Stephen H. Van Dyk
A Crystal PalaceEnglish publishers William Robert Dickinson (1815-1887), Lowes Cato Dickinson (1819-1908) and Gilbert Bell Dickinson (1825-1908) received a royal commission to compile this colorful folio commemorating Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations held in Hyde Park, London May to October, 1851. The folio includes 55 chromolithographic plates depicting the building and exhibitions of the fair reproduced from paintings by English watercolorists and lithographers Joseph Nash (1809-1878) and Louis Haghe (1806-1885) and Scottish painter David Roberts (1796-1864). Smithsonian Libraries; World's Fairs; Crystal Palace; Exhibition Hall; Architecture -19th century |
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Beauty & EfficiencyThe progressive and innovative design and mechanics of the Marmon Sixteen – a custom-made, sixteen cylinder automobile manufactured in 1931 by the Indianapolis Marmon Motor Car Co. are promoted in this two volume publication. The book details the theories and goals of the head designer, Walter Dorwin Teague (1883-1960), and the engineer, Howard C. Marmon Sixteen, Walter Dorwin Teague, Howard C. Marmon, Industrial Design, Automobile Design |
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Fancy French FurnitureLe Garde-meuble, ancien et moderne (Furniture repository, ancient and modern), was a periodical consisting entirely of illustrations depicting French furniture, interiors, and window treatments. It was published in Paris from 1839 to around 1935 originally under the direction of furniture designer Désir&eacut Désiré Guilmard, Le Garde Meuble, Furniture -France, Interiors -France, Drapery-France, Smithsonian Libraries |
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Fly CatcherRobert John Thornton (1768-1837) was a British physician and botanic enthusiast who published perhaps the most famous florilegium, or treatise on flowers, as a tribute to the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). It was aimed at wealthy amateur flower fanciers rather than scientists. botanical illustration; Thornton, Robert; rare books; exotic plants; |
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Roche MailMaria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), a painter of flora and fauna, was one of the first naturalists to have observed insects directly from nature. She was a pioneer in the study of how caterpillars become butterflies and moths, which was still a mystery at the time. Her large folio volume http://archive.org/details/Metamorphosisin00Meri depicting on its first plate Cockroaches on a Flowering Pineapple (above), was considered the most outstanding work on insects of its day. botanical illustration, insects, U.S. postal stamps, Maria Sibylla Merian |
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Back to the FuturistsLes mots en liberté futuristes (Futurist Words in Freedom), published in 1919, has an ingenious typographic design and an explosive layout. Its different styles and sizes of typeface defied traditional rules of structure and punctuation and heralded a revolution in modern visual communication. Marinetti, Filippo Tommasco, futurism, typography, graphic design |
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To Tell the TruthIn the 1930s, Blue Ribbon Books and Pleasure Books, who published a series of colorful pop-up books including The Pop-up Pinocchio, were the first to coin the phrase “pop-up book”. In a five year period, they produced more than ten remarkable pop-up books on classic fairy tales including Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack the Giant Killer, Puss in Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood. Each of these titles featured large print text, thick board paper, colorful cartoon-like images and well constructed pop-ups that greatly appeal to chil Blue Ribbon Books, pop-up books, Harold Lentz, Smithsonian Libraries, Pinocchio |
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American GothicThis trade catalog, which contains more than 100 photographs of furniture in the “modern" gothic style, is one of the only remaining works to visually document the furniture designed by the renowned New York cabinetmakers, Kimbel & Cabus. Anthony Kimbel emigrated from Germany in the late 1840s and partnered with Anton Bembe to form Bembe and Kimbel in 1854, creating furniture in the Rococo-revival style. Kimbel & Cabus, furniture, Neo-Gothic, trade catalog, American, National Design Library |
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On Pins and NeedlesThis catalog and sample book, circa 1930, contains needle and sewing items manufactured by The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO), a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company. Included are more than 50 steel sewing, crocheting, and knitting needles and safety pins. Some are even in their original packaging. Brief captions, images, illustrations, and item numbers accompany each item—most captions are in English, with some in German. sewing equipment, pins, needles, sample books, trade catalogs |
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Dots, Dots, DotsDe la loi du contraste des couleurs, by French chemist Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889), is a compendium of color design principles and one of the first systematic studies of color perception. The manual is based on Chevreul’s observations and experiments when he was Director of Dyes at the Manufacture des Gobelins tapestry works in 1824. Soon after his appointment, he received complaints about the lack of intensity in the tapestry colors at the manufactory. colors, color perception, color theory, Michel-Eugène Chevreul, books, National Design Library |
