Paper Collectibles and Curiosities

A very beautiful 18th century giltwood molding fragment from Barcelona. A beautiful floral motif with very high gold content.

A beautifully carved and giltwood 18th century Louis XVI wall barometer having its original mercury tube and mechanism but presently with the mercury missing.    

This is the third in a multi-volume collection providing a visual catalogue record of the decorative arts of the Paris Salons. Included in this volume are reproductions of the catalo...

Celluloid nude lady Art Deco thermometer.

Vintage SS United States Thermometer by the British Rototherm Co. Ltd. London, England About 4.75" high and 5.25" wide. This table/desk top thermometer is in a leather clad wood case...

2 Volumes. Francois Rabelais. The Complete Works. Illustrated by W. Heath Robinson. Frontispiece of Gargantua. Bound in 3/4 green morocco by Kelly. Linen boards, marbled endpapers, g...

A very scarce book printed in 1971, now long out of print, but still held to be one of the Classic books on interior decoration and design. The book covers a period of approximately one hundred years from 1880 to the year of printing. During this time Jansen expanded...

Victorian marquetry wall barometer and thermometer. English, 19th century Measures: height 98cm, width 25cm, depth 7cm. This elegant piece is a fin...

18th Century Italian Tabernacle Door Fragment. Unique piece that can go anywhere. Perfect for a sculpture on the wall in a hallway or niche.

Latin American 1700s wooden crucifix. Carved face and body features. Beautiful patina. Jesus on the Cross Folk Art.

A magnificent nearly 250 year old Louis XVI period (1774–1793) hand carved and painted parcel gilt French wall thermometer and barometer signed Carcano. Exquisitely hand-crafted in Paris, France in the second half of the 18th century, exceptionally executed in Neoclassical inspired opulent period King Louis 16th taste. Impressive large size and fine quality craftsmanship, richly detailed, sculpted, polychrome decorated wooden case, surmounted by an ornate carved pineapple topped urn finial, garnished with a single garland swag, over a contoured and rounded solid wood frame creating a most elegant elongated banjo cartel clock silhouette, adorned with brilliant water gilded running ornamentation, outlining the beautifully aged light and airy muted pale green paint finish. Featuring the original hand decorated enamel dial signed Antonio Carcano (1755-1820) a distinguished scientific instrument inventor. The dial is signed: "Jofeph" "Carcano" "Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis"  "Fripiere au phenix" Having a hand-blown glass thermometer retaining remnants of the hand-painted paper label inscribed with atmospheric condition details, over an early barometer with hand painted dial and metal hands, protected behind convex glazed glass face. Mechanical: The wooden planked verso is fitted with an open channel that retains the original mechanical components, including a pair of liquid metal mercury filled glass tubes, vacuum mechanism, long column blown glass tube, stringing, and more. It does not appear to be working / operational, the string/rope deteriorating with age, etc.. but having the original parts is an exceptionally rare occurrence and highly unusual, as workings were commonly damaged and lost centuries ago. Dimensions (approx): 43" High, 12" Wide, 2.5" Deep History: Antoine Carcano (c. 1755-1820) An early maker of barometers, thermometers, and an inventor of various scientific instruments. Of Italian descent, he became famous in Paris, first at 37 rue de la Roquette and then at Place Dauphine. He supplied barometers and other scientific instruments to the Ecole Militaire in 1786; the following year he supplied a tube barometer to British optical instruments manufacturer Peter Dollond (1731-1821). During the Empire his clientele included Sir Benjamin Thompson...

by Sandra Dachs, Patricia De Muga & Laura Garcia Hintzo Focuses on Eileen Gray, a breakaway designer in a world dominated by male-centric style schools Besides an introductory essay, each title in the By Architects series is compiled by key modern architects through sketches, drawings, photos of the original productions, and ambient shootings A design-orientated book for a design-orientated series, Eileen Gray boasts an innovative layout and a special binding Neglected for most of her career, Eileen Gray (1878-1976) is now regarded as one of the most important furniture designers and architects of the early twentieth century and the most influential woman in those fields. Her work inspired both modernism and Art Deco. Eileen Gray was to stand alone throughout her career, first as a lacquer artist, then a furniture designer, and finally as an architect. At a time when other leading designers were almost all male and mostly members of one movement or another - whether a loose grouping like De Stijl in the Netherlands, or a formal one such as the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne - Gray remained staunchly independent. Her design style was as distinctive as her way of working. Gray developed an opulent, luxuriant take on the geometric forms and industrially produced materials used by the International Style designers, such as Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Mies van der Rohe, who shared much of her ideology. Her voluptuous leather and tubular steel Bibendum Chair and clinically chic E-1027 glass and tubular steel table...