[Rarebooks] FS: Extraordinary Copy of Dirt-Common Modern Sculpture Book

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

TITLE: “Some Modern Sculptors”

By Stanley Casson.
Published in London by the Oxford University Press in 1928.

DISCUSSION: An attempt not to survey the whole of modern sculpture, but
rather certain key portions. Casson begins with Rodin and others of the
classical form, wends his way through Mestrovic and Rosandic, examines
Eric Gill and Gaudier-Brzeska, and then concludes with Jacob Epstein and
"Dramatic" sculpture.  But that's not why we're here. We're here because
this is an interesting association copy which was owned by Francis Henry
Taylor (1903-1957), and includes three typewritten letters written to
Taylor by Casson, on New College, Oxford letterheads, from the early
1930s.

Stanley Casson (1889-1944) was a multi-talented art scholar and army
officer who read Classical Archaeology at Oxford, served as Assistant
Director of the British School at Athens, Special Lecturer in Art at
Bristol University, and was Director of British Academy Excavations at
Constantinople in 1928-1929. His publications include numerous articles
and books on the subject of Classical Antiquities. He also had two
distinguished war records, starting the First World War as an officer with
an infantry regiment in the trenches of Flanders before becoming part of
the British Salonika Force in 1916 and finally serving on the General
Staff in 1918. His war poems, written in the Flanders mud, are now part of
the War Poetry Collection at Napier University in Edinburgh. Starting in
1939 he again served the British government in Holland, and later
transferred to Greece where he was serving as a liaison officer when he
was killed in an airplane crash in 1944.

Francis Henry Taylor was a former Curator of Medieval Art at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Director of the Worcester Art Museum at about
the time of these letters, and eventually became Director of New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The first letter simply greets Taylor and extends Casson's admiration for
an article that Taylor wrote on Greek sculpture; the other two letters
were evidently written after Taylor had taken a trip to London and the two
had become friends. A few excerpts give a general idea of the scholarly
goings on:

[Aug 7th] "I enjoyed that evening in London more than I have enjoyed
anything in this country for a very long time. My only sorrow is that I
cannot give the return party to you here... How precisely I got home after
you had decanted me from the taxi I cannot say. By strange luck I got into
the right train and there remained semi-comatose until Oxford. Again
Heaven aided and there was actually a taxi at the station... Meantime I
suggest a good line of research would be to find out if Miss [R] keeps a
stature of Hermes in her bedroom... By the way, Wilenski has just written
a crazy book on "Modern Sculpture" that I find would serve as an admirable
whipping post for discussing the ultra-modern coprolite-sculptors... Eric
Gill, whom I saw on Sunday after our carouse, is commissioned to do some
150 full size figures on a new cathedral at Guildford in Surrey. He is
getting together a band and going to do it in the real mediaeval manner (I
mean as regards the organisation)."

[Nov 2, 1932] "As to the statue, actually I see no reason to doubt it and
it really is a scoop... but there will be Hells own row in Greece and
someone will get the permanent push in Athens. I cant imagine how on earth
they get such things out without being spotted. ... Meantime if in due
course I can come over your way, as you suggest, I feel little doubt that
I shall see U.S.A. a bit more from the right viewpoint than most of the
many academics that sour the atmosphere of your genial land. Gawd, what
stiffs we do send you sometimes!".

A superlative association copy.

DESCRIPTION: Hardcover. 7"x10", 119 pages, plus 40 black & white plates.

CONDITION NOTES: The book has some minor wear and light soil, but
otherwise is clean and nice, with a tight binding.

PRICE: $200. -

SOME PICTURES =>

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