Perfectly Delightful: The Life and Gardens of Harvey Ladew

Weeks, Christopher; The Johns Hopkins University Press

ISBN 10: 0801861128 / ISBN 13: 9780801861123

Published by Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., 1999

About this Item

This is a signed by author on title page, hardcover, first edition, first printing of Perfectly Delightful: The Life and Gardens of Harvey Ladew by Christopher Weeks. The book published in 1999 by Johns Hopkins Universitgy Press: Baltimore, MD is in fine condition in unclipped dust jacket in fine condition. 279 pages. ISBN 0801861128.

Seller Inventory # 002942

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Perfectly Delightful: The Life and Gardens of Harvey Ladew
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801861128
• ISBN 13: 9780801861123
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

An account of the life of Harvey Ladew and the glittering world he inhabited. When Ladew bought his Maryland farm in 1929, he had already lived a life that few, if any, could equal: born into the upper stratum of New York society in 1887, he spoke French before he spoke English and took boyhood drawing lessons from Met curators. As an adult he gave decorating instructions to Billy Baldwin (the dean of American interior design), lived as a houseguest of the Maharajah of Kapurthala, took a camel caravan across Arabia (with travel tips kindly provided by his good friend T.E. Lawrence), weekended at the stateliest of England's stately homes, lent his favourite horse to the Prince of Wales, matched wits with Edna Ferber, Noel Coward, Gertrude Stein and Dorothy Parker (in English), and with Jean Cocteau and Colette (in French), and (with Charlie Chaplin) saw Gertrude Lawrence off as she sailed from New York. To this story of multicontinental revelry, Weeks adds the background and development of Ladew's wonderful gardens, which attract thousands of visitors each year, and his important role as an environmentalist. When he began his garden in 1929, Ladew pioneered new artistic ground, for he was one of the first people in America to follow the tenets of the English arts and crafts garden. In 1971, the Garden Club of America awarded him the year's Distinguished Achievement Award. Christopher Weeks draws on photograph albums, scrap books, garden catalogues and memoranda, an unfinished autobiography, letters and guestbooks. There are photographs reproduced from Ladew's albums - some taken by him, some by leading photographers of the day, including many by Horst. There are also interviews with Ladew's friends from New York to Florida, to help illumine his remarkable personality.

About the Author

An architectural historian, Christopher Weeks serves on the consulting committee of the Ladew Topiary Gardens, the foundation Harvey Ladew established to care for his unique creation. Weeks has written or edited a dozen books on architecture and gardening and contributes frequently to periodicals such as the 'Green Scene, American Heritage' and 'Country Life', Harvey Ladew's favorite magazine.