by Blackburn, William

Published in 1939 by Duke University Press, Durham, NC
Edition: Centennial anniversary edition
Binding: Hardback
Condition: Very good
Comments: This is a very attractive copy of the edition of “The Architecture of Duke University” published in 1939 to celebrate the school’s centennial. It’s not your standard coffee table book, but is instead actually more text than pictures. Written by William Blackburn, a member of the English department, it includes 19 lovely full-page black-and-white photos of buildings around campus, taken as much for artistic affect as for their architectural information, and one tipped-in full-color photograph of the West Window in the university chapel, taken at a time when color photography was still something of a rarity. From what we can tell, many of these books were presentation copies that had printed, not hand written, presentation pages; this copy could be called unusual in that it is NOT a presentation copy. Still, it was obviously produced to the highest standard, with blue buckram binding and the title and university seal in gilt and black on the cover and the title in gilt and black on the spine. The paper is especially unusual and chosen to give the book a patina of age and luxury. The text is printed on a soft, slightly roughly-finished off-white laid paper with a deckled bottom edge, while the photographs are printed on a more typical glossy photographic paper.

Sadly, those choices have not stood up tremendously well in the long run. The black-and-white photographs have left slight shadows on the pages they face. The color photograph—or, more correctly, the black paper on which it is mounted—has done the inverse: the photograph itself has left a clean rectangle on the facing page, which is the title page of the book, while the mounting paper has left the area around it discolored, and discolored the blank page it meets on the reverse. However, from what we have seen, these shadows and discoloration are typical of this publication and not unique to this particular copy. There is also some age tanning along the fore edges of the pages and very light spots of foxing on various pages throughout, though none of this affects the text or the images. The binding is in exceptional condition—tight and square, with hinges in solid shape. There is no bumping and only a tiny spot of rubbing on the bottom of the boards. There are no marks, tears, folds, or creases to any of the pages or to the pastedowns. It obviously is a lovingly-made book and would be a nice addition to the library of any Duke alumna/alumnus or to anyone interested in collegiate architecture. See our photos for details.

Seller Inventory #: 0000528