Yesterday, I scored two amazing finds – a pair of antique architecture portfolios by Wulliam & Farge of Paris.  Here’s how that came about…  As we were planning some afternoon outing options while visiting my parents we talked about hitting our favorite ice cream shop, visiting a couple of antique shops, going to the battlefield, and, of course, the topic of bookstores came up.  My mom shared that there is a used bookstore in an old house in Cashtown, PA that I might want to check out.  I looked up their website because used bookstores can be a total bust for me depending on what kind of books the shop owner curates.  If he/she curates a bunch of paperback novels, that’s not going to appeal to me.  But, I saw on their website that Rock Top Bookshop & Bindery specializes in books on history, war, cooking, gardening, design, architecture, art, and more.  Oh yes.  This is my kind of place.

Right away, I was excited about going inside, because the shop is in a lovely old home…

Right away, the owner came over to us and asked if she could help us find anything.  Jeff and my dad wanted to look at the history and Civil War books, so she sent them next door.  (This was a fortunate thing so I could make my pile and checkout without any looks from Jeff.)  I asked about art books and she led me back to a section of books lined up on sagging shelves, piled on top of tables, and even on a small settee.  My eyes lit up.  She pointed at a pile of three boxes in the corner and said, “Oh yeah, I love art books.  Those boxes are ones I still need to unpack.”

I immediately set to work, going through each book one by one to find artists I like, books that are on my wishlist, and any new-to-me artists to discover.  Next to the art books was a section on design and architecture and I scoured that section as well.  There were actually art books tucked all over the shop depending on the subject, artist, and country of origin.  I was in heaven.

When the shop owner came over to take my books to hold in a stack by her desk, I asked her about some large blue books piled at the top of the shelf.  They had blue cloth bindings that caught my eye, but I also noticed the ruffled and discolored pages sticking out.  “Oh, those are antique architecture portfolios.”  She said it so nonchalantly, so I replied with equal enthusiasm.  “Oh, okay.  Thanks.”  Inside, I was giddy.  I reached up and carefully pulled down the stack.

They were antique architecture portfolios by Wulliam & Farge from the 1880s and they were each filled with well over 100 architectural plates.  At $150/each, they weren’t cheap, but I knew I had the chance to buy something special for a very good price.  I’ve learned to trust that instinct, so I took them to put on my pile.  I winked at my mom and jokingly whispered, “Just don’t tell Jeff.”  I ended up also buying (so many great federal-style building elevations), Vincent by Himself, Wyeth at Kuerners (which is excellent), Monotypes by Maurice Prendergast, and Old Master Drawings from the Albertina.  And I promise you I was tempering myself.  (You can find a full list of my art books .)

The antique architectural portfolios are what I want to focus on, though, because they are fabulous.  I did a lot of digging online and I could only find volumes from Wulliam & Farge available in libraries.  I found 3-4 similar antique architecture portfolios for sale, but they were much more expensive than what I paid – $500-$1200.  Jeff never did give me the look over these books and he even suggested I might want to go back and pick up another one!

The most profitable thing to do with these antique architectural portfolios is to sell off the original antique prints individually or in grouped sets.  I had that thought, but complete or mostly-complete sets are becoming hard to find for this reason.  I sort of hate to break up the set.  So, I might scan the best plates and make them available as digital prints.

Anyway, these portfolios are just so special and they are in fantastic condition.

The ribbon ties are one of my favorite parts.  If you don’t know how I feel about ribbon ties, yet, you can read THIS POST.

I tried to find out more about Wulliam & Farge of Paris, but I haven’t had much luck, yet.  I mostly found their other architectural portfolios referenced.  The ones I acquired are from 1882 and 1884 and they contain a variety of architectural plans, elevations, and drawings of everything from small homes and furniture pieces to churches, prisons, theatres, chateaus, public buildings, and gardens.  It’s quite an array.

As someone who used to sit on the floor in my room as a teenager, drawing up floor plans and sketching out houses, this is right in my alley.

I’ve actually drawn theatre plans before, but they were nowhere near as sophisticated as this…

This is actually a plan for the Eden Theatre in Paris by William Klein and Albert Duclos.  It was demolished in 1895, but here are a couple of interior pictures of it…

My favorite floor plans are of everyday houses and small shops…

I can’t wait to really spend time looking through these antique architecture portfolios in detail and research which buildings are still standing.  I also plan to frame a few of my favorites when we get to where we’re going.  Can you tell I’m excited about hanging art in our next house?  I hope I have plenty of wall space!

My mom and I also hit a thrift store, but I’ll share about that in another post…