Turner, A.A.:

$9,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

VILLAS ON THE HUDSON. A COLLECTION OF PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHS OF THIRTY-ONE COUNTRY RESIDENCES. This book is the first large-scale use of photo-lithography in the United States, a medium which did not come into general use for another two decades. Its views are based on photographs made by A.A. Turner of large homes along the Hudson from upper Manhattan Island to Dobbs Ferry, mainly summer or pleasure homes of wealthy New Yorkers, and often exhibiting extravagant or playful architecture. The villas are remarkably lavish, and some show considerable whimsy. Turner took the pictures in 1858 and 1859, and this work appeared on the eve of the Civil War. All of the views have at least one additional color, and most have two (either brown or green, or both) applied by stencil, with the picture inside a gilt printed border. The images have a slightly surreal quality which adds to the appeal of this remarkable book.

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