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First edition. 12mo, 149pp; narrow ribbed light green cloth with decorative design stamped in gilt, red and white at the front panel of a small French village with a castle rising above it in the background; lettered in gilt at the spine. Offsetting to front free endpaper and to rear free endpaper; text block shows light age-toning to pages. Gilt at spine dimmed; foretips a trifle pidgeon-toed; spine end and tips slightly worn; mild surface wear. About very good. Mrs. Wharton on her adopted country. In seven chapters she discusses "First Impressions", "Taste", "Intellectual Honesty" and "The New Frenchwoman" with succinct observations such as "The French are persuaded that the enjoyment of beauty and the exercise of the critical intelligence are two of the things best worth living for; and the notion that art and knowledge could ever, in a civilised state, be regarded as negligible, or subordinated to merely material interests, would never occur to them". Like Peter Mayle's IN PROVENCE and Tim Parks' ITALIAN NEIGHBORS, this book is less travel literature than a deep appreciation for the qualities of another country acquired through years of residence. Garrison A28.I.a.
FRENCH WAYS AND THEIR MEANING
Wharton, Edith.
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1919.
Price: $125.00
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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.
ITALIAN VILLAS AND THEIR GARDENS
Wharton, Edith.
New York: The Century Co., 1904.
Price: $2,500.00
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First edition. 8vo, 368pp; green cloth stamped in silver; top edge stained pale yellow; pictorial dust jacket with illustration by Edward Shenton. Pictorial endpapers and text decorations by Edward Shenton. Dustiness along top edge. Mild overall use to jacket with some creasing. Generally bright and attractive. Very good.
CROSS CREEK
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1942.
Price: $150.00
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