Amsterdam, J. Brandt & Zoon, ca. 1910-1916. Folio (37.0 x 30.0 cm). With 36 original photographs of furniture leather crafting such as, chairs, clocks and smoking stands, each with a handwritten caption, on 34 leaves. Original full leather, with gilt title and vignette on the front board. Marbled endpapers.

J. Brandt & Zoon was an Amsterdam based bookbinder and paper wholesaler, active from 1742 until the mid-20th century, when it merged with P. Proost & Zoon, another Amsterdam firm, founded in 1842. The present volume is apparently a display of their craftsmanship, as it is meticulously bound and gilted. It contains 33 framed photographs of contemporary decorative furniture, all in a style transitional between Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau, and Art Deco. Many items show the characteristic ornamentation of the "Amsterdamse School", a mainly architectonical art movement characterized by the profuse use of ornaments, chiefly inspired by nature and by Indonesian art. Buildings and interiors in typical Amsterdamse School style were made between 1912 and 1925. What we see here are early examples, in which the use of fluent, curved lines - more typical for Art Nouveau, are still present. A few boards in the rear removed. Firm stamp on front flyleaf verso. A unique item in a very good state.