Mexico;(1994): Noriega Editores. Quarto. 244 pages. The very scarce English language edition translated by John D. Lamb, illustrated with color photographic images of his architectural designs. Luis Ramiro Barragan Morfin (1802-1988) was a Mexican architect whose early education was as an engineer, but as he traveled to Spain and France, he became aware of Ferdinand Bac, Le Corbuiser and Jose Clemente Orozco which led him into the practice of architecture in Guadalajara from 1926 to 1936 before his move to Mexico City ultimately leading to the planning of the residential development Jardines del Pedegal, Mexico City. He was honored with a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in 1975 and became the second winner of the Pritzger Architectural Prize. A fine bright copy bund in pink cloth stamped in blind, housed within a colorful paper covered slipcase with minor wear to corners.
New York: Horizon, 1959. First Edition. Octavo. 308 pages. inscribed by Olgivanna in 1969 to "Doafer and Mrs. Micuda", the title of this illuminating book, "Our House" refers to both Taliesin and Taliesin West, the homes of Frank Lloyd Wright and his wife Olgivanna. This includes the delightful story of the sculptor, Oscar Stonorov who was sculpting Wright while staying in their home but each night Wright and Olgivanna would come and work on it. What happened when he saw it shows the reality of when the wrong artists moves beyond his level of expertise. The account of his work behind the scenes while designing the Guggenheim is fascinating. The account of Brandoch, Wright's grandson, who challenged his teacher at Camelback High School who had claimed Wright's work was derivative. Here is one of the great accounts when an informed young man wins in spite of the educational system's weight on the side of teachers even inferior ones. A near fine copy bound in red cloth stamped in gilt, spine lettering gilt, in unclipped pictorial dust jacket with some chipping to spine ends and corners, light rubbing to edges.
Santa Fe, New Mexico: Ancient City Press, 1961. First Edition. Folio. No pagination. Chiefly thirty three sketches and floorplans of adobe buildings followed by notes and how adobe plans were laid out. There was a cheap reprint done in 1986. William Lumpkins was an architect in La Jolla but in 1961 he went back to his earlier work in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico. He went back to large ranches where adobe was the standard, accepted building material. He also went to Lincoln, New Mexico with nearby Fort Stanton which was still a museum of Territorial Style. His dream was this book would turn to adobe (not the synthetic adobe, hollow tile, concrete block, brick covered with stucco to make a poor imitation of adobe) but the real material of the native earth and blending in the vast landscape of the Southwest. (Barnes, Adobe Bibliography). Plastic comb bound sift card wraps lettered and decorated in light and dark brown. Small stain to upper edge, light soiling to rear. A very good copy.
Tucson, Arizona: Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society, 1919. First Edition. Octavo. 135 pages. The author's collection of hundreds photographs with their negatives of San Xavier del Bac was given to the Library of Congress. His details in the original photographs are yet to be fully published but this was his major work. A few marks to note key passages are in the margins but not detracting from the importance of the work. Bound in a brown pictorial gilt cloth, spine lettering gilt, previous owner's name and date. Near fine.
New York: Robert M. mcBride & Co, 1919. Small Quarto. Color frontispiece, 115pp., illustrated with photographs of old examples and American adaptations of the style. First published. This book was not written for the professional but simply for those who have an interest in house building or those who have in mind building for themselves. Bound in green pictorial cloth accented in white, red ad black, spine lettering white, two bumped corners, white is mostly rubbed off leaving gray as the color. A very good copy.
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico: The Maya Foundation, 1958. Limited Edition. Oblong Folio. . Facsimile edition, Limited to 1100. 140 unnumbered pages, profusely illustrated with thirty-six plates accompanied by descriptive text of Mayan architecture items with map. The images are particularly important. With the imagination of an artist and the precision of a scientist, the author has captured in pictures thirty-six restorations of magnificent Maya buildings as their builders saw the scenes more than a thousand years ago. Her original drawings are among the most beautiful ever done. The map is one that still remains essential for those who want to grasp the genius that developed in such a small area. Bound in 1/4 green cloth over tan paper covered boards lettered in gilt, spine lettering gilt, some wear to corners, light dampstain to lower corner of upper board, previous owner's name. A very good copy.
Phoenix; (2010): City of Phoenix. First Edition. Oblong Quarto. 2nd printing. 255 pages, bibiography, credits. The explosive growth of Phoenix which had barely over 65,000 residents in 1945 to more than 789,000 in by 1975 also had remarkable architecture including the original Cine Capri, the Celebrity Theatre, Veterans Memorial Coliseum and many other famous buildings in a close relationship between architects, builders and civic as well as major business leaders. Besides the many photographs, there are drawings close ups of famous street signs of the era as well as many businesses that were legendary but began to be close with the phenomenal growth of one of the Sun Belt's largest cities. Much of the text and ideas comes from Don W. Ryden; Donna Reiner, and Larfy Mishler. A fine bright copy bound in black cloth lettered in silver, spine lettering silver, in fine pictorial dust jacket.
Buffalo, NY: Wanzer, McKim & Co, 1856. Octavo. Engraved title page and regular title page. 127 pages. 32 plates (of which 23 are full page images of the various buildings) often including exact plans. One of the most important books in the mid-19th century for those who needed to build modest homes with their own hands.Bound in publishers pictorial gilt brown embossed cloth, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, yellow endpapers, wear to spine ends and corners, ocassional scattered foxing. A very good copy.
New York; (1988): Abbeville Press. First Edition. Quarto. Signed and inscribed by the author and also signed by photographer Richard Barnes. 271pp. Illustrated in color by photograph. Julia Morgan was the architect who designed and built William Randolf Hearst's famous and dazzling castle. She was also one of the first women to graduate in Civil Engineering from the university of California, Berkeley. Over her long career, she designed over 700 structures. This is the first book to celebrate the achievements of a remarkable woman of architecture. A fine copy bound in blue cloth, spine lettering gilt, in near fine pictorial dust jacket.
London, Nd(ca.1881): Ward, Lock & Tyler, 1881. Octavo. Second Edition specially revised by the author. 144 pages, with 300 illustrations. Rich detailed drawings of cornices, platforms, engines, and the essentials of mechanical drawing. A remarkably nice copy, near fine, bound in pictorial gilt green embossed cloth, spine lettering gilt, endpapers are publisher's ads on yellow paper.
London; (1926): J. Lane. First Edition. Quarto. 249 pages, index. 25 paintings in color, 22 in black and white. His master from the age of the Pre-Raphaelites to Pop Art showed his early mastery of truth in art. He did not object to new phases in art history as long as the artists knew history and could work within the medium to purpose rather than the public's acclaim. The relation to motifs in Blake, Turner and Persian ceramics to ideas in the work of Ciurlionis are considered remarkable in the views of art historians. Bound in green cloth lettered in blind, spine lettering gilt, soiling to cloth, spine a bit faded. A very good copy.
Np: Amigos Del Atrimonio Cultural De Saltillo, 1991. Limited Edition. Quarto. Illustrated by photographs by Enrique Salazar e Hijar.175pp., The history of the building of the cathedral and of Santiago de la Garza Zambrano who would become the first Bishop and of those who followed to date. Extraordinary photographs of the inside of the church. Bound in maroon leather lettered in gilt, spine lettering gilt, upper corners lightly bumped in very good pictorial dust jacket.
Eastwood, New York: United Crafts. Thick Quarto. 732 pages. (6 volumes). The master of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the October issue has five Francis Lea illustrations and in the December issue four of his rich blue-and-white items adorn Katharine Metcalf Roof's article. Besides articles on the state of American Bronze Sculpture, the architects feature one on The California Bungalow and a number deal with concepts in design which were on the cutting edge. While many saw his work as akin to mission furniture, he despised the term. His fine furniture has now been sought after by top collectors and a number of museums have featured his work in the past decade. (Barbara Streisand paid $363,000 for a Stickley sideboard in 1988). Bound in heavy-duty brown buckram, spine lettering gilt. some minor spots of soiling to covers, Some pages are unopened. A very nice copy.
New York; (1930): Architectural Book Pub Co. Quarto. [3]-173 pages including frontispiece, illustrations, plates. Garrison's book showed the beauty of the architecture not rooted in the Spanish Colonial style. He found anonymous and rural buildings which were not only neglected by the professionals but which were of influence in the Southwestern U.S. His extensive measurements and detailed drawings make this an essential contribution to the field. Southern California was greatly influenced by this architecture. Bound in black cloth lettered in gilt, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, decorative endpapers, wear to spine ends and corners. A good copy.
(New York, 1970): Phaidon. Thick Quarto. 148pp., with 143 black and white plates, 68 color plates and 123 line drawings. The author tells how he has found Christianity alive in the rock, in churches hidden below rock ledges or inside caves; in sanctuaries hewn our of the rock like gigantic sculptures or free-standing with only their bases rooted in the bedrock.A very good copy bound in brown cloth, spine lettering gilt, small stain to upper board, in unclipped pictorial dust jacket with edge wear and a few chips.(extra shipping cost over seas).
New York: Robert M. McBride & Company, 1924. Quarto. 210p. index. Hering's papers are at the New York Public Library. He was famous for building large country and suburban homes for such notables as James M. Cox, the 1920 Democratic Presidential nominee, the Lakewood Theatre in Snowhegan Maine and Brentano's Bookstore in New York city. Inscribed by the architect to Virginia Chapin on flyleaf, dated April 29, 1930. She was the daughter of Simenon Brooks Chapin who after founding Armor and Company in Chicago went on to establish Myrtle Beach. This book which the author had specially bound with her name on the cover was given to Virginia as a wedding gift at a very large societal wedding in Chicago. Bound in full pebble grained morocco ruled and lettered in gilt, raised bands with compartments lettered and decorated in gilt, inner gilt denteels, light blue endpapers, top edge gilt. Very nice.
A.D.A. Edita, (1982), Tokyo. Limited Edition. . Elephant Folio. Volume 3. Limited edition of 500 copies (A001-A500). The present copy is number A141. 50 mounted color plates on heavy card stock, all wrapped in original glassine wrapper and laid into its original printed folder, and set into a heavy terracotta cloth covered clamshell with paper label and ivory latches. Housed in the original numbered two part cardboard box, and held within its original publisher's shipping carton. This is the last volume produced in Tokyo of the three volume set. The first was published in 1977, the second in 1980. Each contains 50 color prints. A superb copy in pristine condition.
New York; (1990): Harry N. Abrams. First Edition. Square Quarto. Signed by the author after his preface. 303pp. bound in dark green cloth lettered in a light blue, spine lettering light blue. A lovely copy, fine in fine pictorial dust jacket. This is an authorative study of Frank Lloyd Wright's drawings from the archives at Taliesin West.
Mexico: El Autor, 1945. First Edition. 59p. Very scarce with original glassine and the large folding map of Merida in pristine condition. One of the few items issued by Cervantes in paper and seldom in fine condition.
New York, (1997): Abbeville Press. First American Edition. Cloth Hard Cover. Near Fine/Fine. Proust, Alain, Photographer. 285p. index. Profusely illustrated (many in color) This lavishly illustrated book presents twenty-three of South Africa's greatest houses from the elegantly simple to the most opulent. Whether it is an 18th Century Dutch farm house, a Regency villa or the Victorian mansions of the wealthy sugar barons or ranlords, this work presents items seldom seen and here presented for the first time.Bound in blue cloth, spine lettering silver. Minor bump to one corner otherwise near fine in fine pictorial dust jacket.
