Description
Classic 1925 biography of legendary Boston art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner and her palazzo-style home and museum, Fenway Court. Written by Morris Carter, Gardner’s close associate and the first director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, this volume remains one of the foundational sources on her life, collection, and the creation of the museum.
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Title: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court
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Author: Morris Carter
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Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York
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Printer: The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Date / Edition: Copyright 1925; second impression, November 1925 (same year as the first)
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Binding: Original green cloth with gilt medallion to front board and gilt-ruled borders
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Illustrations: Well-printed black-and-white plates (including a portrait of Gardner) with tissue guards
This historically important volume offers a contemporary account of Gardner’s life, her travels and relationships with artists and musicians, and detailed descriptions of Fenway Court and its rooms. Because Carter worked directly with Gardner and the museum, his narrative preserves first-hand observations that later writers rely on, making this an attractive book for collectors of Boston history, museum studies, and American women in the arts.
Condition (please match to photos):
Green cloth boards remain solid, with the gilt roundel on the front still visible and attractive. The spine cloth is noticeably sun-faded with some rubbing and fraying at the head and foot, and there is light wear to corners and board edges along with a few small marks to the cloth. Interior pages are clean overall with typical age toning; the illustrated plates and tissue guards look bright and sharply printed. Binding is holding well and the boards are firmly attached. No dust jacket (as is common for this title).
This is a good to very good reading and reference copy of an influential biography, in its original 1925 Houghton Mifflin binding and from the second impression issued the same year as publication. It would make a nice addition to any collection focused on Isabella Stewart Gardner, Boston cultural history, or early 20th-century American art patronage.
In addition to these condition notes, please view all the photos for the best sense of the book’s appearance and wear.
