[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material

Price: $9,500.00

Softcover. A collection of 10 handmade artists' books created for Josephine Ann Braendle with some miscellaneous material, housed in a large metal-lined wooden tea box (G. B. Farrington Co., Importers & Jobbers of Tea, New York).

Josephine Ann Braendle (1885-1965) was a clerk with the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, DC in the 1920's when she met William Alexander Miller (1864-1945). Miller designed and created these detailed and artistic, and mostly holiday-themed albums, apparently in support of his courtship of Braendle. The delight he took in creating these albums for her is evident. For many years he was the Acting Chief Clerk in charge of public service and information in the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress until his retirement in 1933. Josephine became his second wife, the pair were married and lived in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.

The more significant items in the collection include:

1. [1920]: Small leather portfolio (or perhaps a book cover), gilt stamped with Josephine Ann Braendle's name and the date on the front cover (mottled).

2. [1920]: Hand-designed Easter card, with original poems done in calligraphy.

3. [1920]: Hand-done calligraphic "Christmas Letter to Josephine," consisting of a poem "written" by a Christmas Clock, with a hand-made Christmas card, ornamented on the front cover with artificial holly leaves and calligraphy and reprinting the same "Christmas letter," and accompanied by a small printed card, small decorative raised metallic stickers, and handwritten quotes from Longfellow, Cowper, Shakespeare, etc., all related to clocks and time.

4. [1921]: Small handmade Easter album, approximately 12½" x 7½", in the shape of an egg, bound with braided embroidery thread, blind stamped paper over boards, colored with copper and red, with a handwritten title "Fresh Country Eggs, March 27, 1921." [24]pp., each egg-shaped, each with a color illustrated Easter card or two (approximately 30 cards, one with a cloth on-lay, one with a feather) and/or a cutout and laid down (rectos only), each page protected by an egg-shaped spider patterned tissue guard.

5. [1921]: Small handmade album, approximately 9" x 10". [15]pp., including covers, of 14 Valentine's cards laid down on paper cut into heart-shapes, front and rear covers of stiff red paper, with hole punches at the tops of the pages, but ties lacking.

6. [1921]: Handmade birthday card. Measuring 8½" x 10½". Stiff white paper cover tied with a blue ribbon, made for Josephine's 36th birthday, July 26, 1921, with handwritten blue and gilt lettering, 13 color illustrated printed birthday cards laid down, and handwritten copies of poems.

7. [1921]: Handmade scrapbook, with hand calligraphy on the front cover in gilt for Christmas 1921. Measuring 9" x 11". Stiff paper covers in green and red, three hole punches at left margin, but ribbon lacking. [46]pp. (rectos only) with one or more color illustrated Christmas cards laid down on each page (119 cards), and two ribbon-tied New Years cards laid in.

8. [1922]: Small handmade scrapbook. Approximately 8½" x 9½". Stiff manila paper, three-hole punched with remnant of ribbon tie, with a cut-out of a rabbit complete with cotton tail laid down on front cover. [34]pp. (rectos only) with one or two color illustrated printed cards laid down on each page (63 cards), some of the cards have been personalized.

9. [1922]: Small handmade album of 46 Valentine's cards. Measuring 8¼" x 9¼". Stiff red cardboard cover cut in the shape of a heart with a gilt arrow diagonally across the front cover, hand-lettered, with a cutout card laid down on the front, and [31]pp. of cards, one, two or three to a heart-shaped page, and laid down (rectos only).

10. [1922?]: Handmade scrapbook of Christmas cards. Measuring 8" x 9½". Stiff green paper covers, handwritten gilt lettering, a piece of artificial holly affixed to front cover, three hole punches at left margin, bound with braided cord, [48] pp. of color illustrated printed cards (67 total) laid down, one or two to a page (rectos only).

11. [1924]: Handmade Easter album. Measuring 8" x 10½". Hand-lettered front cover, hole punched at left margin and bound with a braided cord, [21] pp., 28 color illustrated printed Easter cards laid down (rectos only), one or two to a page.

12. [1924]: Valentine's album. Measuring 9" x 11". Light brown patterned paper, hole punched at left margin and bound with a braided cord, [21] pp. of 23 cards laid down (rectos only), including one with a piece of Wrigley's spearmint gum still attached ("I Chews You!"), two with buttons, and one with a Kewpie.

13. [1924]: Handmade album of Christmas cards, Measuring 8" x 10½". Josephine's name lettered on the front cover, and a card laid down, hole punched at left margin, and bound with cord, [43]pp. of 85 color illustrated printed cards laid down one or more to a page (rectos only), plus one on verso of front cover, all related to lamps, candles and illumination "on the occasion of the presentation of a lamp," (presumably that year's Christmas gift), some pages annotated with hand-written notes and quotes, also related to illumination.

Additionally there are several other cards, both printed and handmade.

All of the cards are clean and well kept, only two show a bit of staining from glue residue used to lay them into the albums. Several of the valentines have doors that open, all are in fine shape, there are several "cheerful cherub" cards, with one identified as being from the P.F. Volland Co. of Chicago.

The large 16½” x 15” x 8½” tea box houses the collection the collection is from the firm of G.B. Farrington, located on Front Street in New York City. This company imported fine teas from Japan, China and London. The inner lid of the box has a color illustration laid down of Mount Fuji, with women in kimono harvesting tea leaves in baskets, and a Japanese woman seated on a porch in the foreground preparing to serve tea. The wooden outer edges of the box have paper labels with flower illustrations (soiled and chipped) and the name of the company on one panel, and "made in Japan" on another panel. The decorative paper label on the outside of the lid is heavily chipped.

A splendid collection of mostly unique book-shaped items most housing greeting cards that illustrate the determined ardor of a compulsive suitor.


Item #403248

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Item #403248 [Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material. William Alexander MILLER, Josephine Ann Braendle.
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material
[Archive]: A Collection of Ten Handmade Artists' Books created for Josephine Ann Braendle (1920-1924) with related material