Art Nouveau and Art Deco Bookbinding: French Masterpieces 1880 - 1940.

New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989. Hardback large wide quarto, dustjacket (with side flaps), very good condition (in very good dustjacket), black & white & colour illustrations, minor edgewear jacket (top edge & top spine lightly creased). Heavy (1.7 Kg), and extra postage may be requested to destinations outside Australia. 200 pp. The first major study of the sudden flowering of the art of bookbinding in France at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The 60 years between 1880 and 1940 produced bookbinding's greatest modern masters and many of its most original and gifted craftsmen and craftswomen. Follows the development of bookbinding from its beginnings and then look at the influence on bookbinding of the period's finest binders. This very special book has a detailed biography and bibliography on every binder of note. There are 252 illustrations, including 202 plates in full colour. The custom-made bindings are reproduced in full-colour - these were made as precious art works for the private libraries of wealthy bibliophiles. This book would be a wonderful addition to any booklovers library.