Laura Cerwinske

Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair With Jewelry 1st Edition Hardcover Book. Edited by Ruth A. Peltason. 280 illustrations, including 175 color photographs by John Bigelow Taylor. DIMEN...

Beautiful Prada Book, saffiano textured faux leather slip case and book cover, this book is filled with hundreds of beautiful photos chronicling Prada’s history, ideas development, p...

Sotheby's Catalog, An Important Russian Imperial Jewel. Geneva 17 November 2005. 1st Ed hardcover. "An impressive and highly important diamond ornament from the collection of the Russian Imperial Family, Russia, second half of the 18th century. This diamond necklace with bowknot clasp is not only a remarkable jewel in itself, but its Russian royal provenance puts it in a class of its own. It evokes the blinding splendour of Catherine II, Empress of Russia: the magnificence of her court, her parks, her palaces, her art collections, and monuments. The most striking and colourful figure on the stage of European political life, for thirty four years she ruled a mighty empire which stretched from Siberia to Poland and left it stronger, larger and richer than when she came to the throne in 1762. After her death in 1796, her friend the Prince de Ligne, who had named her Catherine the Great, declared that this title- which has never been lost- resumed all her genius, courage, sense of justice, and force of character. Using her court as a stage, she played the part of an autocratic but enlightened ruler to perfection, imposing in her public appearances, kind and charming in private. The French ambassador, the Comte de Ségur who noticed how “her majestic head and brow, proud look and dignified deportment made her seem taller than she was”, was also impressed by her feminine grace “ her aquiline nose, well shaped mouth, Saxe blue eyes beneath dark lashes, gentle glance and seductive smile”. In spite of her success, she once confided to the Prince de Ligne that she could have served Russia better if she had been born a man. Ever the courtier, he assured her that being a woman was a positive advantage. “Believe me, you are so much more impressive in your beautiful embroidered orange red velvet dolman or tunic than a man decked out in boots and shoulder sash can ever be. In addition the five huge diamonds blazing out from your hair are far more effective than a man’s hat which is either ridiculously small or ridiculously big”. He was right. Her diamond jewellery proclaimed her power and her rank as Empress and appealed to the Russian taste for sumptuous goods. It impressed the Rev. William Coxe, visiting St. Petersburg in 1778: “the glory and the splendor of the clothing of the court and abundance of precious stones leave the opulence of other European courts far behind” and his opinion was shared by the acute Madame de Stael...

Faberge Eggs Imperial Russian Fantasies Softcover Book. Near Fine-very. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,1995. 'Fabergé Eggs - Imperial Russian Fantasies'. Elephant Folio, illustrated perfect-bound wraps, 68 pp. A visually sumptuous presentation of the famous - and very rare Fabergé Eggs...

The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright. by Thomas A. Heinz large heavy hardcover coffee table book. A Complete Guide To The Designs Of An Architectural Genius. Frank Lloyd Wright's career, sometimes tragic, sometimes tempestuous - at all times creative - has been examined and reexamined in numerous studies and articles both during his lifetime and since his death in 1959, which occurred shortly before the completion of his most famous project, New York's Guggenheim Museum. Virtually every structure that Wright built is represented in this extensive survey of his life's work. His genius at architectural design enable him to work out extremely complex buildings in his head and translate them on to paper in a matter of hours, as the famous story of his design presentation of Falling Water illustrates. His work continues to draw great admiration and interest to this day. His often tempestuous and sometimes tragic life and career are given full coverage in this book. Hundreds of photos, both archival and recent chart his amazing work and influence on all who followed. This concise consideration of Wright's life and work not only offers new insights into the character of this complex, powerful and at all times confident personality, but also the architectural legacy he left behind and which exists to this day in the vast number of homes and public buildings photographed...

Mediterranean Design hardcover – August 17, 2006. by Mary Whitesides (Author). Title: Mediterranean Design Publisher: brand: Gibbs Smith Publication date: 2006 Binding: Hardcover Great hardcover coffee table book. Mediterranean Design reveals the vibrant color, outdoor-living emphasis, and diverse cultural influences that have created this unique style. Defined by an eclectic mix of natural elements: sunlight bouncing across textured walls, rooms arranged around porch-lined courtyards, terra-cotta tile roofs covering wood-beam ceilings, arched passages and porticos, vibrantly colored interiors, and courtyards and fountains that take advantage of the temperate climate. Mediterranean Design brings home the romantic and worldly appeal of a style that finds its heritage in the diverse lands of Morocco, Spain, Greece, Turkey, France, and Croatia. Mediterranean Design highlights the unique aspects of the style, such as spatial orientation of the rooms is defining and private vestibules and porches rather than hallways connecting functional spaces, bedrooms as suites rather than lonely rooms, bathrooms as spas rather than generic or merely functional rooms. Details such as arches, pillars, high ceilings, fountains, gardens, pergolas, lime-washed walls, stone façades...

Irving J. Gill, architect hardcover Book by Bruce A. Kamerling. Large format hardcover, folio size volume bound in dark gray cloth lettered in gold, in publisher's non price-clipped ...

Tale of Three Cities: Canton, Shanghai & Hong Kong. Three centuries of Sino-British trade in the decorative arts by David S. Howard. Inscribed 1st edition. Sotheby’s, London, 1997. 2...

Impressionism and Post-impressionism: The Hermitage, Leningrad, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Vintage 1986...

The history of Postmodern Architecture by Heinrich Klotz. Cambridge MA; The MIT Press, 1988. This first standard work on the past 25 years in postmodern architecture documents the ri...

"Pucci - A Renaissance in Fashion" by Shirley Kennedy, 1st edition, printed in Japan in 1991. All excellent near perfect condition. Cloth cover. First white page...

Art Nouveau by Alastair Duncan offers a lush exploration of this transformative art movement, showcasing exquisite examples of glass, furniture, and jewelry that define its organic e...