A LANDMARK IN THE AESTHETIC MOVEMENT: FIRST EDITION OF THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL, WITH FINE COLOR FRONTISPIECE BY WALTER CRANE AND 110 ILLUSTRATIONS

COOK, Clarence Chatham. The House Beautiful: Essays on Beds and Tables, Stools and Candlesticks. New York: Scribner, Armstrong, 1878 [i.e. 1877]. Quarto, original embossed black- and gilt-stamped green cloth, top edge gilt.

First edition of this book that laid out the tenets of the Aesthetic Movement as applied to interior decorating, with an exquisite color frontispiece by Walter Crane and 110 in-text engravings, in beautiful elaborately gilt-decorated publisher’s cloth.

Driven by the notion of “art for art’s sake,” the Aesthetic Movement was a rebellion against the Victorian era’s insistence that art was required to have a moral purpose. Furniture-makers soon began stripping away elaborate Victorian ornamentation and shifted to a simpler yet far more eclectic style, embellishing understated pieces with naturalistic, oriental, and even historical elements. In the midst of the change came Clarence Cook, who came to have a lasting impact in the area of interior design, bringing beauty and taste to the middle classes. With the help of the industrial revolution, which lowered the prices of goods through mass-production, and the instruction of House Beautiful, people of average means were able to create interiors that replicated, on a smaller scale, those of the upper classes. “Published in 1878 was the book for which Cook has become best known, The House Beautiful: Essays on Beds and Tables, Stools and Candlesticks. Initially published as a series of articles in the periodical Scribner’s Monthly, The House Beautiful served to instruct readers on ways to tastefully furnish their homes. The book explored specific sections of the home-the entrance hall, living room, dining room, bedroom-and concluded with ‘Words Here and There.’ In a conversational, yet assured tone, Cook suggested that the objects with which one surrounds oneself reflect the spirit of the person and place: …know first,’ Cook wrote, … how we ought to live externally, and then… surround ourselves with the things best suited for that mode of life, whatever it may be… whoever will try the experiment will find the reward in peace, and serenity, and real comfort, so abounding that it will be no longer a query with him whether he shall continue it or not… The House Beautiful helped promote an interest in the past and in antiques that also influenced the development of decorative art collections in American museums” (ANB). Owner signature.

Inner paper hinges reinforced. Light rubbing to spine ends. Pictorial cloth-gilt clean and fresh, gilt bright. A beautiful copy.