677 of which are hand-colored. Many entitled "Modes de Paris". 16 vols. 4to. Periodical issued bi-weekly then weekly. Volumes for 1832-1836 have 24 issues 1837 has 26 and 1838-1848 have 52 issues each. unknown books
1923ref. ST20131London: Methuen & Co 1923. 218 x 138 mm. 8 1/2 x 5 1/2". vii 1 280 pp. ELEGANT DARK BLUE MOROCCO GILT BY BAYNTUN stamp-signed on front turn-in covers with gilt fillet frame stippled volute cornerpieces UPPER COVER WITH LOVELY MINIATURE PORTRAIT of a fashionable lady the painting under glass and surrounded by a gilt-tooled frame raised bands spine compartments with volute frame gilt lettering gilt-framed turn-ins ecru moiré silk endleaves all edges gilt. WITH 21 PLATES OF FASHIONABLE PEOPLE five of these called for one color and 16 EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED seven of these in color one double-page and nine in black & white all with tissue guards. Spine gently sunned to navy blue just a hint of rubbing to joints but still quite a fine copy--clean and fresh internally and with almost no signs of use inside or out. This handsomely illustrated look at the London social scene during the Victorian and Edwardian eras and after the Great War comes in a suitably chic binding by the last Victorian bindery still in family hands. Author Ralph Nevill 1865-1933 was a denizen of the world he writes about being the son of one of the leading hostesses of the day Lady Dorothy Walpole Nevill 1826-1913; DNB notes that "family tradition" held that Ralph's father was her close friend Benjamin Disraeli Lord Beaconsfield. Nevill has a wide array of insider anecdotes to share about country house life the pleasures of London society and prominent politicians and journalists. He makes it clear that the Victorian era was preferable to the 20th century and nothing is more drab that the post-war world. The illustrations feature portraits of prominent men landscapes of stately homes and scenes from the balls operas and royal occasions that made up the London Season. The very pretty binding is in the Cosway style made popular by bookseller Henry Sotheran and the Riviere bindery characterized by a miniature painting set under glass on the covers or doublures. Our binding was done by the venerable English firm founded in Bath by George Bayntun in 1894. Among the great English workshops of the Edwardian "golden age" of lavish bindings Bayntun has the distinction of being the only one located outside London's West End to be sought after by bibliophiles. Bayntun was a worthy rival to the likes of Sangorski & Sutcliffe and Riviere & Son the latter being subsumed by Bayntun in 1939. Bayntun of Bath continues to create fine hand bindings for bibliophiles. Unusually the miniature painting in our binding is signed by the artist but we were unable to decipher the signature and the Bayntun bindery did not have any information about the painter's identity. Methuen & Co unknown books
1985ref. 333396New York: alp 1985. hardcover. near fine/very good. Color and b/w illustrations. 312 pages. 4to pictorial cloth d.w. slightly de-laminating. New York: Alpine Fine Arts 1985. A near fine copy in a very good dust wrapper. alp unknown books
