“A MAJOR ROLE IN CHANGING THE CHARACTER OF THE AMERICAN CITY”: ARCHITECTURAL WORKS OF GRAHAM ANDERSON PROBST & WHITE, 1933, ONE OF ONLY 300 COPIES, WITH OVER 385 FINE FOLIO PLATES

(ARCHITECTURE) GRAHAM, Ernest and PROBST, Edward et al. The Architectural Works of Graham Anderson Probst & White, Chicago, and Their Predecessors D.H. Burnham & Co. and Graham Burnham & Co. London: B.T. Batsford, 1933. Two volumes. Folio (13 by 16-1/2 inches), original full crushed brown morocco gilt, raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, uncut.

Signed limited first edition, number 271 of only 300 copies signed by Edward E. Probst and Marvin G. Probst, two majestic folio volumes containing 389 folio photogravures, drawings and diagrams of some of the most famous buildings in America—“all done at the highest level from Beaux Arts to Art Deco”—in publisher’s full morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe.

The firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White traces its origins back to Daniel Burnham, who coordinated the massive architectural display of the 1893 World’s Columbian Expedition in Chicago and is widely regarded as a founding figure of the Chicago school of architecture. The firm created some of the most enduring monuments of American architecture such as the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington. After Burnham’s death in 1912, the firm ultimately became Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, “one of the most prolific commercial architectural firms in the history of American architecture” (ANB). To noted historian Carl Condit, “Graham, Anderson, Probst & White were among the leaders of their profession. Their work covered the full spectrum of urban building—office skyscrapers, department stores, railroad stations, public buildings and cultural institutions—all of it done at the highest level, from Beaux-Arts Classicism to Art Deco.” The firm and its architects “played a major role in changing the character of the American city between 1910 and 1930” (Chappell, 2). Their stellar commitment to Chicago was exemplified “through such buildings as the Field Museum of Natural History, Union Station, the Wrigley Building, the John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Civic Opera Building, and the Merchandise Mart. The firm was known throughout America by such other buildings as the Equitable Building and Chase National Bank in New York; Mount Wilson Observatory, Pasadena, California; Union Station and Cleveland Terminal Group in Cleveland, Ohio; Pennsylvania Railroad’s Broad Street and Thirtieth Street Stations in Philadelphia; Coe College master plan, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and the Alamo National Bank Building, San Antonio, Texas” (ANB), all illustrated in these volumes. With 389 plates (Numbers 1-386, 99A, 114A, 282A). Without original slipcases, rarely found. This copy was presented to D.E. Garey by Edward E. Probst and Marvin G. Probst, sons of the firm’s president Edward M. Probst, who was succeeded as president by Marvin Probst in 1942.

An exceptional two volumes in fine condition.