europe

This second volume of a German publication of aircraft cigarette cards album has most of the aircraft cards in place, as well as a detachable paper airplane model ready for assembly. Published in 1932, it covers a range of international aircraft then in service. 

Zélie Isabelle Colville (1864-1930) was an aristocratic, class-conscious, sheltered woman of her time and place. Accompanied by her husband Major-General Henry E. Colville, she circumnavigated Africa. The trip was marked by hardship, sickness, even danger, but as her husband wrote, “If she is as good at writing as she is at roughing it, we have a treat before us.” Indeed! She describes Africans and Europeans—their clothing and manner, with a close eye for the personal detail and a tolerant sense of humor.

Doors convey a lot about a building, according to architect Thomas Leverton Donaldson (British, 1795-1885). Whether it is the majesty and importance of public buildings or the beauty and convenience of a private dwelling, doors showcase the strength or weakness of any façade. Donaldson uses this book to survey doorways of a range of structures, including temples, pantheons, and houses. As a pioneer of architectural education, Donaldson was a founding member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The Cooper Hewitt Library has a large collection of books on interior design of many countries, eras, and styles. This book discusses the important and influential Art Deco period. It features furnishings, including wallpaper samples, for many different living and working spaces. Extremely bold colors and styles demonstrate great imagination in promoting modern design. August Trueb, German architect and graphic designer, was active in Stuttgart in the 1920s and 1930s.  He was first trained as an architect but later turned to interior decoration, then advertising art.

Verney Lovett Cameron (1844-1894), author of this book, was the first European to cross Equatorial Africa, coast to coast and mostly on foot.  His original mission was to search for the missing explorer David Livingstone, but soon after leaving Zanzibar (an island off Africa’s east coast) early in 1873, he learned that the great man had died.

Ronald Cohen, architect and artist, was born in South Africa and later moved to London where he succeeded as an interior designer. On holidays, he traveled and painted widely in Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, always drawn to different varieties of architecture.  “But then I discovered Cape Town,” he wrote, “and there I found absolutely everything to delight my senses—the wonderful clarity of the light, the expansive golden beaches, the granite rocks and the sparkling sea . . .

Heavily illustrated with black and white photographs, this book—translates to Modern Cottages and Country-Houses in Holland—documents the 20th century Dutch trend in new housing, villa architecture. After the 19th century migration to the cities for industrial jobs, the 20th century saw a reverse movement of people out of the cities and back to the countryside in Holland. The introduction (written in Dutch, French, German, and English) explains the need for small, efficient, and simple suburban and rural housing.

Carpets and Fabrics is a portfolio volume about the famous series of textile design pattern books published in 1929 by Charles Moreau in Paris. Textile artist Sonia Delaunay edited this collection of textiles, created by her contemporary Art Deco and modernist designers. Like her own work, the designs incorporate geometric shapes and abstract patterns for rugs and fabrics, the idea of modernism being that the overall design of interiors and fashion be a coordinated look.

Steaming across the oceans in high style came into fashion in the early 20th century. Glamorous ocean liner travel was as much a part of the experience as the traveler's destination until air travel dominated transportation. Ocean liners grew increasingly larger, faster, and more luxurious, and are one of the ultimate symbols of the Jazz Age and Art Deco periods. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library has many trade catalogs, pattern books, sheet music covers, and other materials documenting these time periods.

Published in 1758, this rare work consists of numerous tables providing pricing and manufacturing techniques on a wide range of goods. In the first part, there is extensive information on the production of plate glass and mirrors, including instructions on grinding and polishing glass, re-purposing mirrors, convex and concave mirrors, colored glass, and other similar pursuits. Following these instructions are tables of prices and various measurements. The second part contains explanations of measurement calculations on a variety of goods and hardware.

This is a rare 1935 portfolio of Art Deco style pochoir printed full-color plates of designs for modern interiors. Among the designers whose work is represented in this portfolio are Francis Jourdain, Pierre Chareau, Georges Djo-Bourgeois, and the author, Henry Delacroix himself. Living rooms, children’s rooms, bedrooms, offices, dining rooms, and libraries are included, along with the room’s furnishings, such as furniture, lighting, and decorative accessories.

Wendingen (Dutch:Inversions / Upheaval) was an art magazine published from 1918 to 1932. It was a monthly publication aimed at architects and interior designers, and included discussions on graphics, sculpture, ceramics, glass, and theatrical design. The magazine gained recognition not only through its content but also by its remarkable square format, striking typography, and beautiful covers. In 1924, vol.

This extremely rare 1940 trade catalog represents the output of 10 state owned ceramics factories in small towns and villages all over the Ukraine after industry was nationalized in 1918. Today, we are more familiar with the graphic arts of Communist Russia as vehicles for propaganda, such as posters. The decorative arts of utilitarian objects, like the tableware featured in this catalog, were also important vehicles for disseminating political concepts of the new social order and Soviet nationalism to the masses in everyday life.

Emperor Kangxi and King Louis XIV of France, also known as Louis the Great, were both considered among the greatest rulers of their respective countries. They have been compared politically and militarily, but few comparisons in artistic achievements have been done. Both rulers came to the throne during childhood. They had excellent skills in riding and archery and both were fluent in a number of languages. As a Manchu emperor, Kangxi had a solid command of Mandarin Chinese and Mongolian whereas Louis XIV was versed in French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin.

This volume of the “Fauna of the Romanian People's Republic” is part of a larger set which covers the fauna of Romania. This volume covers the arachnids of Romania, which includes spiders, scorpions, opils, and ticks. Complete with detailed illustrations, this book serves as a helpful research resource and as a way to startle your friends who suffer from arachnophobia.

The Book of the Art of Cennino Cennini is an English translated book from Italian, first published in 1859. The artist, Cennino Cennini, was an Italian painter born around 1360 and died before 1427. He trained under Agnolo Gaddi, and worked in Padua, at the court of Francesco Novello da Carrara. This book is an English translation of Cennino Cennini’s most notable publication, Il Libro Dell'Arte, with an introduction and commentary by celebrated British artist (and art patron), Christiana J. Herringham.

Italian polymath Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) has been called the father of natural history by such giants in the field as Carl Linnaeus and the Comte de Buffon. A true Renaissance man, he studied law, philosophy, and medicine before being named the University of Bologna’s first Chair of Natural Science in 1561. He founded the University’s botanical garden— one of the first of its kind in Europe— several years later, and included space for his natural history collection, which included animal specimens, minerals, plants, and man-made artifacts.

In 1913 Martha Ornstein, a Barnard College and Columbia University graduate, published her pioneering doctoral thesis on the intersection of scientific advancement and the rise of scientific societies. Her work helped form what would become the "New History" movement of the 20^th century, which helped broaden the study of history and allowed for more diverse and inclusive interpretations of it. This volume is a third edition of her thesis, published in 1938 and acquired by the Smithsonian in 1944. It offers a concise history of the rise and role of certain scientists, societies, j

Leslie's Weekly was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1852 and published until 1922. This special publication includes many photographs, illustrations, and stories culled from its coverage of World War I. It features a section written by General John J. Pershing about his own experiences during the War, and a reprinting of “Why America Entered the War,” an address delivered on April 2, 1917 by President Woodrow Wilson. With 2017 marking the 100th anniversary of U.S.