A Studio book

Presents the well-known Lear poem plus eight limericks.

From Goodreads: David Leavitt brings the wonders and mysteries of Florence alive, illuminating why it is, and always has been, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The third in the critically-acclaimed Writer and the City Series-in which some of the world's finest novelists reveal the secrets of the cities they know best-Florence is a lively account of expatriate life in the 'city of the lily'. Why has Florence always drawn so many English and American visitors? (At the turn of the century, the Anglo-American population numbered more than thirty thousand.) Why have men and women fleeing sex scandals traditionally settled here? What is it about Florence that has made it so fascinating-and so repellent-to artists and writers over the years? Moving fleetly between present and past and exploring characters both real and fictional, Leavitt's narrative limns the history of the foreign colony from its origins in the middle of the nineteenth century until its demise under Mussolini, and considers the appeal of Florence to figures as diverse as Tchaikovsky, E.M. Forster, Ronald Firbank, and Mary McCarthy. Lesser-known episodes in Florentine history-the moving of Michelangelo's David, and the construction of temporary bridges by black American soldiers in the wake of the Second World War-are contrasted with images of Florence today (its vast pizza parlors and tourist culture). Leavitt also examines the city's portrayal in such novels and films as A Room with a View, The Portrait of a Lady and Tea with Mussolini.

Photographic record of people and events of the last forty years as captured by the camera of one of Life magazine's most famous photographers.

"Starting in the '20s - when Georgia was recognized as one of the most important protagonists of modernism in America - until his death, the artist and his works have attracted a great interest in the arts community and the American public. Despite the great gained recognition in America and Europe, only a few of his works have been exhibited to the European public. Artist and woman, Georgia O 'Keeffe (1887-1986) embodies the American myth of independence, individualism and greatness. His works are unique, as the combination of colors: the study of forms, the choice of tone and color, the curvy and sensual portion of the brush are repeated in games and new combinations, but never quite different. Founded in 1887 by a family of farmers and She went to art since childhood, Georgia O'Keeffe began his studies in Chicago then continued to New York. After working as a graphic design and teacher, from 1918 he devoted himself entirely to painting, with the support of the photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz, whom she married in 1924 and with whom he lived at 30 th floor of the Shelton Hotel in New York. These were the years when he began to paint the Big City. After many trips to the United States, following the death of her husband in 1946, he settled in New Mexico that had inspired so much. At the age of 66 years began to travel the world and devoted himself to experiments with clay. He died in 1986."--Transliterated from publisher's website.

In two poems the grand King and Queen of the Pelicans live a joyous life on the banks of the Nile and a strange creature's vast hat attracts a wide variety of nesters.

The story of Lootie, a tiny morsel of life 'looted' from a Chinese palace at a culmination of the Opium War and given to Queen Victoria, is the starting point of Rumer Godden's enchanting story of the pekingese...the breed of dogs which combines the beauty and delicacy of the butterfly with the pride and nobility of the lion. Long greatly prized as the court dogs of the Chinese emperors, they were almost unknown in the West until the 19th C. and their introduction coincided with the reigns of two remarkable women: on one hand, the Dowager Empress of China, Tzu-hsi, one of the most fascinating..and perhaps wicked..women in history; on the other, Victoria, the young British monarch who was to see her empire grow to rival that of the Chinese. Rumer Godden takes these two very different women and their courts..the Summer Palace and the Winter Castle..and around their lives and times weaves a history of the 'golden-coated nimble dogs, 'as Marco Polo described them. The pekingese were so important in Chinese court and religious life that they recur repeatedly in the decorative arts, in scrolls, ornaments and painting,s and in the legends and literature of China. here Godden has assembled a beautiful collection of illustrations to show the role and evolution of the pekingese down the ages. She also describes the development of the breed in the West, notably through the celebrated Alderbourne kennels, and she describes and illustrates her own and other famous pekingese.

A biography of Dickens, the 19th century novelist and social critic.

152 p. : 29 cm

Inventive Paris Clothes 1909 1939: A Photographic Essay by Irving Penn. NY: A Studio Book / Viking Press, 1977. Hardcover in dust jacket, 96 pp. A superb collection of b/w photographs presented in essay format by influential fashion photographer Irving Penn. Best known for his classically elegant visual style and his long association with Vogue magazine, these photographs feature Paris fashions that appeared in Vreeland's exhibition "The Tens, The Twenties, The Thirties: Inventive Clothes/ 1909-1939" at the The Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute, Dec. 14, 1973-May, 1974. The work of Paul Poiret, Madeleine Vionnet, Callot, Molyneux, Paquin, Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are some of early 20th century French couture masters included in this look at fashion as it evolved from the Belle Epoque into the modern era, just before WWII. From the dust jacket: "The fashions of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s were as glorious as they were socially reflective. Inspired by the exhibit organized by Diana Vreeland for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Irving Penn's masterly picture essay captures the flavor of the times as well as literal details of design. Because of her participation in and astute observation of, the scene in which these fashions were born, Diana Vreeland in her text is able to provide a unique glimpse into the lives of each of the couturiers, and her captions to Penn's sensitive photographs are rich in detail. From the straight-line creations of Paul Poiret to the classically modern work of Gabrielle Chanel and the fanciful innovations of Elsa Schiaparelli, Penn has included the most remarkable material--designs that provided the principles from which all fashion to follow would grow."

Irish history is a long, dark road, with many blind alleys, many

An exhibition based on this book is scheduled to be held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Oct. 14, 1976 to May 1, 1977, and at other museums at later dates.

A step-by-step guide to drawing various horses in motion and at rest.

The first nonsense poem tells the tale of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo's unsuccessful courtship; the second describes the devouring, by a menagerie of animals, of an old man's unusual costume made of food.

In 1900, West examines the final year of Queen Victoria's reign, a period that simultaneously embodied the confidence of the 19th century and hinted at the uncertainties of the century to come. The book covers a wide range of social, political, and cultural events, presenting a detailed, sometimes acerbic, historical argument. The book's illustrations, many of them rare period photographs, depict both historical figures and scenes from daily life, including Queen Victoria and the construction of the New York subway. West's text features notes accompanying the pictures, along with a central, long essay that offers her insightful perspective.

Retells four Russian folk tales: The Firebird, Vassilissa the Fair, Maria Morevna, and The Snow Maiden.

"John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester (1647-1680), was the most notorious of the Restoration rakes. He was also a fine lyrical and satirical poet whose work---in Graham Greene's opinion--has been underestimated because it was overshadowed by his life of lechery and drunkenness, wild pranks and practical jokes, and death-bed repentance. At Court, King Charles II suffered but respected Rochester's biting satires, joined in some of his erotic escapades, forgave his embarrassing japes, and rewarded him with distinctions. The heiress Elizabeth Mallet succumbed to his charm, eloped with him, and remained constant, though not always happy, throughout thirteen years of marriage. Elizabeth Barry, his favorite mistress, owed to him her success on the stage and gained his sincere devotion. Yet the last thirteen years of Rochester's short life were 'clouded by the fumes of drink' and were marked by outrageous buffoonery, an abortive duel, and literary quarrels that threatened to wreck his undoubted gifts of friendship. These notorious episodes, no less than the religious scruples that culminated in his deathbed call to Dr. Burnet in 1680, characterize the mental and psychological conflict which was the source of Rochester's finest poetry. His friend Etherege depicted him in the stage character of Dorimant: 'I know he is a Devil, but he has something of the Angel yet undefac'd in him.' "--Dust jacket.

This oversized book of photography and verse reflects many aspects of the highly emotional, uncommonly eventful life of the author: the confusion and poverty he experienced as a child growing up in Fort Scott, Kansas; the bigotry, drug addiction, terror, chaos and blatant inhumanity to which he was exposed as a rising journalist and photographer; the beauty and sophistication with which his professional career is associated today.

Sir Perceval Peacock plans a party for those of his friends who were excluded from the Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast.

Thirteen fairy tales from a variety of countries including Japan, Yugoslavia, Portugal, and Belgium.

This book is illustrated entirely by contemporary photographs. The earliest pictures belong to the 1840s, when Fox Talbot's camera was just in time to record the Old Hungerford Suspension Bridge and the erection of Nelson's Column. The latest show the London of seventy years further on, when the motor-car had begun to supplant the carriage, the hansom, and the horse-drawn omnibus. These photographs illustrate every aspect and district of London. The emphasis is on the streets, and the people and traffic in them, rather than on the buildings. Here are pictures of a vanished population of street traders and entertainers: the muffin men, umbrella menders, ginger-beer sellers, sweeps, dancing bears and organ grinders, flower girls, rabbit sellers, and Punch-and-Judy shows which were an everyday feature of London street life. The pictures in which they appear are often strikingly beautiful, though whether they are so from the conscious intention of their photographers it might be hard to say.--From publisher description.

A visual catalog of lost works of art throughout history which can only be identified from copies or impressions left in coin or stone.

On their way to the Great Annual Show, the performers in the Magic Circus have some perilous adventurous after they meet a disgruntled conjuror in the forest.