ITALIAN VILLAS AND THEIR GARDENS
Wharton, Edith.
New York: The Century Co., 1904. First edition. First printing, American issue; Garrison's Binding A. 4to, 250pp; + endmatter (List of Books Mentioned; Architects and Landscape-Gardeners Mentioned; and, Index); decorated trade binding designed by Decorative Designers: at the front cover, gold-stamped lion and shield design above a pale blue-stamped picture of a garden, gold-stamped pedestal design, with shield and scroll at bottom, and surrounding seven lines stamped in dark grayish-green. Top edge gilded. Contemporary ink inscription (Christmas, 1904) to upper margin of front pastedown; small owner's library ticket front pastedown. Touch of fraying to tips; spine a trifle dimmed; shallow bump to top edge of rear cover; two shallow pin scratches to front cover. A firm, fresh copy. Near fine. Illustrated by Maxfield Parrish with 15 color and 11 black and white plates. Also illustrated with photographs and additional drawings by E. Denison, Malcolm Fraser and C.A. Vanderhoof. The design at the front cover is inspired by Maxfield Parrish's illustration of the "Villa Pia: In the Gardens of the Vatican". A lush, handsome production that reflects the golden age of American publishing. Each detail of the book has been carefully designed: a large, elegant typeface; generous margins; illustration captions, running heads and page numbers printed in a delicate shade of umber. As a trade publication ITALIAN VILLAS AND THEIR GARDENS would be hard to surpass. Mrs. Wharton's text is equal to its beautiful setting. She prepared herself to write the book by first reading relevant texts in French, German and Italian, studying old plans and examining prints and drawings from Peter Paul Rubens' depictions of Genoese villas to Gianfresco Costa's etchings of villas [Dwight, EDITH WHARTON An Extraordinary Life]. She and Teddy traveled to Italy and visited some 70 villas and her account still is invaluable as a guide for the traveler as well as the gardener. For Mrs. Wharton a successful garden possessed "garden-magic", an ineffable quality that suggested 'it was born, not built'. In conveying such garden-magic, Mrs. Wharton created her own. Garrison A10.I.a. Dwight, EDITH WHARTON An Extraordinary Life, pp. 102-111. (Item ID: 14722)
$2,500.00
