Tea at Trianon: All Eyes on Bookshelf Design

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

All Eyes on Bookshelf Design

Gloria Upson: "Books are awfully decorative, don't you think?" ~from Auntie Mame (1958)

It seems that there are many people who agree with Gloria Upson, seeking the help of professionals to acquire books that will look impressive on custom-built shelves. I have always lived in houses overflowing with books; my problem has always been where to keep them all. There are never enough shelves or wall space. From Architectural Digest:

When Zoom calls started during the pandemic, a new kind of voyeurism took off. Suddenly, people could see what was on the bookshelves of their colleagues and friends—and even more titillating, their favorite celebrities, politicians, and influencers. The books they had said as much about them as the clothes they wore or the art they collected. “Books are the most important accessory in the house,” says Nina Freudenberger, an interior designer and author of Bibliostyle: How We Live at Home with Books. “Books show someone’s true interests, or their values, or what they want their legacy to be. They answer the questions, ‘Who is this person?’ Or, ‘Who do they want other people to think they are?’” Wine agrees, “Books send a message to the world.” He continues, “They are a great way to convey a lot of information in a small space.”

How, then, to devise the ultimate bookshelf design? People with means took actions to make sure their bookshelves were not only up to par, but also highly visible—whether on screen or off. Ashley Tisdale, for one, caught attention earlier this spring for admitting that her bookshelf had been staged for AD’s Open Door shoot. But as Tisdale herself pointed out in the press that followed, designers have been doing this for years. Specialists such as On Clarendon Road, who promise to “curate a library for your home to reflect your interests, passions, and everything that you find utterly delightful,” have been hired to deck out yachts, nurseries, and hotels.

As The New York Times recently uncovered, stars are intentionally setting up photo ops to show off the latest It book (hand-picked by a celebrity “book stylist” of course). Some books—such as the black Tom Ford tome—have become so sought after as eye-candy for coffee tables that they are being faked and sold on Alibaba.

If the contents of a bookshelf are so important, the question is: When should designers enlist professionals to help? Freudenberger turns to experts for a hand in bookshelf design once “it gets deeper than putting some books on a shelf or finding a big book for a coffee table,” she says. This is especially true if a client wants a wall-to-wall library or an heirloom-quality collection that can be passed down. Hiring a sophisticated service like On Clarendon Road is an option, but Freudenberger also recommends recruiting local help. “You can go to your local bookstore, and ask the owner to consider helping a client,” she said. “You can also get the help of a librarian.” (Read more.)