The Decoration of Houses.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901. Early Edition. Hardcover. Small quarto, pp. 204, indexed, illustrated with b/w photographs. Ex-library markings, several loose pages, some light watermarks. A previous owner signed the title page in ink in 1902. Good, ex-library, rebound in blue library buckram, and in a custom archival case. Item #12041
In 1897, Wharton was a 30-something Manhattan society matron with a keen interest in architecture and interior design, not yet the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist she would become. Codman was a blue-blooded architect, with whom Wharton and her husband were remodeling a summer place in Newport, Rhode Island. Poor taste and vulgarity of all kinds reigned there, thanks to newly moneyed clans anxious to put their money to conspicuous use. Wharton and Codman decided to write a book about how to build and decorate houses with nobility, grace, and timelessness. Sound advice has timeless value, and the book's suggestions and observations remain insightful and inspiring. From the Old House Journal reference library.
Price: $125.00