January 19, 2017

Look, Books!

You might know that I have been the President of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation for the past few years – I just stepped back to be solely a board member in December. We are about to celebrate our 30th birthday, and are also involved in a move from what was our HQ for the past dozen or so years, into the same building as the local chapter of the AIA. image

As part of that move, we finally decided to clear out our library which has books on architecture from across the world, dating back to the 1700’s. But since the BAF’s mission is the appreciation and understanding of the built environment in BALTIMORE, we are de-accessioning books that don’t fit with that remit.image

There are books on drawing, theory, history and more, spanning three centuries. One of the best sets we have is this four-volume monograph on the works of McKim, Mead & White. This book doesn’t come around very often and the pre-auction estimate is $1,500 to $2,000.image

In case you’re not a fan of Beaux Arts, you might like this little volume on the Bauhaus.image

I’d love this “sketchbook” but with the low end of the estimate at about $400, it’s a bit much for a lark.image

Or how about this gorgeous book of patterns? LA PEINTURE MURALE DECORATIVE DANS LE STYLE DU MOYEN AGE (Paris: 1881) folio, portfolio, decorated cloth; the binding worn, but plates goodimage

The auction will take place at Alex Cooper Auctioneers outside of Baltimore on Friday, January 27th, beginning at about 10:00 a.m. You can view the items here. The Architecture Foundation’s items begin at Lot 1601 and run for about 100 lots. If you can’t be in Baltimore, you can bid on-line.

All of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the programs of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation.

2 comments:

  1. I wish you were going to be President of the United States. You would be SUCH an improvement over what we're getting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Meg, It's such a dilemma to collect books but not have anywhere to keep them. Taiwan is an especially bad climate with its high heat and humidity--in fact, my next trip to Ohio I am bringing back a few of my better books with me to protect them. I once had a large number of 19th century architectural plate books, but they were all in the infamous fire.

    Good luck with the sale!
    --Jim

    ReplyDelete

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