The Decoration of Houses by WHARTON, Edith (1862-1937) and Ogden Codman Jr - 1898

London: B. T. Batsford, 1898. First Impression. Hardcover. Fine. First UK edition, First Impression of the author's first book under her married name (a collection of poems appeared in 1878 under Edith Newbold Jones). Batsford bound up sheets from the first American edition and issued them with a cancel title page. Tall, wide 8vo; pp xxii, 204, [2]pp, with 56 plates and an 8-page publisher's catalogue. Publisher's burgundy cloth, the upper cover decorated in blind and lettered in gilt, the spine titled in gilt, the top edge gilt, the fore- and bottom edges untrimmed. An unusually collectible copy, for all purposes Fine, with all plates present and firmly attached and free of spotting and foxing, all pages (save the toned front fly leaf and first blank) clean, fresh and bright, the binding square and holding firm. Neat and rather elegant ownership inscription to the first blank, dated '1.Sept.05.' Quite scarce in this superb condition. Wharton "was traveling in Europe in early 1895, gathering inspiration for The Decoration of Houses (1897), which she co-wrote with Ogden Codman, a young society architect. . . . Although there is something superficially bizarre about a decorating book whose illustrations are drawn from the great palaces of Europe, the structural principles espoused by Wharton and Codman are essentially functional: rooms must do the work for which they are intended. This first foray into the subject in print was only the beginning: three more books would follow which drew on this expertise and interest-Italian Villas and their Gardens (1904), Italian Backgrounds (1905), and A Motor-Flight Through France (1908)." (Literary Encyclopedia) Note: With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable polypropylene sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed.