Set of First Edition Decorating Books by Billy Baldwin

A resplendent memoir by the dean of decorators of his more than forty years of creating beautiful things for fascinating people. Billy Baldwin writes intimately of Greta Garbo, Cole Porter, Mary Wells...

1. Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs by Colin Wilson. Farrar, Straus & Company, New York, 1964. 1st Ed and Printing hardcover with no dust jacket. 2. ...

'The Life of Nelson" books by Robert Southey. First edition. Vol 1 and 2 London: Printed for John Murray, Bookseller to the Admiralty and to the Board of Longitude 1813 J. Moyes,...

'American Notes for General Circulation' by Charles Dickens. First Edition. Vol 1 and 2 London: Chapman and Hall 1842 Bradbury and Evans, Printers,...

Two first edition first printings by important award-winning African-American author James Baldwin with dust jackets: "If Beale Street Could Talk" published Dial Press 1974 This ...

Pair of Encyclopedias: Tables by Simon Yates and Sofas by Constance King. The Wellfleet Press, London, 1989. First edition hardcovers with dust jackets. A pair of great historical re...

Two books on trade tokens. 1.) U.S. Merchant Tokens 1845-1860 by Russell Rulau. Iola: Krause Publications, Inc., 1985. Softcover. 192 pp. A catalogue of the unofficial coinage of Ame...

Suppressed books a history of the conception of literary obscenity by Alec Craig. The World Publishing Company, Cleveland and New York, 1963. Stated first edition hardcover with dust...

How to Buy Rare Books, A Practical Guide to the Antiquarian Book Market by William Rees-Mogg. Oxford: Phaidon, 1985. First edition hardcover with dust jacke...

The definitive book on the legendary decorator Billy Baldwin, known as the "Dean of American Decorating," famous for his classical taste, streamlined modernism, and brilliant use of colour. In the tradition of Rizzoli’s Albert Hadley and David Hicks, this is the first fully illustrated account of the career of Billy Baldwin (1903–1983), one of the most important decorators of the twentieth century, whose work has influenced contemporary designers from Bunny Williams to Jeffrey Bilhuber. A native of Baltimore, Baldwin’s work caught the eye of eminent New York decorator Ruby Ross Wood. She invited him to join her firm, saying his work stood out "like a beacon of light in the boredom of the houses around it." Baldwin’s style was a revelation—simultaneously classical and modernist, tailored and clean, yet dramatically coloured, and above all American. An enemy of clutter and conspicuous wealth, he favoured natural materials and comfortable furniture. The drama in his rooms often came from colour, as seen in the dark brown lacquered walls of Cole Porter’s library or the scarlet cotton print that covered Diana Vreeland’s apartment. Immensely charming, Baldwin was a popular addition to the high society of New York. His clients included Bill and Deeda Blair, Babe and Bill Paley...