Furniture, Decorations, Culture and More
From Charles Wood
Material Culture, Decorative Arts, and Social History from Charles Wood.
By Michael Stillman
Charles Wood has issued his "List 2004-2," which covers "Material Culture, Decorative Arts, and Social History." In this catalogue you will find a great deal of material, primarily late 18th century to early 20th, covering such fields as home furnishings, furniture, cabinet making, managing the home, carriage making, art, lighting, tailoring, shoemaking, and training your servants. Many of the skills and behavior that went with this age have been forgotten by most, but this collection of many practical guides will serve as reminders to what the world was like, not just before Wal-Mart, but before Sears when they were still referred to as "Sears, Roebuck."
What is believed to have been the most popular furniture book in 18th century America is The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director...by Thomas Chippendale. Originally published in 1754, this is the third and most complete edition from 1762. This book was actually a trade catalogue, and states that it was "printed for the author and sold at his house..." Among those who owned a copy was Thomas Jefferson, who had a second edition. Today, Chippendale's name remains synonymous with a certain style of furniture. Item 7. Priced at $13,500.
If a genuine Chippendale catalogue is a bit pricey for your budget, how about a fake? Item 54 is Chippendale's Ornaments and Interior Decorations, in the Old French Style... Problem is, they weren't Chippendale's ornaments and decorations. Publisher John Weal had obtained the plates of another 18th century designer, Matthias Lock, in the 1830s. Unfortunately, Lock was little remembered by then. Being an astute businessman, Weal substituted the more famous Chippendale's name for Lock's when publishing the book. This wasn't the only time. Weal similarly erased the name from plates of furniture created by Thomas Johnson, substituting Chippendale's name. $850.
Item 48 is a "flap book" from around 1905 in remarkably good condition. "Flap books" were designed to show the inner workings of things, be they machines, humans, animals, etc. Foldout overlays enabled the owner to see just how these things worked. This one focuses on various types of motors. It's called Le Mecanicien Moderne par une Comite d'Ingenieurs Specialistes, printed in Paris. $2,500.
|
Furniture, Decorations, Culture and More
From Charles Wood
Marcel Dunchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase.Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art
Item 16 is a bit of a whimsical book. It is Hints to the Bearers of Walking Sticks and Umbrellas. It is a partly serious and partly humorous account of the perils of these objects. If this seems an obscure field to be worthy of a book, this title must have been fairly popular at the time. Just a year after its original publication in 1808, this third edition was released. $400.
You probably never thought about the history of wallpaper. You may not have even realized it had a history. Well now you can learn all about it in Wall Paper, its Origin, Development, and Manufacture by George Whiteley Ward. There's no indication this title ever made it to a third edition. Item 113. $100.
Item 68 is not only interesting for what it tells us about mid-19th century furnishings, but is a fascinating political diatribe as well. This book is entitled the Speech of Mr. Ogle of Pennsylvania, on the Regal Splendor of the Presidential Palace, Delivered in the House of Representatives April 14, 1840. This speech was an attack on expenditures made in decorating the White House, although it was really an attack on the President, Martin Van Buren. Representative Charles Ogle was an Anti-Mason, a minor party about to be absorbed by the Whigs, Van Buren's opposition. Ogle's speech went on for three days, and in it he derided public spending on behalf of elected officials, a form of electioneering that has probably been used in every election since. In his speech, Ogle claims that the White House has become "as splendid as that of Caesar's..." He adds "the landscaping...was designed to resemble an Amazon's bosom, with a miniature knoll on its apex, to denote the nipple." Ogle's role in the campaign was not insignificant. It did much to cement the image of Van Buren as out-of-touch, effete, and unconcerned. Ogle's candidate, William Henry Harrison, would ride to victory on his "log cabin" image, despite the fact that he had grown up in a family of means and had never lived in anything resembling a "log cabin." Leaving the politics aside, Charles Wood points out that this speech, thorough as it was, gives a good view of the furniture and furnishings used in the White House in 1840. $125.
Item 11 offers an unusually long run of the late 19th century periodical The Decorator and Furnisher. While not complete, it includes most copies from volume one number one in 1882 to 1897. Wood points out that even individual volumes, let alone long runs, of this magazine are very rare. It was devoted to American furniture and interior decoration. There are numerous high quality illustrations and loads of information about decoration at the end of the Victorian period. Ironically, a May 1891 article talks about how Mrs. Harrison changed the interior of the White House. Her husband was President Benjamin Harrison, grandson of the aforementioned William Henry Harrison. Presumably Mrs. Harrison did not try to recreate the ambience of a frontier log cabin. $4,500.
|
Furniture, Decorations, Culture and More
From Charles Wood
none
Back in the days when everyone's clothing was custom made, J. Golding published Golding's Guide; or, New Edition of the Tailor's Assistant. This "new" edition from 1820 was the third, following the first edition from 1815. This book was intended for the professional tailor or dressmaker, not the average housewife. The focus is on men's clothing. This copy is signed by the author, but that will not add to its rarity. As Golding stated, because "...there are several garbled and spurious imitations of this work I have been induced to sign every copy with my own hand to prevent imposition." Still, Wood points out that this is "a very rare book." Item 25. $1,500.
Item 63 is the Association of American painters and Sculptors. Catalogue of International Exhibition of Modern Art. New York, 1913. This is the publication from what is better known as the "Armory Show." This exhibition was probably the most influential one ever for modern art in America. It exposed the work of European artists such as Cezanne, Matisse, Kandinsky and Picasso to American audiences. This exhibit encountered much hostility from a public and critics not prepared for such strange images, but it has become legendary for the influence it had on American art. "Nude Descending a Staircase" by Marcel Duchamp received particular notoriety (see image previous page). If you didn't see the title, you might still confuse it for something else, like a bunch of suits of body armor crammed too tightly together. But what is art if it can't set off your imagination? $2,500.
You may visit Charles Wood online at www.cbwoodbooks.com or call them at 617-868-1711.
|