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Folio (361 x 276 mm). Half-title, tinted lithographic title, one-page list of plates, and 40 numbered chromolithographs by Charles Housiaux, on 30 plates, of which 10 full-sheet fold-outs numbered double. (Minuscule tears or fraying to a very few edges, slight mostly marginal discoloration, occasional light foxing at folds, title sheet slightly shorter.) Loose as issued in publisher?s portfolio of maroon cloth, title, imprint, publisher?s device, etc., printed in silver on upper cover, traces of four fore-edge ties (lacking ties, spine and extremities a bit rubbed and faded).*** Only edition of a visually arresting chromolithographic sample book of ornaments for furniture and curtains. Plasky was a Belgian painter, mainly of landscapes, who identifies himself in the title as an architecte d?ameublement (interior designer). His striking, larger than life-size designs for trim, fringe, and tassels were splendidly lithographed in colors, silver and gold by Charles Housiaux and printed by J. E. Goessens & Cie. in Brussels; the portfolio was published by the Brussels firm of E. Lyon-Claesen, who specialized in color-plate books, design, illustrated books, etc., including another, complementary work by Plasky, La tenture artistique. The samples are arranged chronologically by style, as follows: Neo-Greek, Middle-Age, Renaissance, Henri II, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI, and English Gothic. Three plates, of which one double, illustrate each style except Louis XVI, for which there are six plates. Every third plate is a double sheet, folding out vertically; all but one (a large figuratively decorated medieval curtain band) show two matching ornaments, an elaborate tassel and a slide, while the single sheet plates depict fringes. Captions (printed in various colors) and the table of contents are in English, French and German, testifying to an international audience.??The fine lithographic title incorporates emblems of textile production, a tasseled banner, and fringes. I locate seven institutional copies of this rare portfolio, of which two in the US (Smithsonian and Metropolitan Museum), and no other copies in the book trade or auction records.
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