Dolls and Puppets of the Eighteenth Century as delineated in twenty four drawings. With a preface by Joseph C. Graves.
Lexington, Kentucky: The Gravesend Press, 1958. A limited edition of 500 copies printed by Ludwig Oehms at Frankfurt am Main. Twenty-four copper-engraved drawings colored by hand through stencils by Schauer & Silvar at Darmstadt. Designed for the Gravesend Press by Gotthard de Beauclair. A fine copy in a near fine striped paper-covered slipcase with some very light rubbing. Blue silk covered boards stamped in gilt with leather spine label. Twelvemo. Unpaginated. Item #16211
Famed illustrator Kredel's book of remarkable images of dolls and puppets is an homage to the then-recently widowed Princess Augusta Dorothea's elaborate dollhouse castle, "Mon Plaisir." Dressmakers, coppersmiths, pewterers, and cabinetmakers were recruited to create "Mon Plaisir," a perfect little looking glass of the life and customs of Arnstadt in the early party of the eighteenth century. Some of the puppets and dolls included in the book are familiar stock characters of puppet theater, including: "Baloardo," "Othello," and "Scapino." Kredel carefully studied the castle's inhabitants, their gestures, expressions, and the most minute details of their costumes for his illustrations, which have been reproduced for Dolls and Puppets in their exact size.
Price: $300.00