first edition Card thick boards, or limp hardcover.
1908 · Berlin
Berlin: August Scherl, 1908. First Edition. Card thick boards, or limp hardcover. . Very Good Plus. Oblong, 22.5 by 30.5 cm. xviii, [4], 118, [2] pp. With six color plates of paintings of park-like gardens, stunning villas and bucolic settings. Several pages are devoted to each of the country houses discussed, with multiple illustrations of the house and gardens, house plans and garden lay-outs, and detail renderings of benches, pavillions, trellises and other highlights of the gardens. Perhaps most unusual is that costs for creating the gardens are set forth. The book was organized around a competition; the properties shown are the winning entries, with the top entry receiving a prize of 1,000 marks. All the properties have names, or "Mottos" as they are called here, meant in some way to capture something about their location or essence. Quite a beautiful book, capturing the most appealing aspects of domestic Wilhelmine culture as enjoyed by the affluent. Condition: light wear.
(Inventory #: 006567)