66 albumen print photographs of Belle Epoque decorative mouldings [moldings] and other architectural features; with one drawing of an overmantel.

Author: 
Le Roy & Cie, Brussels, Belgium [architecture; architectural design; interior decoration; furniture; nineteenth century albumen print photography]
Publication details: 
Brussels, Belgium. Undated [Edwardian?].
£200.00
SKU: 6449

Stamped on front pastedown 'LE ROY & CIE. | DECORATION GENERALE | 58, Avenue Fonsny, 58 | TEL. SABLON 2061'. In a landscape 12mo (roughly 12 x 17 cm) album of 29 leaves, bound in coarse brown cloth. The majority of the photographs are in good condition though lightly aged, with around 20 showing varying degrees of damage involving staining and chipping. The album itself is worn and aged, in a binding heavily-worn at spine and corners, and with spotted and aged leaves. Both sides of every leaf originally carried photographs (ranging in size from 15.5 x 11 cm to 7 x 5 cm), but the glue used to lay them down has become brittle, and 17 are now loose. Each page carrying pencil and ink numeration. An impressive and evocative record of the work of one of the leading firms in the field, providing a nice range of features, mostly in the Belle Epoque style, including overmantels, fireplaces and pieces of furniture. The items include an ornate plinth carrying a small sculpture, and a columned fireplace beneath a classical frieze, with the words 'Vrede Baart Vrede' carved into it. A few items are photographed with paintings (including a Gainsborough copy) and sculptures. A couple of items are photographed in situ, with the rest placed against a black backdrop. The drawing, on a piece of paper roughly 15 x 11 cm loosely inserted, is a simple design for an overmantel, with an illegible line with the reverse carrying five illegible words in English and what seems to be a signature.