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Posted 4 months ago
Hyp-storian
(5 items)
Greetings all,
I recently bought this pair of copper & brass DECO-STYLE (!!) Roycroft bookends, and was hoping that someone could tell me more about them. They are 5 inches high, and I know that's a "late" (1930's?) Roycroft mark, but that's about it. As you can see, the four layers of reddish copper triangles make a beautiful contrast to the brass.
I was blown away by the ultra-deco design, and have been unable to locate even a single other pair for the sake of comparison. I'm assuming (and this is just an "assumption") that they didn't make many such sets because they probably didn't sell- seeing as how this design is SO radically different from every other "more traditional" Roycroft bookend I've ever seen!
Oddly enough, just ONE day after I bought them I came across a Roycroft pen tray on ebay with the same mark and the same basic design, and of course I bought it immediately. Perhaps one of you has seen THIS before, if not the bookends...?
Any info would be greatly appreciated, so thanks in advance!
BookendsA good book can enrich a mind, spur a life-changing epiphany, or transport …
RoycroftFrom the tail end of the 19th century through the first few decades of the …
A beautiful set!
stunning :)
Really fab!
Wonderful set, I think the bookends could even date around 1914, as the signs of early art deco had started by then. Phil.
Thanks for all your comments- it's nice to hear that other collectors share the same appreciation for this highly uncommon Roycroft design! I think at the time they WEREN'T appreciated because they differ too much from the "traditional" bookend designs- which is probably why I've been unable to locate another set for comparison...
I'm not a Roycroft expert by any means, but I do agree that it's from a later period. I know there are Roycroft catalogs out there, which have many of their designs, but I don't know anyone who has these. You might try sending your photos to Paul Jackson, who has an awesome Roycroft website: http://www.roycroftbooks.org/
He might be willing to go through his catalogs to see when your bookends were made. Or perhaps he can help you find another source of information.
Thank you kindly, Stef. I just emailed Paul, and hope he'll be able to either enlighten me himself or provide contact info for another source.