Book Description
From the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia and Quitandinha in Brazil to her important fabrics for F. Schumacher & Co. and her automobile and airplane interiors of the 1950s, Draper continues to influence designers today.
Customer Reviews:
Dorothy Draper: an inspiration to her field! .......2007-10-12
As one of the previous commentators stated, this book is a wonderful book in terms of historical significance to the Decorating/Interior Design field, but this book is certainly not a "how to" book on decorating. Therefore, if you are looking for a basic "how to decorate" book, then this book may not be a way to go.
HOWEVER......
If a person is buying this book as an historical reference book to their home decorating (or interior design) library, then this book would be a wonderful addition.
For example, if I were a person majoring in a form of home decorating field, then this book would be of tremendous value. WHY?...because so many ideas that Dorothy Draper implemented are still being used today or still inspiring home decorators today!! (eg: if you were to look at Jonathan Adler's current design concepts, you will see alot of Dorothy Draper's influence in Jonathan's work). Thus, Dorothy Draper's influence to the home decorating field is truly immesurable.
This hardback book is large in size.The photos are amazing. Most are in black-and-white since that is how the photos were orignally taken. But still,....the author describes the colors that would have been used in the book's B&W photos, and THAT helps the reader so much! I could certainly visualize what the B&W photos would be like in color, thanks to Carlton's wonderful descriptions.
The Height of Glamour.......2007-07-12
When High STYLE was "in-style" Dorothy Draper was the queen of design... Every page reflects her understanding of space, light and perfection!!! This isa great read for the design professional as well as the casual reader. Her life story and her work are inseperable - she loved beautiful things and had an un-erring eye for the dramatic. "In the Pink: Dorothy Draper --America's Most Fabulous Decorator" is a visual treat as much as it is a fun read! As an iterior designer I see her design principles are as easily applied today as it was in the age of glamour. I would give it a 5!!! all across the board.
The gorgeous terror of excess, or "How I was blinded with ornament".......2007-06-01
While Kelly Wearstler was still in the womb, Dorothy Draper was jetsetting the style world in a solid gold Deusenburg that was fueled exclusively on Chanel no. 5. Her contribution to the interiors and custom fabricated furnitures and fixtures has forever seared a scar into the homes of hollywood and beyond. Liberace himself would be sent into a seizure over Dorothy's hallucinagenic oppulence and fearless approach to her indulgent, decorative torture chambers. Get this book and blow your mind.
Absolutely gorgeous book.......2007-04-06
It took a while for me to finally decide to drop that kind of coin on a book, but its absolutely gorgeous and worth the price. Very cool to page through and see her imprint on decorating and design through the 30's up to now. You page through a Domino magazine and see a cool black and white modern print on a white french chair and think 'wow' and then you page through the book and see that she was doing it in the 40's. Just makes me wish I had my own chandelier fabricator and my own master plasterer as those seem to be her tricks of the trade. Beautifully put together and one of the few decorating books I actually wanted to READ every word and not just page through for the pretty pics.
As History & Biography: Bravo! As Design Inspiration: Blah!.......2007-04-02
I bought this book for my wife, who is an artist and color consultant, because I thought she'd enjoy seeing an iconic designer known for her bold use of color and thematic environments -- especially done on a grand scale. And, yes, you will find page after page after page of grand ballrooms, hotel lobbies, mansion-size dining rooms, and so on here.
80% of them, unfortunately, are photographed in black & white. So much for the bold use of color.
There are two great color photos -- pages 161 and 207 -- that show off Draper's lush, vibrant style. But the rest of the book is either slightly out of focus color photos, color illustrations and old ads, or black & white photos. It's just sad in how it under-represents Dorothy Draper.
"But be fair," you say. "Dorothy Draper's peak took place before the advent of color photography." That's fine. But this book is a perfect example of the rare publishing project that truly is BEGGING for Photoshop colorization. On page 53, for example, the text refers to a House & Garden magazine article which declared one of Draper's most visible design projects, Hampshire House, to be "a gold mine of decorating ideas, particularly in color." And yet all four photos on that spread are in black & white, as are the spreads before and after it. A very good Photoshop artist -- and several do perfect, true-to-life work -- could give those old black & white shots the vivid, vibrant colors that would represent Dorothy Draper properly and accurately without changing Draper's style one iota.
As I say in my title, as a history (of the advent of superstar designers) and a biography (of Draper), this is a very good book that should not be overlooked. But how can you do a history of bold interior design, or a biography of a top interior designer, without SHOWING the vivacious use of color which was central to both? That's like doing a bio of Abe Lincoln without including the Gettysburg Address.
So is this worth seeing? Definitely. Worth buying used? Probably. Worth buying new? Only if you're rich.
Book Description
A popular book over sixty years ago, it is now being reissued with original illustrations. A serious book about decorating that does not take itself too seriously.
Customer Reviews:
A focus on how to have a good time decorating .......2007-02-28
This isn't another book about the history of decorating nor even how to design an interior, but a focus on how to have a good time decorating - which sets DECORATING IS FUN! HOW TO BE YOUR OWN DECORATOR apart as much today as when it originally appeared in 1939 on the even of the second world war. The title's been out of print for over sixty years and is reissued here with its original illustrations, making for a serious and informative title any serious home decoration library needs.
Book Description
Welcome to the Ultimate Decorator Event! For the price of admission to one show house and a modest luncheon, you'll get to tour 50 different show houses and over 250 spectacular rooms, where designers have pulled out all the stops to showcase their very best. Some of the most extraordinary work in interior design today is presented in 513 stunning color photographs. You'll see rooms saturated in glorious paint, windows dressed in the finest draperies, surfaces transformed with faux finishes, and furniture swathed in luxurious fabrics. Beginning the tour in foyers and hallways that leave lasting first impressions, you'll continue through glorious living rooms and family rooms that you'll never want to leave. Make your way through amazing libraries and home offices, dining rooms, kitchens, sunrooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms. You'll also get a chance to see innovative design ideas for media rooms, wine cellars, loft spaces, and bonus rooms. In this book you will find breathtaking and exciting designs that will inspire and amaze you, in addition to a list of extraordinary interior designers and annual show house events. 8 1/2" x 11" 512 color photos
Product Description
JANSEN is the first comprehensive study of Maison Jansen - the most celebrated decorating house of the 20th century. the book documents the evolution of this legendary Paris-based company from family firm to global enterprise. It showcases over 30 of the firm's most alluring commissions, including rooms for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Shah and Shahbanou of Iran, and President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy for whom Jansen renovated and redecorated the White House. Over 300 illustrations in color and duotone.
Customer Reviews:
A much needed volume.......2007-08-02
This is a beautifully presented book that provides a fascinating insight into the history of the legendary design firm, Maison Jansen. The most prestigious firm of its time, and one of the longest running (over a century), and most international, Maison Jansen completed some of the most celebrated interiors for the most influential people. Clients included royalty, statesmen, the rich and the famous - the Paley's 5th Avenue apartment, the White House for the Kennedy's, the Wrightsman's home, as well as homes and projects for the Shah of Iran, King Leopold of Belgium, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, etc.
There are plenty of photographs (although some in black and white), along with sketches and illustrations for proposals and completed schemes. The only thing missing is a reference of the amazing furniture created for each of their projects, but thankfully this issue has been addressed with a follow up volume titled "Jansen Furniture" by the same author, which I hope will be just as deserving of my high recommendation.
WHAT A GREAT BOOK!!!!!!.......2007-03-19
WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK; WELL THOUGHT OUT IN ALL WAYS!!!! IT IS REALLY WORTH HAVING IN A COLLECTOR'S LIBRARY
DEFINITIVE!.......2007-03-15
James Archer Abbott has crafted a subject long overlooked after a decades old wait for 'in the know' Design and Decorative Arts ' afficianados; The prior book on Jansen was long out of print and seldom left those Design Libraries it graced.
Incredible Classic Top End Projects by Jansen set the standard for Interior Decoration and this book sets a high standard indeed for anyone who wants to ascribe to these highest classic standards.
I gifted friends and Clients with over a half-dozen of these!
beautiful.......2006-12-23
a very beautiful book. I wish there were more pictures and more plans
SIMPLY THE BEST.......2006-10-31
This is a very good book on the most famous decorating house of the 20th century. Maison Jansen was the benchmark for decorating, you had offically arrived when you where able to get on the list to use them, price was no obstical, if you used them it was assumed that they had a blank check. This book has highly informative text and the images are crisp and vivid. Much of their best work is covered in detail and even the minor work gets mention. I highly recommend this book to any one with any interest in design; Jansen, was quite simply, the best.
Book Description
First monograph on this legendary decorator's most important interior design projects. A glimpse into the glamorous private world of Hollywood movie stars' homes. Images of interiors by world- famous photographers.
Customer Reviews:
A class act indeed.......2007-08-06
This is a very visual account of the life of one of the greatest decorators of our time. Billy Haines started out as a silent movie actor and when he refused to keep his sexuality in the closet he was fired, forcing him to change careers - and thank goodness. Schifando & Mathison take us on a journey, via photos, sketches, and other images, through the life of Haines and the evolution of his personal style. His classic interiors, which often included a touch of chinoiserie, a unique custom lamp, low chairs, quilted fabric upholstery, and other unique pieces will never go out of style.
FAB!!!!!!.......2007-04-20
Having purchased most of the major design books in the past 4yrs...this one is right up there with the best...5lbs of old hollywood chic mixed with todays blue-blood..must have for any coffee table
EXQUISITE BOOK.......2007-02-24
I am so thrilled to have found this book. I have tried for years to find pictures of William Haines work. This is such a magnificent book. I just wished there were more of what there was. This book is an amazine find and a delightful addition to my collection.
Class Read.......2007-01-05
Being an admirer of nearly all things vintage Hollywood, I was most eager to read a book on this almost forgotten silent screen legend. I was most impressed by the great detail on the man, his loves and hates and his metamorphosis into a highly successful interior designer in later years. The thoroughly entertaining anecdotes throughout also kept me interested until the very end. It gives the reader an insight into a period in Hollywood that has long since been buried by time and our bizarre fascinations with the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton et all.
A must read for any reader of the good old days of Hollywood.
BIG TOME. BIG TIME MOVIE STAR. BIG TIME DECORATOR.......2006-10-16
Part-time P'town resident William Mann's Wisecracker was the first (and definitive) bio of Haines, on of the silent era's greatest stars and one of its first certified heartthrobs. But Haines was gay---something eh refused to hide---and when MGM honcho fired him. Haines began a new (and much more lucrative career) as a self-taught decorator. His work graced the homes of Joan Crawford, Marion Davies, Constance Bennett, and mega-watt socialites Alfred and Betsy Bloomingdale an d Walter and Lee Annenberg; even in his death in 1973, Haines` legacy followed, with his associate Ted Graber in charge of the décor of Ronald and Nancy Reagan`s private riddance at the white House. This coffee table book is the price of a good steak dinner (with wine), but the hungry of film fans and stylists and interior designers will long be satisfied by the intellectual text and more than 300 vintage and rare drawing, illustrations and photos.
Book Description
As an interior decorator you will have a rewarding, high-paying job that lets you use your creativity to make homes and businesses more beautiful and comfortable.
As long as you have the desire, you can become an interior decorator. No special education or experience is necessary to break into interior decorating and succeed. (Unlike becoming a certified interior designer which has strict requirements including two to five years of post-secondary education in interior design.) You can start interior decorating and become an interior decorator immediately.
If you would like to be paid to decorate homes or businesses, the FabJob Guide to Become an Interior Decorator is for you! In this book you will discover how you can get started and succeed in the exciting career of interior decorating.
This FabJob guide focuses on information that is difficult to find elsewhere - how to get hired as an interior decorator. However, if you also want to learn interior decorating, this guide can save you many hours of research time, because it includes step-by-step interior decorating instructions. The book explains how to get hired as an interior decorator with a retailer, home builder or other industry employer. It covers how to find job openings, prepare a resume and portfolio, and do well in an interview.
It also provides step-by-step instructions on how to start an interior decorating business, set your fees, find clients, and get discounts of up to 50% on furniture and materials. The CD-ROM that comes with this book includes sample forms, checklists, furniture cut-outs, etc., plus links to interior decorating resources (including many free resources).
Customer Reviews:
Great resource for aspiring decorators.......2006-05-18
This book provides all the ins and outs of becoming an interior decorator - primarily starting your own business. There are a few brief sections on how to decorate, but the real value is in the very thorough information provided for getting into this field. It's an invaluable resource for those wanting to start their own decorating business.
Great for all the basics.......2005-02-02
This is great for anyone getting started in the decorating business. It's quick and easy reading, and briefly covers all the important concepts, such as styles, design elements, working with customers and shopping for products, and includes many references to websites and books for more detailed information you might want on a given subject. It touches briefly on a surprising amount of information, but shouldn't be used for in depth how-to advice on things such as floors, fabrics, window treatments, etc. This is great, though, if you're just getting started, as it gives you what you'll need without being long winded or confusing.
Book Description
At first glance, decorator Erin Gilbert fell in love with the charming little bungalow on a quiet street in Crestview, Colorado. Until she stepped inside. There, eccentric widow Helen Walker has created a maze of bric-a-brac, papers, and just plain junk that she won’t throw out. Even worse: two bizarre deaths have convinced Helen she is being stalked by a serial killer–and that any one of her nosy friends and neighbors might be to blame.
Erin has been hired to bring the home back to life–and she’s not going to back down, even when her insufferable, irresistible competitor, Steve Sullivan, barges in. But it doesn’t take long for Erin to realize that there is a method to her client’s madness. A murderer does haunt this makeover. And somewhere in the clutter is at least one thing to die for.
Customer Reviews:
Really Reaching.......2007-04-14
The problem with so many cozies these days is that authors try to be innovative in the jobs they give their main characters, and they end up giving us characters whose involvement in murder makes no sense.
The book is best summed up by a line from the character of Steve, talking to the main character, Erin: "You were acting like a member of the family instead of their designer."
Erin is hired to declutter a house. In less than 12 hours, she's the homeowner's confidante, rushing to her aid at all hours, sticking her nose into family business that has nothing to do with her. She puts her livelihood on the line, as well as Steve's, without a second thought, and then defends herself when there really is no defense. The fact that Steve would even want to partner up with someone who has no concern for him and his business was completely unbelievable.
Also, the Gilbert and Sullivan thing has already been done by Selma Eichler -- that made it doubly annoying to me.
charming cozy .......2007-03-04
Colorado Interior decorator Erin Gilbert enjoys walking through a house that she is seeing for the first time and redesigning each room in her head. So when she first observes the outside home of Helen Walker, Erin is euphoric as the Crestview bungalow is a designer's delight. Euphoric as this seems, it is also a nice easy job though she knows she must show proper respect to the grieving owner. Then she steps inside; to her horror she concludes the cluttered home needs weapons of mass destruction as Helen and her recently deceased sister kept anything and everything. The surviving sibling refuses to toss out what is classic junk clutter.
Still Helen tries to organize, mess and pitch what is obviously worthless in terms of money or sentiment. The problem is Helen insists everything has sentimental value. Helen's neighbor Rachel and Erin's two friends Teddy and Kay support the surviving sister' frustrating Erin who may dump her so-called pals if they don't mind their business. However, these intrusions are irritants; the fourth invader causes colossal issues as that unknown visitor leaves behind murdered bodies amidst the clutter.
The fourth Domestic Bliss mystery (see DEATH BY INFERIOR DESIGN and MANOR OF DEATH) is a charming cozy especially when Erin is cleaning the house or furthering her relationaship rivalry with competitor Steve Sullivan. However, that is also the weakness of the story line as the homicides come across as just additional clutter to clean up when the heroine gets around to it. Still Leslie Caine provides a fun domestic tale starring a harassed heroine struggling with saving a house on the verge of being KILLED BY CLUTTER, something this reviewer can relate to.
Harriet Klausner
Amazon.com
One of the best methods of gaining decorating inspiration is by visiting other people's homes, a task author Suzanne Trocme expertly carries out by assembling the work of the world's greatest 20th-century interior designers, including such important figures as Jean Michel Frank, Albert Hadley, Nina Campbell, and Mario Buatta, in Influential Interiors.
Many of the men and women included here are key figures in creating our predominant decorating trends, and they offer a wide range of styles that are grouped by chapter in the book: classic styles adapted for the 20th century; sleek contemporary interiors; organic styles using natural fibers, colors, and shapes; and elegant, refined looks, among others. Author Trocme covers how each of the designers got started in the field, their sources of inspiration, and the signature methods of decorating that mark each as an innovator in interior design. Besides profiling each designer, Trocme describes the underlying history that has helped shape new styles of interior decorating in this century. Large color photographs of each designer's work--often of his or her own home--give the reader a clear idea of why these individuals have had such a powerful influence. Some of the designers covered are no longer alive, but their work lives on in the fabric lines and design firms still in business today, which Trocme includes in a directory at the back of the book.
If you're trying to pinpoint a decorating style that's most appealing to you, a walk through Influential Interiors can help you define and create that style. Along the way, you'll learn how some of the world's most renowned interior designers are inspired to seek out and shape their individual looks.--Kris Law
Book Description
The first book that reveals the history and development of 20th-century interior design through the key designers and decorators who have shaped--and continue to shape today's tastes.
The art of interior design as we know it today emerged in the early 1900s. And Influential Interiors chronicles the most significant people, styles, and moments of the past century, showing how these factors have shaped--and continue to shape--current tastes.
International in scope, it celebrates not only the great designers from earlier days, such as Elsie de Wolfe, Jean Michel Frank, John Fowler, and Sister Parish, but also the present-day legends, including Jacques Garcia, Philippe Starck, Albert Hadley, Nina Campbell, Andrée Putman, Peter Marino, Alberto Pinto, and Mario Buatta. In their own words and in the words of their close associates, the text profiles 24 of these key designers, defining their individual decorating styles and discussing their sources of inspiration, whether it be another decorator or a favorite color, shape, or piece of furniture.
Chapters in Influential Interiors include "Classic," which examines how traditional styles have been reworked for the 20th century, as in Nancy Lancaster's updated English Country House look; "Elegant," which features the sophisticated, muted palettes of designers such as Albert Hadley and Yves Gastou; and "Organic," which continues the theme of natural inspiration that began with the Art Noveau and Arts and Crafts movements, showcasing fabrics and furniture in smooth, organic shapes from designers such as Philippe Starck and Charles Eames. Other styles examined in-depth are "Eclectic," "Opulent," and "Contemporary."
Lavishly illustrated and written in an authoritative and absorbing tone,
Influential Interiors is both an indispensible design resource and an inspiration for the home.
Customer Reviews:
not very impressed.......2004-08-11
There were a lot of insights about specific designers, but not many graphics on more traditional styles - I'm not sure exactly what to make of the "elegant section" at all. I was fairly disappointed with the lack of information on how a non-professional could help immerse the professional techniques into their own style, or rather, into a contemporary lifestyle.
Great ideas for interesting interiors.......2002-05-24
Love the variety of upscale interiors selected for this one. Photography is quite good.
I didn't know how much I didn't know about interior design.......1999-11-04
For so many years there have been books published detailing the lives and achievements of certain influential designers, architects, the most important figures. Never before have we heard the entire story of who was influenced by who, how it came about, who was trained by who. Finally Suzanne Trocme has grouped all this information together to give a succint and illuminating text to accompany photographs of some of the world's most copied rooms. An education.
Average customer rating:
- Another Great Thriller
- Just so so...........
- Not Too Impressed with this One
- Quick Read
- One of the best books I've read!
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Honeymoon
James Patterson , and
Howard Roughan
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Psychological & Suspense
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Patterson, James
| ( P )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
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Hardcover
| Patterson, James
| ( P )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
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Lifeguard
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Beach Road
ASIN: 0316710628 |
Book Description
The honeymoon is over--now the murders can begin. America's #1 thriller writer returns with his sexiest, scariest novel ever.Hotter than The Beach House and scarier than Kiss the Girls, James Patterson's explosive new thriller introduces a bride who is beautiful, talented, devoted--and deadly.When a young investment banker dies of baffling causes, FBI agent John O'Hara immediately suspects the only witness, the banker's alluring and mysterious fianc'e. Nora Sinclair is a beautiful decorator who expects the best, and will do anything to get it.Agent O'Hara keeps closing in, but the stronger his case, the less he knows whether he's pursuing justice or his own fatal obsession. In a novel so compelling it reads like a collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, James Patterson unveils surprise after surprise that will keep readers guessing until the last deadly kiss.
Customer Reviews:
Another Great Thriller.......2007-10-11
In Honeymoon, Patterson again delivers a suspenseful and thrilling novel. John O'Hara, an undercover FBI agent, is in hot pursuit of a lethal serial killer, Nora Sinclair. Patterson delivers many twists in the plot that add depth to the story. The dialog is witty and realistic. There's lots of smoldering sex and sensuality along the way without going over the top. Unlike the Alex Cross novels which are more graphic and have more of a grisly, psychotic killer quality, Honeymoon brings a different kind of suspenseful edge with the cool, calculating Nora Sinclair. You won't be disappointed. A page turner to be sure.
Just so so..................2007-10-06
Interesting main character, but somewhat predictable plot. Builds momentum, but the ending is amateurish. Hard to believe it took two authors to create this fast read. Patterson's Women's Murder Club and Alex Cross series are his best.
Not Too Impressed with this One.......2007-08-28
I've read many, many James Patterson books and have to say this one didn't do much for me. Yes, the first few pages were tantalizing, but didn't seem to realistically pan out at the end of the book. This book had considerable similarity to the movie, "Basic Instinct" (smart cop/agent falls for black widow killer) and, just as in that movie, I didn't care for either of the main characters in this book. Also, I was expecting some sort of revelation into Nora's motives (abusive father/husband, etc.), but never got that. Disappointing...
Quick Read.......2007-08-28
I read this book on vacation and it was quick paced and enjoyable. The plot was very unique and never boring. Usually books that are co-authored by Patterson are not as good as the ones only written by him. They are usually written in a rushed style but that was not the case with this one.
One of the best books I've read!.......2007-08-16
This was my first James Patterson book and now I'm hooked! I couldn't put this book down and had it read in a couple days, and I was on vacation! I'm now on my 5th Patterson book and Honeymoon is still #1. Great book!
Amazon.com
Van Day Truex was born in Kansas, the artistically inclined son of a stern and intolerant shop manager. After the seemingly obligatory stint living with a sympathetic and worldly aunt in Wisconsin, he escaped to New York City and design school (quite against his parents' wishes), turning in a stellar performance at the institution that would become Parsons School of Design and immediately earning the notoriously hard-won approval of none other than Frank Alvah Parsons. Several hundred society introductions, garden parties, and black-and-white balls later, Truex found himself at the center of the international elite, one of the social register's most sought-after interior designers--not to mention one of the most prized dinner guests in New York and on the Riviera.
As an enormously popular instructor at Parsons, and the school's president from 1942 to 1952, Truex influenced American interior design far beyond the rarefied circles of his friends and clients--Brooke Astor, Lady Mendl, Grace Bingham, and the like. And as director of design at Tiffany & Co. from 1955 to 1962, arguably the store's heyday, Truex indeed had a hand in defining upper-class taste--he called it "design judgment"--or at least what went into the place settings on the dining tables of the very wealthy. Many of the designs Truex commissioned and developed for Tiffany's are still sold today as classics of the brand: the all-over wild strawberry china pattern, for example.
Adam Lewis's illustrated biography is not particularly vivid, and details of Truex's work and design philosophy are scant compared to the exhaustive (and exhausting) descriptions of the charming, urbane decorator's endless social engagements. One must remember, though, that Lewis is writing about the man whose preferred color came to be known as "Truex beige." Perhaps the designer himself would have approved of the stilted style of Lewis's prose, but for those not instantly enchanted by minor high-society and interior-design intrigue, the book's studied humorlessness will make for dull reading. --Liana Fredley
Book Description
Van Day Truex is widely regarded as the father of twentieth-century American design. Under his leadership, Parsons School of Design became the foremost school for interior design and fashion in the United States and he influenced generations of students entering these fields. But his greatest legacy—beautifully chronicled in Van Day Truex—is his long reign as design director at Tiffany & Co., which he transformed into a model for unprecedented style and grace. Interior designers, architects, fashion devotees, and furniture designers will treasure this first-ever portrait of Truex. This magnificent volume—illustrated throughout with color and black-and-white photographs—is a glorious tribute to one of America's foremost designers and a fascinating biography of the man Brooke Astor called "one of the most charming men I ever knew."
Customer Reviews:
Completes a significant gap in American design history.......2001-12-10
Lewis has obviously unearthed a treasure trove of very important material in the form of Truex' scrapbooks bringing to light an amazing tapestry of relationships bridging the worlds of fashion, product design, interior design, design education, and various cultural elites. It's refreshing to read a biography that is illustrated with the subject's own snapshots, original works, and previously published material that has been long unavailable. Parsons School of Design itself celebrated a centennial not long ago giving Truex no more than a few lines in its retelling of its story--the author has filled in a gaping hole in American design history for Parsons as well as Tiffany and Co.
Contrary to another reader review, I am relieved not to be subjected to the "spice" that is strewn over so many other biographies. Lewis gives us as much personal information as is appropriate to the subject. This will be a requisite acquisition for many libraries, circulating and otherwise, I think.
Is That All There Is?.......2001-11-14
Lewis is to be commended for his valiant attempt at constructing a biography about one of the 20th century's most invisible design talents. Truex had a minor influence on a certain coterie of designers and products that never reached very far beyond 57th and Fifth. His circle was rich, cultured and insular, therefore preventing him from gaining a kind of commercial notoriety that some of his peers were able to. Yet we still reap the fruits of his efforts to this day, with some of most lovely flatware,china and objets Tiffany's has to offer. What is most curious about Truex as a subject, is that perhaps he should have been a chapter in another book. He just wasn't that compelling (except for his fastidious neatness and controlled eating habits). Not to minimize the amount of work it must have been for Lewis to assemble all of this vaguely interesting material. I just wanted to know a little bit more about his personal life. Just a tiny bit more gossip might have been like a dash of paprika!
Books:
- Inside the House of Money: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Profiting in a Global Market
- Inside the Not So Big House: Discovering the Details that Bring a Home to Life (Susanka)
- Interior Construction & Detailing for Designers and Architects, Third Edition
- Interior Lighting, Fourth Edition
- Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth
- Jesus in the Margins: Finding God in the Places We Ignore
- Koala Lou
- Lace Style: Traditional to Innovative, 21 Inspired Designs to Knit
- Living Large in Small Spaces: Expressing Personal Style in 100 to 1,000 Square Feet
- Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall: An Artist's Country Estate (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications)
Books Index
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