A Work in Progress

Newest Acquisitions of an Artistic Slant

This is what I bought over my Christmas break!  Sorry, this is not a very good picture as you can't quite see the breadth of my stack and trust me, they are heavy, too!  There was a time when I actively bought art and photography books--lovely, lavish, coffee table glossies.  Maybe it was lack of shelf space or cost or I was just too wrapped up in novels and nonfiction but I stopped buying books like this ages ago. 

Since I went here and here and looked online here when I was on vacation, I was tempted to take advantage of holiday sales and add a few new art books to my piles.  And one lone nonfiction, too.  From top to bottom:

Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing tthe Wild West--One Meal at a Time by Stephen Fried -- I think I mentioned I am hoping to read more 'Western' Literature and History this year (Plains Fiction especially) and this looked like it would be an interesting place to start.  I love social history and as this covers roughly the first half of the Twentieth Century it is about a favorite period that I like to read about, too.

Hebrides by Peter May -- I think I mentioned, too, that I had ordered a book of photographs of the Hebrides that is a companion book to Peter May's books.  I have yet to get The Chessmen in the mail, but now I will  have visuals to go along with the story.

The Pictures of a Generation 1974-1984 by Douglas Ekland -- I ordered this sight unseed but it was so cheap it was practically a steal.  I love Cindy Sherman (as odd and unsettling as her photographs may be) and her art features highly in the book.  I have yet to really look through it, but I think it will be a good addition to my collection of photography books.  Someday I am going to make a reading project related to photography.  Someday!

Prendergast in Italy by Nancy Mowell Mathews -- I had been leafing through this on the sale table at the Joslyn and thought how much I would like to take it home with me.  While it was on sale it was still not quite within my budget, but when the clerk told me all the items on the table were 40% off the marked sale prices I decided it was a sign.  I'm not really familiar with Maurice Prendergast, an American Post-Impressionist, but I like the paintings in the book.  Now I will get to learn about him, and painting of Italy, well, how can you lose?

Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West by Eva Respini came from that same sale table.  And it's another that will work into my Western Lit plans--in this case it might help knock down some of those 'myths of the west' that have been constructed over time.

Poiret by Harold Koda -- This is an absolutely gorgeous catalogue of Poiret's fashion designs.  If you like fashion and textiles from the 1920s this is quite a nice find.  It is massive and beautifully designed.

I haven't a clue where I am going to keep these books--they are best displayed on a nice table somewhere.  Definite splurges these were, but once in a while it's nice indulging in books that are so pretty and inspiring--inspiring visually that is!  By the way, I received several book gift cards for the holidays and am already contemplating how to use them, though I like to take my time and ration them over the coming months.  You might, therefore, see a little influx of new books (not that that would be anything new of course . . . ).

Books Make Great Presents

Shh.  Don't tell, but I bought this lovely book for my mom for Christmas.  No worries, she doesn't read my blog, so it will still be a surprise.  I like it so much I wish it was for me.  Don't they say that the best presents are the ones you'd buy for yourself.  Or is that just wishful thinking?  I love Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington, which we've visited a number of times.  When I saw Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon, edited by Stephen A. McLeod, it seemed like the perfect gift.  I was afraid it would be more a cookbook than anything else, but it is a lovely coffee table book with loads of photos and a nice sampling of recipes from the period or modern variations thereof. 

I've not had much of a chance to really look the book over, but it's one that is nice to dip into, flip through to just look at the photos and reads bits of, or even try some of the recipes.  It looks like there is a bit of history about the Washingtons and their home, what Mount Vernon was like in the 1700s and how it was run--all aspects of life there.  There are lots of colorful illustrations--both photographs of the interior of the house and other buildings and ephemera from the period.  Would you like a little peek inside?

There are approximately 1000 books in George Washington's personal library and seven deal with gardening.  I'm surprised there aren't more since Mount Vernon was a working plantation.  He may have been President but he was also a farmer. 

The recipes look surprisingly good.  This is Yorkshire Christmas Pie, an English traditional Christmas food.  It was also prepared for the Washingtons.

"Eighteenth-century Virginians delighted in sweets of all kinds, pies being among their favorites."  Cherry pie is my favorite, too.  The recipes in the book even include instructions from cookbooks of the period as well as notes from the Washington's cooks.  

If you're interested in Colonial America this looks like a book to spend a little time perusing.  I'm sure I'll be doing so before it needs to be wrapped and set beneath the Christmas tree.

Agatha Christie at Home

A really lovely book crossed my desk at work recently.  The nice thing about working in the acquisitions department of a library is being able to see nearly all the new materials that are going to be added to the collection and actually having a hand in searching for them and making sure they are ordered and paid for in a timely manner.  And then getting to check them out as long as no one else has already requested them.  My latest find is not a brand new book, though it is new to me, Agatha Christie at Home, which is edited by Hilary Macaskill and published by Frances Lincoln Publishers.  I believe it was released at about the same time Agatha Christie's residence in Devon, Greenaway, was renovated and opened to the public as part of the National Trust.  Christie and her second husband bought the 15th century estate in 1938 and it served as a summer home for the couple.

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay, and had connections with Devonshire her entire life.  Apparently Devon was often a setting in her mystery novels.  Later in life Greenaway was where she would retire after a book was written.  It was her reward where she could relax according to her grandson, Mathew Prichard.  In his foreword to the book he writes:

"Now that the book was finished, she could sit in her boathouse with her grandson and watch the tourist boats go by; she could enjoy picnics on Dartmoor; she could swim in the sea or even occasionally in the river Dart; she could eat lashings of Devonshire cream!"

This is a lavishly illustrated book with lots of text.  It not only shows Greenaway but the surrounding countryside and towns that would have been familiar to Christie.  There are also a smattering of photos of Christie throughout her life.  Hopefully I won't be stepping on any toes, but I thought I'd give a little peek inside the pages of this book.

This is Greenaway overlooking the village of Torbay.  Quite nicely situated, don't you think?

Apparently Agatha Christie trained as a concert pianist, though she never publicly performed. You can see her Steinway in the Drawing Room at Greenaway.  And below is Agatha learning to dance.  She is in the middle.

Doesn't that look like a nice, cushy sofa that you could happily sink into to read a book?  This is the library at Greenaway.  I'd love to read the titles on the spines of the books.  I imagine all of Agatha's books are there.

I love this photo.  The caption reads "Agatha at Winterbrook.  Though she usually employed a cook, she closely supervised menus and, at Greenaway, would insist on making the mayonnaise herself."

Okay, so Greenaway is a really gorgeous estate, but I think almost like this little boathouse even more.  It has a balcony and arched windows that overlook the river Dart.  It looks like a perfect little hideaway.

Now that I've browsed all the photos I'm off to start reading the text.  I wouldn't mind owning this one, so it might just end up in one of my future book orders.  And it reminds me I really need to get back to Tommy and Tuppence.

Library Loot, part 2: I want this book!

I found the coolest book in my library before Christmas, The English Country House: From the Archives of Country Life edited by Mary Miers.  When I realized we had just gotten it in, I went in search of it only to find it in the hands of a patron (he had just pulled it off the display rack).  For a split second I contemplated asking if I could have it when he finished, but figured instead I would just check back in a few minutes.  When I did, he was gone and so was the book!  So I had to wait until it was returned after the holidays. Then I had to wait further until the weather was nice enough that I could lug it home on the bus!  It's quite a hefty book, and really well worth the $85.00 sales tag.  I want it, but I can't really afford to pay so much (even with Amazon's discount) so I am hoping the price falls a bit more.  It's a gorgeous book if you're into architecture, particularly English country houses.  Shall I give you a peek?  Of course, come with me.

By the way, this is Daneway in Gloucestershire.  Isn't it a pretty little "manor" (as described in the photo caption). 

 

How about a look inside?  Any room with stacks of books is a happy space in my opinion.  Lots of history books from what I can tell.  And those shelves with books laying across the tops of other books is awfully familiar.

 

I was really hoping that one of the houses might have been the locale for a costume drama.  Maybe the Darcy home in Pride and Prejudice, but on a quick glimpse I don't recognize any (must read the fine print still, though). This is Nether Lypiatt again in Gloucestershire (the "ideal miniature Queen Anne house").  Miniature, indeed.

 

This is a pretty spiffy drawing room, don't you think?  It's a little too elegant for me, I would be afraid of tracking dirt in or something.  The house is Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire (not far from London).  It was used for the filming of Gosford Park (I think I may have to watch it again this weekend and compare photos!).  See what you can learn by reading the fine print? 

 

More photos of the interior of Wrotham Park.  I had to laugh--you see that dog laying there in that beautiful room?  All I can think is his digs are much nicer than mine!

What do you think of this one?  It's Newby Hall in Yorkshire.  I could see myself taking a daily walk out in the garden, nipping down to the River Ure for a little peace and quiet.  Quite nice, indeed!

 

After my exertions I would dash up to my bedroom for a quick lie down to refresh myself.

 

Now this one is very nice.  The house is The Chantry in Somerset.  Doesn't this look like a cozy room?  I could happily stretch out on the sofa with my feet towards the fire and a book in hand.  By the way, this was the home of author Anthony Powell from 1952 until he died in 2000.  I wonder if those are his books?

 

One more.  I couldn't pass up this library.  It's in The Chanter's House in Devon. I think I might just fit all  my books in a space like this.  If I ever build on to my own house...No wait, this room is probably already bigger than my house.  Well,  one can dream.

All joking aside, this is a truly elegant coffee table book.  I've just shared a very small smattering of what's inside the covers.  Many of the "country houses" are really castles.  I'm not sure I could imagine living in anything so beautiful, but it's nice to have an image in mind as I'm reading.  Maybe a little cozy mystery set in a country house?  I wonder if this is what someone like Ngaio Marsh or Dorothy Sayers had in mind? 

This is a Rizzoli book by the way--they have some of the most beautiful art books, truly dazzling.  And this one is filled with eye candy, so to speak.  I'll be drooling over perusing it more this weekend.

Early Christmas Surprises

 

Last night I saw a friend who lives out of town that I have not seen in ages.  Every year we have a little gift exchange, though this year she really outdid herself.  I love art books, but I rarely buy them for myself, so it was a lovely surprise to get not one but two from her.  Both are books that have been on my Amazon wishlist for a while.  My wishlist is less an actual wishlist as a list of books I want to remember and possibly buy someday, so she really floored me when she handed me two large and very heavy packages to open.  I'm sure I'll be spending more than a few hours pouring over Art: The Definitive Visual Guide with a forword by Ross King and Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century from  the Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute.  I especially love the two volume set (which is also slipcased) on fashion.  It is a gorgeous set of books and the clothes are really fascinating to look at.  Both books are lavishly illustrated and I am feeling especially spoiled at the moment!