Architectural Rarities from Charles Wood Bookseller

Charles Wood Bookseller is offering a catalogue of Architectural Rarities, Catalogue 191. Wood personally must be one of the longest serving booksellers around, having started the business in 1967. Architecture is one of his specialties. These books range from very old to downright antiquarian. Most are in English but there is a healthy group in French and a few other languages. Many definitely fit the category of uncommon to rare. Along with the architectural books, there is an addendum of four others. Here are a few selections from this catalogue of architecture.

We start with one of the most important American architectural books. It was the first. The title is The Country Builder's Assistant, by Asher Benjamin. This is a 1798 second edition, following the rare first by a year. It adds seven plates to the first edition. This was the first original American architectural book. Up to this time, the only architectural books published in America were compilations or reprints of British sources. This one was both written and published in America. As such, it was very important, perhaps the most used and influential American architectural book up to the time of the Civil War. It continued to run through many editions in the years ahead. Item 5. Priced at $6,500.

This is a group of 22 mounted photographs of commercial buildings in the U.S, circa 1880s. They are part of Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series. Levy was a French photographer who came to America. Evidently, it was not sufficient by itself to make a living as Wood informs us he was also a bookseller, editor and manufacturer. The mounting stock says “Albert Levy, 4 Bond Street, New York.” However, that is all they say. Neither the buildings or locations are named. Fortunately, a former owner did a lot of research and identified all but two. They were identified by appearance, signs and advertisements in the photos, and through the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago which has many Levy photographs. Among them are the Guernsey Building, Exchange Place, and 755 Broadway in New York, the Kenmore Building and the Office of the Albany Evening Journal in Albany, R. H. White & Co. and the Bedford Building in Boston, The Girard Building and Insurance Co. of North America in Philadelphia, and 9 South Howard St. in Baltimore. One with a sign for Armour Canning Co. might be from Chicago. Item 41. $6,000.

Here is another look at America from some Frenchmen. Rather than looking at commercial buildings these were more ominous structures – American prisons. This was a report back to the French Minister of State about the prison system, by Frederick Demetz and Guillaume-Abel Blouet. It was a follow-up to the earlier and better known French book on American Prisons by Beaumont and de Toqueville, the latter in turn better known for his description of American democracy. The title is Rapports a M. Le Compte de Montalivet, pair de France, Ministre Secretaire d'Etat au Department de l'Interieur, sur les Penitenciers des Etats-Unis (Reports to Mr. Le Comte de Montalivet, peer of France, Minister Secretary of State at the Department of the Interior, on the Penitentiaries of the United States), published in 1837. Demetz provided data on the prisons while Blouet was an architect who provided illustrations of the prisons. Fifteen North American prisons are described, some from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and several from New York, including the well-known Sing Sing, Auburn, and the then existing version of The Tombs. Item 21. $3,000.

This is a book about what Wood describes as “one of the iconic buildings of the 19^th century.” Certainly, it was a favorite of the British. The book is The Crystal Palace: Its Architectural History and Constructive Marvels, by Peter Berlyn and Charles Howler. It was published in 1851, which was the year of the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. There were almost 14,000 exhibits from 26 countries. Over 6 million visitors attended. The Crystal Palace was its most significant feature of all. It was made from steel and glass, hence its name. The structure was enormous, measuring 1,848 feet long by 408 feet wide. This book has been described as “much the best of the contemporary publications on the Crystal Palace's architecture.” It includes 16 full-page plates. The book also contains descriptions of competitive bids to construct the hall, including illustrations of two of those designs. The Crystal Palace was so beloved by Londoners that when the fair was over, it was disassembled, moved, and reassembled in a new location. It survived there until 1936 when it was destroyed by fire. You may wonder how a glass and steel building gets burned down. The floors were wooden. Item 6. $3,000.

Le Corbusier was likely the most notable French architect of the 20^th century. His designs ran from houses to almost total rebuilding of the center of some large cities. Some of these were truly massive projects, such as with Paris, but they never came to be. They were a bit grandiose. He was an urban planner on these as much as an architect. Nevertheless, he was enormously influential, being considered a leader in modern architecture. Along with that, he was also a painter, spending a few years doing nothing else. That takes us to this unusual product of interior design. Corbusier could be an interior designer too. It is his catalogue of Salubra, clavier des couleurs (Salubra, color keyboard). Salubra was a Swiss wallpaper manufacturer for whom Le Corbusier designed wallpaper. This paper could be used on walls or on a ceiling with white paint on the walls. Don't expect to see great artwork or designs on the wallpaper. They were solid colors. They came in many colors letting the customer choose their favorite one or ones in “accord with his inner feelings.” Le Corbusier thought of his solid-color wallpaper as oil paint in rolls. He considered them to be machine-prepared painting, more convenient and consistent than actual paint. Item 39. $6,000.

Charles Wood Bookseller may be reached at charles@cbwoodbooks.com or telephone 617-868-1711.