Pittsburgh, PA: Houston Brothers Company, 1905. Original edition. Original Wraps. Small quarto, pp 176, indexed, illustrated with b/w drawings and photographs. Houston Brothers offered wholesale builders' supplies, and also manufactured fine ground lime, sewer pipes, and cement. They are still operating as Houston-Starr today, making this company Pittsburgh's oldest building... More
Chicago, IL: Sears, Roebuck & Co., 1922. Original edition. Color Pictorial Staplebound Wraps. Quarto, pp. 56. Richly illustrated with color cover and interior b/w drawings. A brightly colored, beautifully illustrated catalog of Sears plumbing fixtures, furnaces, boilers, and more. Chock full of vivid period illustrations, a real gem! More
Portugal: Baltazar Caeiro, 1999. First printing. Cloth over Boards. Quarto, pp. 143, bibliography, illustrated with color photographs. Bilingual text in Portuguese and English. Front endpaper embossed by former owner. A thorough census of ironwork across the city of Lisbon, Portugal, accompanied by color photographs of the ironwork. A pleasure to... More
Clinton, IA: Curtis Companies, Inc., 1920. First printing. Cloth over Boards. Quarto, pp. 238, richly illustrated in b/w and color. A nice early 20th century trade catalogue w/ an abundance of product drawings, including doors, windows, furniture, moldings, mantels, and more. The products are illustrated in the context of the... More
Chicago: Decorators Supply, n.d. (1920s). First printing. original dark green illustrated embossed cover. Folio (9.5 x 13). pp 396, indexed, with thousands of ornamental samples depicted. Very good overview of a major manufacturer's offerings of ornamental plaster features, plus ceilings, grilles,friezes, cornices, panels, columns, etc. Profusely illustrated with b/w photographs. More
Oshkosh, WI: Morgan Woodwork Organization, 1923. Second edition, numbered and limited. Full Leatherette with Pictorial Design. Quarto, pp. 439. Indexed, color and b/w illustrations. A beautiful piece, part pattern book and part trade catalog, with 24 home designs in color, suggestions for house features and decorating ideas, and hundreds of... More
San Francisco: Pabco Products, Inc., 1951. First edition. Cloth over Boards. Quarto, pp 120. Color illustrations on each page. Top right corner of each page ripped off from pp. 99-120; does not affect the color illustrations. Some pencil inscriptions in the text. An absolutely gorgeously rendered book of linoleum and... More
Pittsburgh, PA: Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co., 1915. First edition. Green cloth over boards, white lettering. Quarto, pp. 329. Indexed, b/w illustrations. Scarce early 20th century plumbing trade catalog, featuring a 3-page section of bathroom designs. Bathtubs, sinks, bathroom accessories, toilets, drinking fountains, showers, urinals, wash sinks, and all the hardware... More
St. Louis, MO: N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Company, 1909. First printing. Cloth over Boards, blue with gilt lettering. Small quarto, pp xx, 689. Illustrated with b/w drawings, including 12 model bathrooms. A comprehensive plumbing products trade catalog, including everything from hardware to fixtures. Many specialty items, like barber's sinks, hospital... More
Trenton, NJ: Estate of Archibald M. Maddock II, 1962. First printing. Cloth over Boards, gilt lettering. Small quarto, pp. xi, 382, indexed. Illustrated with b/w drawings and photographs. This book is divided into three sections. The first discusses the history of the pottery industry and the transitions that led up... More
Salem, OH: National Sanitary Manufacturing Company, 1910. First printing. Cloth over Boards, gilt lettering. 12 mo.(4 1/4" X 7 1/4"), pp 66. Illustrated with b/w drawings, including three model bathrooms. Some penciled prices written in the text. A little gem of a plumbing products trade catalog, giving a snapshot of... More
Boston, MA: Station WNAC Home Builder's Department, 1927. First edition. Staplebound Wraps. Quarto, pp. 32, illustrated with b/w drawings and photographs. Stamped on the cover by the architect of the Home Harmonious project. The "Home Harmonious" was a joint project between Massachusetts radio station WNAC and contractors, developers, and building... More
Detroit, MI: Home Planners Inc., 1966. First edition. Cardboard box; cardboard portfolios; staplebound wraps. Cardboard box, 8.5" x 12.5" x 2", containing 5 numbered and titled portfolios, each containing four or more pattern books of designs by Richard Pollman for Home Planners. Portfolio 1 is labelled "Two and 1 1/2... More
Wicklow, Ireland: Wordwell, 1999. First edition. Cloth over Boards. Quarto, pp. vii, 104, glossary, bibliography, illustrated with b/w and color drawings and photographs. Written in an accessible and popular style, this book is for the general reader interested in lifestyle, house design, heritage and the environment. The book includes sections... More
Wrightsville, PA: Wrightsville Hardware Company, nd c. 1915. First printing. Spiralbound wraps. Quarto, pp 83, indexed, illustrated with b/w engravings. Wrightsville Hardware manufactured hardware, household and mechanics' tools, housefurnishings, and grey iron castings. John Wright still operates today as a cast iron manufacturer. An attractive catalog from this successful and... More
Youngstown, OH: Truscon Steel Co., January, 1937. First edition. Color Pictorial Wraps, blue/yellow stock. 8 1/2" x 11" pp 24. b/w photographs on each page. b/w illustrations. An extremely attractive trade piece highlighting modern window design in concrete homes, traditional houses, stone bungalows, and "skyscrapers." Also includes garage doors and... More
New Haven, CT: Sargent & Co., 1906. First printing. Original Wraps. Quarto, pp 283, indexed, illustrated with b/w drawings. Meant to be a supplement to the 1901 catalog with updated prices. Not as heavily illustrated as the original catalog, but a good reference for prices and hardware available at the... More
