Collecting Antique Leather-Bound Books

  Of all the antiques that cross our path there is none more evocative than the venerable gilt lettered spine of a well-worn leather-bound book.

We’ve collected fine antique bindings for years, ever enamored by the texture and romance they bring a vignette whenever a dose of timeworn patina is called for.

It could be the fragile nature of their components, feather edged pages crisp with age, cracked jewel-toned leathers embossed with gold gilt lettering, and those richly marbleized endpapers that bespeak of romance.

Or perhaps it’s the intimate nature of a well-loved volume, an instant link to the past and those who owned, read, and cherished these delicate little gems that makes them unique among other antique collectibles.

After all, how many personal items are so ritualistically branded as a genuinely treasured tome? In fact, reading and researching the sometimes centuries worth of ‘ex libris’ bookplates is one of the unique pleasures of collecting antiquarian books.

For instance the rich ruby-red spines of the six volumes of the works of Alexandre Dumas display the neatly printed bookplates of one Doris Fletcher Ryer, later Nixon. Dating to 1906, the same year Miss Ryer was sent to school in Paris, where this set of French classics was purchased and elegantly embossed with her monogram in tiny gold gilt letters on each spin.

A simple internet search reveals Miss Ryer to be a fascinating character with her own wikipedia page touting an impressive resume of civic works including founder and president of Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., state commander of the California Cancer Society, and national vice-president of the American Women’s Voluntary Services during the Second World War.

Before assuming her role as a civil leader, the privileged young Miss Ryer freshly returned from what would prove to be a well-utilized European education, took up residence with her mother at Beachmond. The elegant Colonial Revival cottage in Newport, Rhode Island pictured above where she made her debut to society in 1915 before marrying the wealthy industrialist Stanhope Wood Nixon two years later.

The story doesn’t end there, as Doris and Stanhope’s first-born son Lewis Nixon III would become probably the most celebrated member of the family for his part in the 506^th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II as chronicled by historian Stephen Ambrose in his book later produced by Stephen Spielberg as the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. As you can see, some books have more tales to tell than those merely inscribed on their pages.

Styling and photos 1-5 by KS&D.

The Great Gatsby Movie

        “The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house.

A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

An interior shot of Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s Long Island mansion from Baz Lurhmann’s much anticipated film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 masterpiece, and our personal favorite book The Great Gatsby, finally set to open Friday May 10^th. 

The Other Newport Mansions

It’s been ages since we last posted a favorite book, and with summer now officially underway it seems the perfect time to steal away to one of the country’s most extravagant watering holes.


Blessed with a wealth of architecture, history, natural beauty, and well…wealth, Newport, Rhode Island has always fascinated. While there are countless books dedicated to the palatial summer “cottages” now preserved as historic house museums, “Private Newport at Home and in the Garden” by Bettie Bearden Pardee features many private estates never before seen by the public. The photography of Mick Hales beautifully captures the interiors, gardens, and stunning natural vistas of Newport, bringing to life a world of exquisitely appointed homes among expertly maintained gardens.


While less opulent than Vanderbilt showplaces like The Breakers and Marble House, the homes featured here even include some actual cottages, like this charming shingled cape overlooking the sea, where an elegant Wedgwood inset mantel is surrounded by framed family photos, fine antiques, and stacks of books and albums. With the fresh salty breeze blowing in off the ocean what better place to pass a summer afternoon?

Home for the Holidays

Thanksgiving will always-mean two things, family and food, but certainly having a beautiful place to enjoy both doesn’t hurt either.


Ten years after its original publication the beautifully photographed ancestral abodes featured in Family Houses in the Country by Alexandra D’Arnoux and Gilles De Chabaneix still captivate our imagination. Ranging from grand to humble the touchingly personal interiors on its pages exude the unique personality often achieved only after generations of family use, a look so rarely seen in shelter magazines today.

Graves Great Gatsby

As a break from our usual art and design books we’ve decided to feature our favorite piece of full-blown literature, albeit one showcasing both art and design.


The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is easily among the most well known novels of the last century but this rare edition is part of a limited run of 400 fine press copies created in 1984 by Arion Press. Featuring illustrations by the iconic architect Michael Graves, the volume is beautifully produced with cloth trimmed outer case and pages of thick cotton paper soft to the touch.


Graves charming sketches and illustrations depict various design elements of Gatsby’s world from the cocktail glasses to a bird eye view of his entire Gold Coast estate yet none of the characters themselves are shown leaving those details to the reader’s imagination.

Photographing the Ultimate Art Form

With its heady mixture of music, drama, scenic architecture, lighting, and costume design, opera has often been referred to as the ultimate art form and to celebrate this ultimate art form only an ultimate art book will do.


In the generously over-sized In Grand Style: The Glory of the Metropolitan Opera, photographer and artist Nancy Ellison beautifully captures the visual impact of twenty lavish productions on the stage of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. From the temples of ancient Egypt to the streets of nineteenth century Paris the artists of the Met have been creating these magical worlds on the stage for over 120 years.


The nearly three-foot wingspan of the book allows for sweeping images such as this breathtaking scene of Imperial China as envisioned by Franco Zeffirelli for his lavish 1987 production of Turandot. The fact that such a deep volume might prove difficult to fit in your average bookcase only proves the point that a work of art like this should be left out and about where everyone can inspired by its fantastic imagery.

Library Nook

The recent addition of a book column to this blog shows how much our style is influenced and inspired by our collection of art, history, and design books. We hope you’ll enjoy hearing about some of our select favorites and maybe even find a new volume to add to your own library at home.


Not only are our books one of our favorite sources of design inspiration but one of our best-loved design elements as well. The rhythm of all those colorful spines filling the antique mahogany bookcase lends warmth and richness to this little library nook.


The green and burgundy hues of the fresh hydrangea echo the muted shades in the mid-century vintage print behind them. Looking down over the scene from a shabby antique palm frond corbel bracket is a charming Chinese porcelain figure of a child with a large gilded fish. Contributing to the gilded theme are an unusual gold gilt rococo scroll mirror and a carved wood corbel bracket.


The top of the bookcase provides a perch for a small famille rose porcelain table lamp a contrast in proportion to the pair of over-sized ox-blood red Chinese porcelain jars beside it. Finally it would seem every library no matter how small should have at least one classical bust, here ours is displayed with a tiny Victorian print overlapping a larger antique English print on the wall behind.

Photos and styling by KS&D.

The Work of Photographer Slim Aarons

Everyone likes flipping through a pretty “coffee table book”, and with their lavish swimming pool cover shots two of our summertime favorites have to be Once Upon A Time and A Place in the Sun featuring the work of photographer Slim Aarons.


As portrait photographer for Town and Country, Holiday, and Life magazines, Slim once described his career as “photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places”. From WWII until the 80’s he traveled the world photographing the rich and famous in their natural habitat. From high society and royalty to titans of industry and Hollywood celebrities the pages of these books are filled with the one glorious image after another.


Our books are seen here with a simple bouquet of daisies, the perfect summertime flower, arranged in an antique French Country china creamer. The swirling striations of the antique Venetian glass bowl beautifully match the soft sherbet hues on the books spines. Now all we're missing is the newest book, which appropriately enough is simply titled Poolside with Slim Aarons.

Photos and styling by Knickerbocker.

The Do-It-Yourself De Medici

Today being Father’s Day our post celebrates one of the forefathers of American design and one of our favorite inspirations, the legendary Tony Duquette.


The beautifully produced design books “Tony Duquette” and it’s companion “More is More” have become staples on my coffee table both for their breathtaking imagery and inspiring content. Discovered as a young man by international design arbiter Elsie de Wolfe, Duquette’s genius as an artist and designer earned him the honor of being the first American artist in history to be granted a one-man show at the Louvre.


Known as the “Do-It Yourself De Medici” for reworking ordinary objects in imaginative ways, Tony’s creations ranged from jewels for the Duchess of Windsor to sets and costumes for MGM motion pictures. Duquette designed for the opera, ballet, and theater, earning a Tony Award for costuming the original Broadway production of Camelot. His theatrical touch made him much in demand among wealthy clients as a creator of lavish parties, but it would be interior design for which he would become best known. The evocative image above shows the spectacular drawing room at Dawnridge, Tony’s jewel box of a home in Beverly Hills.


Here we’ve arranged our treasured books with a nod to Duqette style including an elaborate Chinese vase filled with bright fragrant lilies, glowing votives, a handful of seashells, and an unexpected bubble filled crystal ball just for the fun of it.