Atwater's Book of Patterns for Hand-Weaving John Landes Designs, 3 Parts 1925-26

Description: A Book of Patterns for Hand-Weaving. Designs from the John Landes Drawings in the Pennsylvania Museum. Drafts and notes by Mary Meigs Atwater. Staple-bound paperbacks published by the Shuttle-Craft Guild 14 Ash Street, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1925-26. Printed by The Old Dutch Press, Boston, Massachusetts. The following are excerpts from the Foreword, "Done at 14 Ash Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts September 15, 1925", written by Mary Meigs Atwater (1878-1956). "One of the most interesting documents in the all too meagre archives of American hand weaving is a book of drawings by one "John Landes", who appears to have been a professional weaver of the Revolutionary period. This remarkable old pattern book is one of the treasurers of the Frishmuth Collection of the Pennsylvania Museum, where many of the weaving fraternity have had the pleasure of examining it. And it is through the generous permission of the museum that the present publication is made possible. Of the artist himself nothing is definitely known. Possibly he was one of the band of itinerant weavers of the period - travelling about from village to village and from farm to farm, wherever his services happened to be in demand, with his looms, shuttles and whatnot of equipment on a heavy ox-cart. The famous pattern-book no doubt was carefully bestowed where it could be brought out for the inspection of prospective customers. I wish to thank the Pennsylvania Museum - and especially the Director and Librarian for permission to publish the material, and for encouragement and assistance. I also wish to thank the members of the Shuttle-Craft Guild for their co-operation and support. It gives me a very great deal of pleasure to set going again in our modern world the excellent work of an "Old Master" of Colonial weaving. This book is dedicated to all who know and love the whirr of the hand-shuttle and the thump of the batten." Atwater's final sentence on the last page: "These are the final drawings in the ancient book." Atwater's publication organized Landes' material into four parts. These were first published in 1925-26 (source: Library of Congress). While 21st century reprints of Atwater's work are readily available, copies predating the 1991 reprint are quite scarce. An extensive online search found one copy from 1928 (priced at $159.45 + $15 shipping). No copies from 1925-26 were found. This is a chance to own a piece of U.S. history: three of the four original volumes of the true first edition of A Book of Patterns for Hand-Weaving by John Landes. We are offering the following three parts for $149 + $3 shipping: Part One - pages 1-24, Copyright 1925Part Two - pages 25-48, Copyright 1925Part Four - pages 73-96, Copyright 1926 In excellent condition, with no major defects of any kind: no writing, odor, discoloration, stains or water damage were found. Some minor bends at corners, a few very tiny corner folds, a bit of slight wear at some corners and edges. Part two appears to have a small (less the 1/2 inch) pencil mark at bottom right corner of front cover; a tiny (1/8 inch or less) light brown dot appears at top right corners of parts two and three.

Price: 149 USD

Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

End Time: 2025-02-01T22:27:28.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3 USD