STALKER, John [and George PARKER]. A Treatise of Japaning and Varnishing, Being a compleat Discovery of those Arts. Oxford: for the author, 1688. 2° (370 x 230mm). 23 copper-engraved plates only (of 24, lacking plate 9). (Title cropped, browning and soiling to text and plates, a few stains, plates repaired and remargined with some loss.) Contemporary calf (rebacked and recornered, new endpapers).
STALKER, John [and George PARKER]. A Treatise of Japaning and Varnishing, Being a compleat Discovery of those Arts. Oxford: for the author, 1688. 2° (370 x 230mm). 23 copper-engraved plates only (of 24, lacking plate 9). (Title cropped, browning and soiling to text and plates, a few stains, plates repaired and remargined with some loss.) Contemporary calf (rebacked and recornered, new endpapers).

Details
STALKER, John [and George PARKER]. A Treatise of Japaning and Varnishing, Being a compleat Discovery of those Arts. Oxford: for the author, 1688. 2° (370 x 230mm). 23 copper-engraved plates only (of 24, lacking plate 9). (Title cropped, browning and soiling to text and plates, a few stains, plates repaired and remargined with some loss.) Contemporary calf (rebacked and recornered, new endpapers).

FIRST EDITION, a variant giving only Stalker's name on the title. Two other titles exist: one giving both names and one giving only Parker's name. A RARE WORK THAT IS OFTEN FOUND INCOMPLETE, as the author recommended that the plates be removed and used as patterns. The work is not only a model book for decorating furniture and smaller objects in the new oriental style, but also includes a comprehensive account of the techniques to be employed in japaning, gilding, burnishing, the production of glass-prints, varnishing and various trompe-l'oeil techniques amongst others. It is also an important source book for early ceramic designs, particularly Viennese porcelain. Percival 'A Treatise on Japaning' in The Connoisseur (1929) 84:153-163; Wing S-5187C.

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