Atlantique

1922 · 590 — Philadelphia: The Atlantic Refining Company 1922. First. Paperback. Very good. A fun - and lovely - bit of ephemera in which every page absolutely screams of the time in which it was published-1922. "Candle-Glow: A Book for Lovers of Beautiful Homes" is part instruction in home decorating part catalog for candles. From the popular Verona typeface to the small drawings of fashionable Colonial revival interiors on most pages to the muted full-page black-and-white illustrations of elegant candle-lit gatherings where the guests are in black tie and evening gowns everything speaks to the aspirations of those who wanted to "make it" in society. As does the text itself which tells readers the best way to use candles on dining tables and how candlelight is superior to gas and oil lamps when welcoming guests in entryways. A previous owner must have felt rather desperate for this kind of information judging from the number of pencil marks they made to the text and the wording they repeated in pencil on the beautiful art deco cover: "Note: Dinner candles always white." At the same time the Atlantic Refining Company which served as both author and publisher of this booklet promotes its own products: a whole series of candles that can be bought by the box at gift shops and other common stores. Part of that promotion is a glorious vivid full-color two-page spread at the center of the booklet showing its line of Atlantic Hand Dipped Candles in all of the 26 of the colors it sells. See the photo! For some reason the company never mentions that candles are a byproduct from its usual business of refining motor oil and gasoline.<br /> <br /> The booklet has color pictorial wrappers with a cover in decorative three-color type and a depiction of a glowing candle in front of what looks like a reflection of a paned window in a mirror in a decorative frame. The fore edge of the paper cover is quite chipped but other than that the booklet is in exceptional shape for a piece of ephemera over a hundred years old. Besides those chips there are no other tears or even bumps on the covers which are after all nothing more than slightly heavy brown paper. Neither are there any tears or even creases on the pages of the text which are still firmly stapled to those covers. The colors of the two-page spread at the center are remarkably bright. There is some very slight age tanning throughout but no foxing and the text and illustrations are still quite clear. There are as mentioned above several pencil marks throughout but they do not interfere with the readability of the text nor with the illustrations. The pages are unnumbered but it comes in at 22 pages. This item appears to be quite rare. We have found none for sale and only three in libraries-two in university library special collections and one notably in the library at the famed Winterthur museum of furniture and decorative arts in Delaware. The Atlantic Refining Company paperback