Studies in Design
by DRESSER, Christopher
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Holt, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin [1876], 1876. First edition. Folio. 411x295mm. pp. [4], 40 (text), 60 numbered plates of which 57 are chromolithographs by A. Goater of Nottingham. Plate 1 is the frontispiece. Half title tissue guard before the ornamental title page. Each plate has its own titled tissue guard. Original maroon cloth with bevelled edges. Upper cover lettered in gilt, with black and gilt Greek key design. Spine lettered in gilt. All edges gilt. Original black endpapers. Wear to corners and bottom edges. Some repair to head and foot of spine. Some foxing mostly in the margins, and the frontispiece plate has been repaired to the bottom right corner but overall an excellent copy of a book usually found in less than good condition and often incomplete. The stunning chromolithographs, the highlight of any work by Dresser, are strikingly well preserved. Dresser states the aim of Studies in Design in the short preface: "I have prepared this Work with the hope of assisting to bring about a better style of decoration for our houses". Guided by the principles of "Truth, Beauty and Power" (the triangular device setting out these words is in the centre of the decorated title page), Dresser provides advice on ornamentation, newness of style, decoration, the use of the grotesque and, above all, colour. And Dresser's wild, beautiful colour combinations are at the heart of this book. He worked on the book for fifteen years, with printing starting in 1874 and finishing two years later. During those years, Dresser constantly experimented with colour. He looked at soap bubbles, light through a prism, gas tubes illuminated by electricity, all the time noting how unexpected colours were thrown up and how "the sweetest harmonies in colour are often closest to discord".
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Details
- Bookseller
- Voewood Rare Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 4054
- Title
- Studies in Design
- Author
- DRESSER, Christopher
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin [1876]
- Date Published
- 1876
Terms of Sale
Voewood Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Voewood Rare Books
Biblio member since 2018
Holt, Norfolk
About Voewood Rare Books
Simon Finch has been a Rare Book Dealer since 1980. He has had shops in Notting Hill Gate, Mayfair and Holt, Norfolk. His firm has handled a wide variety of material from the First Folio of Shakespeare to the wilder shores of the counterculture and everything in between. In 1998, Simon bought Voewood, one of the finest Arts and Crafts and houses and brought it back to life with an eight-year programme of renovation and restoration. Voewood Rare Books, which operates from Voewood, is the continuation for Simon of a long career in the book trade. It also represents an important link with the House. Voewood is always beautiful, surprising, mysterious and perhaps a little disorientating and we aim to bring something of this spirit to the bookshop. Whilst our focus in on the visual arts, literature and the counter-culture, we deal also in a broad range of antiquarian and modern rare books across all subject areas. Our collection can be found here at Biblio and on our website. We are open by appointment and can always be contacted by email.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Device
- Especially for older books, a printer's device refers to an identifying mark, also sometimes called a printer's mark, on the...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Half Title
- The blank front page which appears just prior to the title page, and typically contains only the title of the book, although, at...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Folio
- A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...