Interior Design from Rare Illustrated Books

Washington DC: Olney's Wallcoverings, 1950. Retro wallpaper sample book designed to attract attention from the commercial client, filled with highly engaging, decorative hand-screened prints suited to shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and other popular establishments. Pattern books for the interior design of commercial spaces offer a great depth of cultural history and are rare on the market. … Read more about this item

London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1884. First Edition. First English book on Oriental rugs. Octavo, 11 lithographic plates including frontispiece, one in colour, folding map, four pages of publishers' advertisements; bound in olive green cloth, gilt-decorated pictorial boards with black lettering, an excellent copy of the first edition.

Oxford, 1853. The second volume of a series begun by renowned antiquary Hudson Turner. Author, John Henry Parker, also edited 'The Glossary of Architecture'. Covers medieval towns, colleges, and everything from gate houses to chambers. "The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge have very few buildings so early as the fourteenth century; but the treasury of… Read more about this item

Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A.: The De Vilbiss Company, 1928. A stylish catalog of art deco perfume bottles in gift boxes so compelling as to put most twentieth century modernist architecture to shame: "excellent value, as your price list will corfirm". Quarto, bound in gilt-embossed decorated wrappers with yapp edges, 20 pp, 304 mm x 230 mm, colour illustrations, edgewear to… Read more about this item

Birmingham, 1900. First Edition. An interesting catalogue of art nouveau metalwork. R. Normansell, manufacturer of all kinds of hearth suites, ash pans, fire brasses, trunks, melting and cooks' ladels, specialty antique pierced curbs and fenders. Oblong octavo, bound in original paper wrappers, 16 pages, some marking to covers, clear and bright internally, a very good copy.

London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1878. Pattern book for interior designers: arresting album of plates depicting floral designs drawn from many sources, showcasing traditional patterns inspired by various sources such as medieval tapestry and Islamic mosque tiles alongside novel creations of the later nineteenth century. Frederick Hulme (1841-1909) was an artist and graphic designer who studied under Christopher… Read more about this item

Paris: G. Claesen, 1860. Covering the periods of Louis XVI, Louis XV, Louis XIV, Louis XIII, Renaissance, Neo-Grec, and Moderne, here we find patterns and colour schemes for the painting of modern apartments in the mid-19th century. Ornate and decorative painted ceiling designs for living rooms, dining rooms, studies, vestibules, paintwork for paneling, corner pieces, examples of… Read more about this item

Nottingham: Courtaulds Ltd, 1925. First Edition. Enchanting catalogue of 1920's women's fashion and textiles for home furnishings and interiors. "Beautiful frocks, like pictures, need an appropriate frame to set off their loveliness, and Courtaulds, whose marvellous development of Artificial Silk has resulted in the existence of the beautiful materials I hve endeavoured to describe to you in this… Read more about this item

Stuttgart, Germany: Julius Hoffmann, 1923. First Edition. Exciting collection of architectural paintings, photographs, and decorative sketches in watercolour picturing modern interiors in Berlin, Nuremburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, London, Munich, Karlsruhe, Thun-Berne, Mayence, Bremen, Essen (Ruhr) and Darmstadt. Quarto, spine darkened, front board sunned, two-page introduction some foxing, mild edge toning to pages, previous owner's inscription, clean title page, all plates… Read more about this item

Paris: Charles Moreau, 1920. A series of illustrations of provincial interiors. Folio, loose plates in the original portfolio.

Budapest: PICTURA, 1930. First Edition. Hand-printed pattern book published by Pictura, Sebestyén László's award-winning Hungarian design studio in Budapest. Oblong quarto, 30 leaves, staple-bound paper wrappers decorated with 10 embossed golden medals, a very good copy.

Sydney, 1915. [Scarce study of the waratah in decorative arts. This beautiful work contains illustrated examples of the use of the waratah in many fields of the applied arts, such as architecture (brackets, capitals, columns, ceilings, etc.), bookbinding, ceramics, electric fittings, glassware, ironwork, lace, wallpaper, dado, frieze, windows and woodcarving. Covers the history of the use of the waratah… Read more about this item

5, Avenue de la République, Paris: Camis, 1896. First Edition. Rare Parisian heating catalogue, displaying many designs in the shape of lighthouses. Includes late nineteenth century French and American stoves. Oblong quarto bound in illustrated paper wrappers, 235 mm x 320 mm, 20 pages, a near fine copy.

England: Pearson-Page Company, 1929. A meticulously illustrated catalogue of electrical fittings divided into three parts. Section "A": electroliers, ceiling fixtures, wall brackets, and sconces; Section "B": lanterns and brackets; and Section "C": table lamps, floor lamps, candelabra, bridge lamps and shades. Quarto, bound in embossed decorated wrappers, 51 pages, two inch tear at top of spine, a very good… Read more about this item

Paris: Les Publications de France, 1953. Stylish vintage photography book depicting many grand French estates. A magnificent choice for any desert island reading list. Quarto, with photographic illustrations in colour & black & white; bound in decorated cloth boards, 250 pages, a very good copy.

Greenwich (Conn.): Literary Collector Press, 1905. The standard work on papiers peints, illustrated with real examples from the grand old homes and estates of New England. The value of this book lies in the images of rare papers photographed in private homes, providing a record of some designs now impossibly rare: a superlative resource for the study of eighteenth… Read more about this item