A detail from The Grammar of Ornament

This beautiful volume by British designer and architect Owen Jones (1809-1874) was the first book in history to present a full-color, comprehensive account of ornament-one that cut across all periods, cultures, and geographic areas. It was, for example, the first book to include so-called "primitive art" (Oceanic and African art) for its design content, and among the first to suggest nature as a basic design source (the concluding section of the book presents a magnificent series of illustrations of leaves and flowers). The book includes design motifs classified as Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Pompeian, Roman, Byzantine, Arabian, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Celtic, Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan and Italian, among others.

As was the case with many finely printed, 19th-century illustrated publications, the first edition of The Grammar of Ornament, in large folio format, was published by subscription. This work was published in installments (owing to the labor-intensive work necessary for producing such high-quality, full color plates). The overwhelming response to the initial edition soon led to a succession of smaller, subsequent editions, but the plates in these were all markedly inferior to those of the original edition.

Ewolfs.com is pleased to offer a rare first edition of Owen Jones' celebrated book in our upcoming August book auction. Please see the catalog for details of the color plates and a complete condition report.

- by Dr. Marianne Berardi

The Civil War Letters

Earlier this year, ewolfs.com came into the possession of a fifty-five item collection of Civil War letters. Written between 1861 through 1867, the letters were penned to Mary Daggette and her family over the course of the war. Two of Daggette’s brothers served in the Union Army and were conscientious correspondents writing regularly to their sister and her husband. The letters are noteworthy in that they accurately detail troop movements, skirmishes, and battles in northeastern West Virginia during the war, while reflecting the social movements, culture, and even prejudices of the day.

D.O. Kelley and Rush Kelley, the two Pennsylvania brothers, are thoughtful and literate young men in their early twenties when the war breaks out. In two of the letters featured here, the brothers confront the volatile issues of abolitionism and African-American soldiers in the Army. One brother writes: "Our army is rather demoralised at the present time...I believe that the majority of the Soldiers would rather kill an abolitionist than a secessionist..." Reminiscent of the story told in the film "Glory," the other brother writes of the valor of the African-American regiments: "They have done deeds that would reflect on the oldest Veterans of our own Color the greatest honor." In another letter written early in the war, a Daggette cousin describes his brushes with death in the kind of high cavalier good spirits that belie his youth and his optimism that the "Johnny Rebs" would soon be turned back.

These letters represent an uncommon and personal view of the Civil War from family members whose letters exhibit a high level of literacy, thoughtfulness, and affection for each other and for their united country.

- by Kathleen Webber