Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
Turn the pages with the arrows, keyboard, or a swipe.
The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport, Rhode Island. Published date: 1979. Hardcover, cloth; 153 pp; 28 cm. First edition. Inscribed by the author on the front endpaper: "with all best wishes from the author. Harriet J. Phelps - 1980." Illustrated with 72 full-page color plates reproduced from hand-painted glass lantern slides, printed on coated stock and integrated throughout the text.
In very good condition, with good dust jacket. Original green cloth boards with gilt title and Preservation Society seal on front cover; light shelf wear and faint rubbing to extremities; cloth clean and bright. Binding sound. Interior pages clean and unmarked. Dust jacket present and in good condition, with a few 1 inch or less nicks and tears, light edge wear, mild rubbing, and light toning; now in an archival quality removable Brodart cover. Illustrated history of Newport, Rhode Island's horticultural heritage, documenting the great private gardens created during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The volume draws extensively on a rare collection of hand-painted glass lantern slides by Edward Van Altena (1873-1968), preserved in the Library of the Garden Club of America, and presents them here as color plates. Text discusses garden design, plant selection, landscape setting, and the social and cultural context of Newport's estate gardens, many of which have since disappeared. Includes a dedicated section on Edward Van Altena and his glass slides. Contents include: Foreword; Preface; Introduction; Edward Van Altena and his glass slides; Hammersmith Farm; The Mount; Rockhurst; Shamrock Cliff; Vedimar; Miramar; Vernon Court; Brook Farm; Harold Brown Villa; Beech Bound; Auton House; Beacon Rock; Chateau-sur-Mer; Four Acres; The Glen; Winter Cottage; Zee Rust; Beacon Hill House; Gray Craig; Mariemont; McCagg House; Green Animals; Harbour Court; Leroy King House; Bonniecrest; Longacre; Pen Craig; The Elms; Acknowledgements; Bibliography.