ENGLISH ART ALBUM PHOTOGRAPHS, PAINTINGS, PRISON ART, etc. 1930s-1950

A most extraordinary assemblage of 62 photographic portraits, landscapes, watercolors, ink drawings, and ephemera, curated by a wealthy and well-connected British eccentric, and bound in bespoke leather. Most of the items that are dated in the album are from the 1930s, with a few from 1950/1951. This unique and extraordinary compilation was the brainchild and decades long project of Edward Charles Le Grice, F.R.P.S. (Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society). There is some information available online about Le Grice, but nothing about this project, surely one of his proudest accomplishments, and probably a pastime which brought him much pleasure. More information on Le Grice is at the end of this description. There are 86 ivory-paper leaves/176 pages, with three sided gilt-edged. 9" w X 11" h X 2.5" d. The binding is unique: the front cover is an embossed brown-calf hard-leather version of Le Grice’s own 1910 x-ray photograph of half a dozen seahorses, floating among seaweed. The spine, with embossed golden crosses, says in a pickled Latin "In Memoriam Pulcritudinis" and "Liber Recordationum" ("In Memory of Beauty/Book of Reminders"). On the rear cover, more hippocampi - one embossed, two in silhouette - between shadowy reeds. Given that the assembled images all fit perfectly onto the pages of this album, the works appear to have been commissioned to fit its specific dimensions, and the collection took years to assemble. What is also immediately evident is the wide range of interests of the compiler…and the eventual buyer. Anyone who wishes to possess this unique collection must have the most eclectic and refined of tastes. The album opens with a unique frontispiece: a painted page, done in 1939 but redolent of the illuminations of a medieval monastery; but the typewritten note pasted opposite, on the marbleized inside front cover, explains that this is the work of a prisoner, incorporating numerous heraldic seals, as well as the royal insignia of the city of Norwich (location of the prison). Overleaves uniformly blank, with two exceptions: the first, a closeup of George V, which sits neatly opposite a portrait of Queen Mary; and the penultimate, a small image of the stained-glass windows at Chartres, forming a triptych with two exterior views of the cathedral on the facing page. Another astonishing aspect of this album: the great majority of the pieces are hand-signed, either by the artist of the painting or illustration, or by the subject of the photographic portrait. This is only fitting, as both artists and subjects are quite well-known. Many of the signatures are on their own small paper plate, pasted beneath the portrait. Numerous portraits also have small heraldic symbols as well, pasted on the top edge, usually in the form of a small purple embossed seal. In addition to the seal, and the autograph, many pages have a small typewritten annotation pasted in as well. One hesitates to spoil the surprises that await on every page with an exhaustive list, but obviously an extensive description of the contents is in order: 41 photographs - 18 portraits of dignitaries of Norwich and Norfolk, scientists, clergy, and fellow photographers; the rest of nature and architecture. Apart from Mr. Le Grice, 21 photographers are represented in the collection, 8 of whom were also members of the RPS. Interspersed with the photographs, in wonderfully random order, 16 original artworks are pasted in, and several additional ephemera. Some notable entries: ? A moody landscape photo of a biplane flying the darkened skies over Edinburgh ? A photo of a small bird, dated 1950, described as being "one of the first taken by the new Electronic Flash" ? A photograph, titled "One Winter Evening", that can only be described as a still life: spectacles resting upon an open book, in lamplight, with pipe and matches nearby ? A photo of three young Moslem boys, near an arched doorway, titled "The Sunlit Doorway" - captioned (The Carpet-Sellers’ Souk, KAIROUA.…