437 résultats
189527882n.d. ca. 1895. First Edition. Limited to an unspecified number of which this is no. 16. Original etching; sheet size approx. 60.75x45cm.; image area 28x22.5cm. Signed with limitation number in blue pencil by the artist. A Fine copy mounted in archival mat. Symbolist image by the French anarchist painter and engraver Charles Maurin. According to a previous dealer this image was produced for the anarchist newspaper Les Temps Nouveaux edited by Jean Grave. Image depicts the personification of freedom "la Marianne" shown here in profile and partially in deshabille her left hand clutching her breast while her right hand holds up a torch. unknown books
268361 page. Octavo ca. 168 x 122 mm. Dated Thursday evening. On mourning stationery. In French with translation. <br/><br/>"I have to attend Louis Laloy's premiere; naturally that is tomorrow on Friday. Would you change the enclosed tickets for Saturday Thanks again."<br/><br/>Slightly worn and browned; creased at folds and upper outer corner of final blank folio; small rust stain from paper clip to inner margin of final folio not affecting text. "One of the most important musicians of his time Debussy's harmonic innovations had a profound influence on generations of composers. He made a decisive move away from Wagnerism in his only complete opera Pelléas et Mélisande and in his works for piano and for orchestra he created new genres and revealed a range of timbre and colour which indicated a highly original musical aesthetic." François Lesure and Roy Howat in Grove Music Online.<br/><br/>"Laloy 1874-1944 was a noted defender of contemporary French music and was a close friend of and mediator between Ravel and Debussy with whom he collaborated on some unrealized stage works; he was also the author of the first major work and the first in the French language on Debussy." John Trevitt in Grove Music Online. unknown books
1911CA0100a3 volumes. Volume 1. vi314 with frontispiece and plates; volume 2. 372 pages with frontispiece and plates. volume 3. 518 pages with frontispiece and one plate. Royal octavo 9 1/4" x6 1/4" Bound in quarter leather with gilt lettering to spine and raised spine bands; marbled boards. Preface par M. le Cte de MoüyFirst edition.<br /><br />Mémoires: L'Intervention Française au Mexique by Charles Blanchot. This very rare memoir by Charles Blanchot was aide-de-camp to General Bazaine Supreme Commander of French Forces in Mexico during Mexico's Second Empire. There is so much in here that has never seen light in either Spanish or English for instance: the powerful if behind-the-scenes role of Doña Juliana de Gómez Pedraza widow of Manuel Gómez Pedraza and the vicious if as Blanchot suggests unfounded rumors circulating in Mexico City about Bazaine in 1866-7. Blanchot who married an American of French origin in Mexico City also offers a detailed and lively portrait of Mexico City society at the time.<br /><br />Condition:<br /><br />First signature of volume one detached with some edge wear along the fore-edges title to volume two detached binding edges and hinges rubbed spines darkened. A good copy of a very rare and scarce work. Librairie Emile Nourry hardcover books
1895M13445Paris:: Rueff et Cie 1895-97. 1895. Folio. 2 iv 346 pp. 50 chromolithographic plates 23 engravings 18 photogravures. Contemporary half crimson gilt-stamped morocco marbled boards raised bands. Very good. RARE. First edition. A MASTERPIECE OF PHOTO-CHROMOLITHOGRAPHY. "The authors of this book were senior doctors at the Hôpital Saint-Louis. Besnier presided over the 4th International Congress of Dermatologists held in Paris in 1900. The museum had been founded by Devergie in 1865. During his 25 year long career Devergie commissioned water colour paintings of the major skin diseases for use in his lectures. It was not long before these were supplemented by photographs and moulages. Between 1867 and 1894 the Italian moulage artist M. Baretta 1834-1925 produced 1800 such models. He devised the internal colouring technique. This is a technique whereby the colours are applied in between the layers of wax. The effect is one of transparency and greater similarity to the colour of human skin Zanca and Tagliavini. The various separate lesions have been portrayed exceptionally well. Less attention was paid to facial expressions. The museum now has a collection of 4667 moulages at its disposal Dahm. The finest among them were reproduced in this book. The printing technique used was photochromy." – Franz Ehring Skin Diseases: 5 Centuries of Scientific Illustration. pp. 176-177. "Ernest Besnier was born in Honfleur in 1831. He studied in Paris and was a celebrated pupil of Hardy and Bazin. Having been graduated in 1857 he turned his attention exclusively to dermatology and by 1872 had become a chief at l'Hôpital Saint Louis." "Besnier was active in all phases of dermatology. Although essentially French in his diathetic thinking he was responsible for translating Kaposi's text into French with masterful annotations by himself. His monograph on psoriasis his work on atopic dermatitis. and his work on eczema entitle him to his place as the leading French dermatologist of his time." - Shelley & Crissey Classics in Clinical Dermatology p. 246. "Ernest Besnier was the unquestioned master of French dermatology towards the end of the 19th century. When he took over the leadership of the Parisian dermatology clinic in 1873 French dermatology had lost its premier position and fallen behind the Vienna school not only in regards to research and teaching but also in terms of space and equipment. Besnier reformed French dermatology incorporating many advances from Vienna such as establishing laboratories for bacteriology mycology and histopathology and encouraging basic research. As he retired just before the turn of the century French dermatology had closed the gap." "Ernest Henri Besnier was born on 21 April 1831 in Honfleur a small village in the Normandy. Since his father was a customs official the family moved frequently including stays in Marseille and Orleans. Besnier studied medicine in Paris and advanced to Interne des Hôpitaux in 1853. His teachers included Ernest Bazin Philippe Boyer and Henri-Louis Royer whose niece Besnier married a few years later. In 1857 his doctoral thesis on the diagnosis and therapy of ileus was accepted. He continued to address mainly internal medicine themes. Named Medecin des Hôpitaux in 1863 he published between 1864 and 1872 studies ranging from cholera to diseases of the spleen to rheumatic diseases to gall stones becoming one of the best known internists in France. As signs of recognition he was elected Vice-President of the Societe anatomique in 1861 and Secretary-General of the Societe Medicale des hôpitaux in 1864. He served as a military physician in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871 and was awarded the highest military honor being named a Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur." "When Bazin retired as head of dermatology clinic at Hôpital Saint-Louis at the end of 1872 Besnier was the highest ranking faculty member and entitled to the position. Although no one dreamed he would desert internal medicine for dermatology he accepted the challenge. With little experience but great energy he started his new job on 1 January 1873. Within a few months he had read the entire dermatologic literature concentrating on the works of Bazin and Erasmus Wilson; he profited greatly from the immense clinical experience of his colleague Charles Lailler who tactfully assumed the role of the old experienced tutor. Besnier also benefited from working together with Adrien Doyon the founder and editor of the Annales de Dermatologie et de Syphiligraphie; Doyen made him aware of the great advances in dermatology in Germany and Austria. With Besnier' encouragement Doyen translated into French Moriz Kaposi's textbook from 1880 Pathologie und Therapie der Hautkrankheiten. Besnier employed his by now encyclopedic knowledge of the dermatologic literature to provide commentaries which enhanced Doyen's translation. The French edition appeared just one year later 1881 and dominated the training of dermatologists in France for the next two decades and helped to reduce the differences between the French and German-speaking schools of dermatology. In 1881 Besnier also became editor of the Annales de Dermatologie et de Syphiligraphie and was named a member of the medical academy." "Kaposi's Clinic in Vienna was the model of a modern dermatology clinic for Besnier. In 1882 he asked Doyen for a detailed report over the Viennese clinic which was published in the Annales de Dermatologie et de Syphiligraphie and including information not only about the teaching program and costs of inpatient care but also covered such details as patient clothing the size of hospital rooms and how instruction signs were posted on the walls. When compared to Vienna the conditions in Hôpital Saint-Louis were primitive. Besnier described his outpatient clinic as a sleazy ramshackle hut completely unworthy of a great capital city. He demanded the construction of new inpatient wards and emphasized the importance of a histopathology laboratory. He also established the first laboratory for bacteriology and mycology at Hôpital Saint-Louis. Besnier demanded a change from purely descriptive dermatology turned against the nosologic speculations of his predecessor Bazin which he felt had lost validity through the groundbreaking work of Pasteur and demanded the incorporation of knowledge from bacteriology and histopathology into dermatology. In addition he tried to get dermatology incorporated into general medical education so that medical students could not graduate without some exposure to dermatology – that had not been the case previously." "Besnier's daily activities were highly regimented. He arrived every morning at 8:45; once a week he made inpatient rounds while the other days were devoted to specialty clinics. After each patient contact Besnier washed his hands and cleaned under his fingernails. He was always carefully dressed and reserved. his students including Louis Brocq Raymond Sabouraud Lucien Jacquet 1860-1914 George Thibierge Felix Balzer 1849-1929 and Emile Leredde 1866-1926 consider him the ideal academic teacher. He stimulated them to produce many papers. His lectures were clear and contained a great deal of clinical and histopathological information embedded in a broad theoretical background. They attracted a wide range of listeners ranging from pharmacists and medical students to guest physicians from abroad. in 1888 Besnier started weekly meetings on Thursday for all physicians working at Hôpital Saint-Louis during which all the interesting cases of the week were discussed. Out of this meeting evolved in 1889 the Societe francaise de Dermatologie et de Syphiligraphie with Besnier as a founding father. He served initially as Vice-President and then became President in 1892." "Besnier published very little. In 1879 he described the diagnostic possibilities made available by histologic examination and coined the term biopsy. In 1889 he described the diagnostic possibilities made available by histologic examination and coined the term biopsy. In 1889 he described lupus pernio which was recognized a few years later as a manifestation of sarcoidosis and in 1892 he provided the first precise description of atopicdermatitis. In order to properly describe this illness Besnier stated that one had to break away from the tyranny of Willan's and consider not only the primary lesions but all the findings. He stated that the central symptom is pruritus intensive pruritus waxing and waning often worse in the evening with seasonal remissions and exacerbations. The lesion morphology in contrast had little meaning; instead he pointed out that one absolute fundamental characteristic was that none of the lesions associated with or triggered by the illness were specific. Besnier did not use the terms lichen or eczema employing instead lichenification and eczematization to emphasize that the skin changes were not specific but instead banal lesions which resulted from itching and scratching. The disease often started in early childhood and took a variable but chronic course. Sometimes the disease left the skin and presented then primarily as emphysema bronchitis asthma hay fever or less often gastrointestinal problems. Since he felt a congenital tendency towards pruritus existed which then could appear in varying degrees of severity Besnier designated the disease as Prurigo diathesique." – Loser Plewig and Burgdorf Pantheon of Dermatology pp. 89-93. Franz Ehring Skin Diseases: 5 Centuries of Scientific Illustration. pp. 176-177; Loser Plewig and Burgdorf Pantheon of Dermatology pp. 89-93; Shelley & Crissey Classics in Clinical Dermatology p. 246. Rueff et Cie, 1895-97. hardcover books
1975187831975. Mixed media on paper. Signed dated and numbered "#02" Alexander Sarantos Tremulis 1914-1991 was the designer of the production version of the 1948 Tucker Torpedo and was America's most original design theorist of the post-war era. He was born in Chicago and without any training in drawing or engineering joined the design team of Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg in 1933. He was chief stylist when the company failed in 1937. He worked for GM Chrysler and Custom Motors in Beverly Hills which designed unique cars for movie stars. During World War II he worked for the Air Force designing aircraft and in the process drew what may have been the first visualizations of extra-terrestrial transport: flying saucers. After the war Tremulis worked with Preston Tucker and later for Ford. He formed his own consulting firm in the 1960's. This quite beautiful design and other similar ones were made for the ill-fated Bricklin car company which existed from 1974 to 1976 and whose demise had nothing to do with Tremulis's designs. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1982. unknown books
1975813211975. Very Good. A five inch stack of files containing about 110 letters from Guy to Jeffrey dated between 1965 and 1989 as well as photocopies of many of Jeffrey's letters to Guy over the same period. Also in the files are a few drafts of articles and other items. Condition of the letters and other material varies - some have a bit of staining or other wear. Some run on to several pages; a few are brief; several are cramped onto the space provided by the old single sheet folded aerogrammes. The archive also includes a file containing 55 WWII letters from Jeffrey Butler to his family back in South Africa. Almost all of the WWII letters are on aerogrammes stamped "Passed by Censor." The file also includes a typed transcription of Jeffrey's WWII letters. Guy Butler was an important English-speaking South African poet and writer as well as a professor at Rhodes University in Grahamstown South Africa. His brother Jeffrey eventually emigrated to the United States and spent the majority of his working life as a professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown Connecticut but remained very much interested in South Africa and the town Cradock in which he grew up. Despite their Quaker background both served with South African forces in World War II during which Jeffrey was severely wounded in Italy in 1944 and lost an arm. We don't think Jeffrey ever published an account of his WWII service. Guy described his service and his reaction to Jeff's injury in "Bursting World" the second of his three autobiographical works. Quite a bit of the correspondence collected here is dated in the mid-1970's when the brothers contemplated writing a joint memoir tentatively titled "Two Brothers." After sputtering along for some time the project is rather firmly put to rest by Guy in a 1978 letter. An earlier cluster occurs in 1965 when their father dies and the estate has to be dealt with by Guy. The letters are generally chatty quite friendly and sometimes lengthy. Guy shares news of his various writings and honors and often seeks his brother's opinion and suggestions on various matters. <br/><br/> unknown books
19501005Thebom Blanche 1918- 2010. Original silver print photograph by Angus McBean. 1950. Extremely large 20 x 15 3/4" image; 23 11/16 x 17 5/16" mat. Signed by McBean on mat. Image in perfect condition mat with several small closed tears to margin lower right corner chipped. Reference: Wilson Frederic Woodbridge The Theatrical World of Angus McBean 2008.<br /><br />Thebom was the first American female opera singer to perform in Russia. With a beautiful mezzo soprano voice and equally beautiful hair that extended six feet in length she had a long and successful career as a soloist that began when Giuseppe Boghetti Marian Anderson's teacher discovered her singing aboard a cruise ship with her parents in 1938. Thebom performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in over 350 performances. <br /><br />Photograph by Angus McBean 1950. Pictured in the new biography of McBean p.103: "After a series of conventional poses the singer suggested that McBean might photograph her with her own hair which reached the floor when let down. McBean contrived this pose which required that the singer lie down on a bed of sand. He tore a sheet of wrapping paper to fit the contours of her hair in order to protect it from the grit." books
188541347Genève: Au Siège Comité International de la Croix-Rouge 1885. 1st edition. PRESENTATION copy INSCRIBED from Barton "To my friend / Dr. Joseph Gardner / with sentiments of esteem and cordial regard. / Which words cannot express. / Clara Barton. / Washington D. C March 15 1889." Further a 2 line quote by Barton underneath "As the best of all fortune has come squiggly underline in the past / My heart only prays that the present may last." concluded with her "C. B.". Original publisher's blue cloth binding with silver stamped lettering to spine & front board accompanied by an impressed silver & red Red Cross logo. Housed in a custom chemise & 1/4 leather slipcase with marbled paper boards. Volume shows wear & evidence of dampstaining. Rear hinge paper starting at bottom. An About VG copy. Chemise & slipcase - Fine. xix 1 blank 444 pp. Text in French. 4to. <br/><br/>Scarce Red-Cross volume of which OCLC records 5 institutional holdings none in the US inscribed to Dr Joseph Gardner a prominent Indiana citizen and early friend/benefactor of Clara Barton as well as patron of the recently-formed American Red Cross founded in 1881 and of which Barton was president when this volume was inscribed. <br /> <br />Barton had a long-standing friendship with the Gardners with her one-time sectetary Enola Lee becoming the 3rd Mrs. Joseph Gardner. <br /> <br />In 1893 Dr. Gardner donated a large plot of his land in Indiana to the American Red Cross which Barton envisioned becoming a central-states headquarters/warehouse for the organization. All was to come to naught however as the plot was never developed & ulitmately sold to settle back taxes et al. Such was to later cause Barton problems however as she was accused of financial malfeasance which ultimately contributed to her 1904 retirement from the Red Cross. Cf. Cavinder MORE AMAZING TALES OF INDIANA pp. 79 - 80. <br /> <br />Early inscribed Barton material is somewhat uncommon in the trade. We are pleased to be able to offer this volume documenting the friendship between these two civic-oriented individuals. Au Siège Comité International de la Croix-Rouge hardcover books
192412317London: n.p. 1924. Used; Like New/Used; Like New. Irving Thalberg's personal copy of this splendid Limited production Grigoriev's artwork beautifully presented in the form of 30 color and black and white plates tipped to embossed mat pages separated by vellum leaves. The title page is inscribed and signed by the publisher "To Irving Thalberg with kindest regards and best wishes Morris Gest". Original half vellum over paper-covered boards the upper side illustrated and titled in gilt spine lettered in gilt. With minor soiling and handling to cover light toning on backing paper pages else fine condition. From the estate of Norma Shearer whom Thalberg married in 1927. 100 pp. 11 x 14 .5 in. <br><br><br />A remarkable association copy inscribed to the legendary Hollywood production executive Irving Thalberg who took hold of Universal City at age 20 and supervised such films as Ben Hur and Mutiny on the Bounty among many others. He died of pneumonia at age 37.<br><br><br />Morris Gest born 1881 in Vilna Lithuania as Moses Gershonovitch died May 16 1942 at the age of 61. He produced "The Miracle" in 1924 and "Lady Precious Stream" in 1936 introduced an original Russian ballet to America Baliev's 'Chauve-Souris' and brought Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre in repertory to America in 1923. n.p. hardcover books
13609Used; Like New/Used; Like New. A fascinating collection of 14 autograph letters and cards and 2 telegrams addressed to the important French composer dated between 1903 and 1917 from musicians and other artistic figures of the era. The letters from correspondents including conductors critics dancers composers and visual artists mention the very positive reception of Debussy's works during the last years of his life including his 1903 nomination as a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur the Chicago premiere of his opera Pelléas et Melisande and Toscanini's 1911 performance of La Mer; other works discussed include his ballet Jeux the cantata L'enfant prodigue and his work for piano L'isle joyeuse. Letters range from 4 x 2.5 inches to 5.25 x 8.25 inches and are overall in very good to fine condition with some light toning and age wear. All letters in French.Contents:Three letters congratulate Debussy on his nomination to the Légion d'honneur in 1903: one autograph note on the visiting card of conductor Edouard Colonne Paris February 1903 1 p.; one ALS  from the soprano Lucienne Bréval n.p. February 4 1903 4 pp. which also mentions her desire to sing one of Debussy's mélodies with orchestra; and one ALS from the architect Charles Plumet Paris n.d. 1 p.Two telegrams dated June 11 1910 send congratulations to Debussy on the successful performance of his Pelléas et Mélisande in Chicago from the conductor Cleofonte Campanini and the director general of the Chicago Grand Opera Company Andreas Dippel: "Four thousand people were impressed and touched. Our congratulations."Two letters send congratulations to Debussy on the performance of his La Mer under Toscanini in Turin in 1911. On a photograph postcard Turin September 30 1911 the composer Leone Sinigaglia writes that "It would have been a joy for you a lasting memory. Toscanini put his whole soul into it all his intelligence and all his will. His execution of your admirable masterpiece was prodigious. The public wary at the beginning as you may imagine! you know this well was won over -- at the end it was a great success which was repeated yesterday evening." The critic Giuseppe Depanis Turin October 12 1911 2 pp. writes that "not only was the second presentation Toscanini of La Mer received with the same good favor as the first but Vincent D'Indy also performed Nuages andFêtes in his concert on the 10th of the month with great success."An autograph letter from Nadejda Rimsky-Korsakov St Petersburg August 20 1911 1 p. with envelope thanks Debussy for his telegram and mentions in reference to the Ballets Russes' adaptation of her husband's famous work Scheherazade that "the appearance before the artistic Parisian public of my husband's works changed and transformed into ballet caused me great pain last summer and this time."  An autograph letter from the caricaturist Beppe Fabiano Paris May 29 1912 2 pp. confesses to Debussy that "I have just exhibited your portrait at the Salon des Humanistes -- in a series of celebrated composers -- without asking your permission beforehand. Fearing I may have overstepped I would be delighted if you would forgive me."<br style="">A short autograph letter from the sculptor Denys Puech Paris June 4 1912 1 p. mentions L'après-midi d'un faune. A short autograph letter from the sculptor Albert Bartholomé Budapest May 25 1913 1 p. informs Debussy that his cantata L'enfant prodigue "was admirably executed by truly passionate performers. I was able to obtain the poster from the theater and will be pleased to send it to you." The Russian ballerina and soloist with the Ballets Russes Ludmilla Chollar writes to Debussy about her role in Jeux in which she starred with Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina London June 26 1913 2 pp. She thanks the composer for the "the most beautiful memories which I could bring from Paris: the very kind words with which you dedicated Jeux your photography and some measures of my role . If I take from the creation of Jeux one exquisite and ineffable memory it is to you that I owe it to your work and to the happy chance that I met you away from the mirage of celebrities an artist as great as you whose work is dear to me above all others."<br style="">An autograph letter from the composer Ildebrando Pizzetti Florence September 17 1913 1 p. with envelope asks Debussy to comment on his new composition: "You would do me a great honor Maître if you would send me a few words on the subject but of course with no obligation on your part to give me compliments if my musical work does not interest you!"An interesting wartime letter from the Italian conductor Bernardino Molinari Rome September 18 1915 4 pp. calls on Debussy's patriotic feelings to ask him to collaborate with his orchestra: "I still remember what you said to me yourself here in Rome about "L'isle joyeuse" when you gave me hope that you might make a transcription for orchestra. If you have the desire and the time I would be very flattered to have the score to perform it during the next concert season at the Augusteo. You understand that in this season we very much wish to form a program in which our allies in France figure prominently. In a political moment like this one where the souls of all the Allied nations are unified and united into one ideal all of us at the Academie ask you for your valid support in the coming season." He goes on to apologize that because of the war he will be unable to offer the same fee as the previous time and reports that performances of Debussy's works around Italy have been very successful: "This shows with evidence that your musical language speaks to great and small touching the heartstrings of all." An autograph letter from the composer and musicologist Jean D'Udine Paris April 27 1917 3 pp. invites Debussy to one of Udine's salons despite Debussy's known disdain for his school of dance: "I know you have no sympathy for rhythmic gymnastics which seem to you you have written 'a very disagreeable domestication of rhythm.' I believe that you are wrong and that they are rather an emancipation of rhythm when taught well. Without any hostility on your part towards the method which I teach with conviction I would like to ask you to honor with your presence one of the evenings which I am hosting at present. You would there see danced with extreme love and respect by one of my students a remarkable artist your beautiful dances for chromatic harp . I did not want to give these evenings April 28 and May 3 and 5 without informing you pour memoire and without letting you know that it is sometimes where one feels the least loved that one is actually the most seriously and profoundly loved."The violinist and composer Francesco Guarnieri writes N.p. October 17 1917 2 pp. on black-bordered stationery to ask Debussy for a signed copy of his violin sonata which he will perform in Italy and also recalls a much earlier performance of Debussy's famous quartet at which Debussy gave him a copy of the score. unknown books
18943187New York: Theodore Low de Vinne for The Grolier Club 1894. Printed on vellum. Folio 285 x 185 mm. 6 leaves clxiii 1; 4 84 4 4 6 11 pp. 1 leaf. 2 blank leaves at front and 4 at back. Title with Grolier Club device three engraved vignettes by Max Rosenthal in the first part Fowler's introduction unsigned lithograph on a separate leaf at the end of the introduction included in the pagination showing William Bradford's tombstone woodcut or linocut ornamental initials final leaf with De Vinne press device. Bound in black morocco t.e.g. others untrimmed by Denis Gouey blind-stamped signature on lower pastedown. Provenance: personal copy of the printer Theodor Low De Vinne bookplate; Bernard Breslauer inserted collation notes on The Ritz London stationery and carbon copy of a letter sent by him to Decherd Turner July 19 1997 plus a clipping from the bookseller's catalogue from which he purchased the book; sale Christie's New York part 3 27-28 June 2005 lot 1134. A fine association copy: the exemplaire de tête printed on vellum retained by the printer for his private collection from a total edition of 315 copies of which 312 copies on hand-made paper and three copies on vellum of a facsimile of the founding laws of the colony of New York. The first part consists of a long historical introduction by Robert Ludlow Fowler. The Facsimile was made from the Lenox Library copy as explained in a two-page note from the Publication Committee pp. 172-173. The book was published by the Grolier Club on the occasion of its tenth anniversary and the other two vellum copies were auctioned off at the tenth annual members' meeting on 21 February 1894. A copy of the Grolier Club invitation to that meeting as well as the 4-page illustrated prospectus for the book both of which were printed by de Vinne are loosely inserted along with the aforementioned documents from Bernard Breslauer. Mr. Breslauer collected books on vellum and in the inserted 1997 letter to Decherd Turner he announced his acquisition of this his fifth Americanum on vellum.Theodore Low de Vinne was one of the nine founding members of the Grolier Club and he printed most of its publications until his death. "His encyclopedic understanding of the craft his advancement of its technology and design his appreciation of its history his business leadership and his many writings earned him among his contemporaries the designation `Dean of American Printers'" APHA website The De Vinne Centennial Feb. 16. 2014. (Theodore Low de Vinne for) The Grolier Club hardcover books
189029191Chicago 1890. Oblong folio. 10 3/4 x 13 inches. 152 albumen photographs most 7 x 9 inches mounted recto and verso of each leaf within the album. Images captioned in manuscript on the mount below the image many signed in white ink or in the negative by Taylor. Expertly bound to style in half dark purple morocco over period cloth covered boards spine lettered in gilt marbled endpapers<br/> <br/>A remarkable album of early Chicago photography by John W. Taylor: a significant photographic record of Chicago in the late 19th century.<br/> <br/>A major photographic record of the city of Chicago and its architecture in the late 19th century almost entirely the work of the significant photographer John W. Taylor with his imprint in the negative. Taylor was a bookseller and stationer before advertising himself as a commercial photographer in the late 1880s. He concentrated his work on Chicago-area architecture and city infrastructure. Today he is recognized as a pioneering photographer of architecture working in Chicago at the very beginning of the skyscraper era. This superb photograph album presents a fairly comprehensive view of Chicago's architecture and life during one of the city's most interesting and vibrant periods from the highest of the skyscrapers to the interiors of pig pens in the stockyards with numerous residences parks lush interiors the 1893 World's Fair and more in-between. Taylor's importance as one of the earliest significant architectural photographers is addressed in Peter Bacon Hales' Silver Cities: Photographing American Urbanization 1839-1939: "Photographers of the older generation managed to retain their identities even as they adjusted to their more prosaic role as visual adjuncts to the architects who designed the buildings they photographed. J.W. Taylor of Chicago for example made an extensive survey of the "modern" buildings of Chicago and its environs many of which traveled throughout the globe as architects and engineers converged on the city in the later 1800s and beyond to see the miracle of the Chicago style of building. Taylor's pictures went as far as Melbourne Australia in the collection of Australian architect E.G. Kilburn who made his pilgrimage to the architects' mecca in 1889. Kilburn stared sketched and took notes; then he brought back photographs by Taylor of everything from the Pullman company town to the Palmer House." Chicago has been an especially important architectural center since the period represented in this collection. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed most of the buildings in the downtown area a special class of architects and engineers flocked to the city resulting in an architectural boom unequaled in the history of 19th century urban development. Hallowed names such as Louis Sullivan Dankmar Adler John M. Van Osdel Daniel Burnham William W. Boyington William LeBaron Jenney John Wellborn Root William Holabird Martin Roche Edward Baumann Harris W. Huel Solon Spencer Beman and Clinton J. Warren stamped their unique architectural character on the Chicago landscape. Each of these architects is amply represented in the photographs contained herein. There is even one photograph of the magnificent lobby of the Rookery Building considered the grandest lobby in Chicago at the time. This view is especially interesting to architectural historians because this interior was remodeled a short time later in 1905 by Adler & Sullivan's former head draftsman Frank Lloyd Wright. The late 19th century was also a transitional time in building construction when architects were beginning to leave behind cast iron frames and experiment with steel-frame construction and large areas of plate glass especially in the "Commercial Style" made famous by Sullivan and others in the Chicago School. As a result some of the earliest modern skyscrapers are found in Chicago. A general summary of the photographs in the album is as follows: forty-two buildings including the Masonic Temple the tallest skyscraper in the world at the time the Woman's Temple the Rookery Building the Chamber of Commerce the Monadnock Building the Northern Hotel the Home Insurance Building the Tacoma Building the Caxton Building the Pullman Building the Oakland Hotel the Grand Pacific Hotel Palmer House the Auditorium Building Marshall Field's the Lester Building the Hotel Metropole Libby Prison the New Regiment Armory depots and churches; seven downtown street scenes; seventeen residential streets including Lake Shore Dr. and Michigan Ave. and residences of prominent citizens including Potter Palmer and Lambert Tree; twenty parks pavilions and recreation scenes; three of Grant Monument and its unveiling; ten Lincoln Park scenes some with animals; three of Garfield Park; ten featuring World's Fair building construction; nine views of the October 1892 World's Fair dedication showing ceremonies and a large parade; two scenes of boating; twelve views of stockyards and meat processing six exterior and interior views of an auditorium; eight interiors including Palmer House and a bank; and three scenes of horse racing at Washington Park. Taylor's photographs reside in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago fifty-six images and the Chicago History Museum 150 images. The subject matter of those collections and the present work overlap significantly testament to the prodigious nature of Taylor's output. For example this collection has a significant number of images related to the World's Columbian Exposition a.k.a. the Chicago World's Fair of 1893; the Chicago History Museum collection contains no images from this monumental event in Chicago's history. A truly remarkable record of Chicago architecture by a significant photographer. unknown books
