Creative Art: A Magazine of Fine & Applied Art, Incorporating “The Studio” of London. Volume 7, Number 2, August 1930. Contents include “The 1930 Look in British Decoration” with features on Francis Bacon’s furniture, interiors by Serge Chermayeff and others. Also includes review of the 1930 Salon des Decorateurs. Provenance: Modernism 101, Baton Rouge.
The Things We See No. 4 Pottery and Glass Bernard Hollowood, Penguin, Middlessex, 1947. 62 pages, Softcover with dustjacket.
The Adventure of British Furniture 1851-1951 David Joel, Ernest Benn Limited, London, 1953. 252 pages, Softcover. Uncorrected proof, rare. David Joel was a furniture manufacturer and retailer, and the husband of Betty Joel, the furniture and interior designer. The focus is mostly on the conventional designers, such as Ambrose Heal and Gordon Russell.—JZ Dust jacket is in fragments, it is a softcover proof pre-first edition hardcover, with pasted-in illustrations and typos (Marcel Breuer is spelled Marcel Breuen for example)
Design Quarterly No. 36, 8 British Designers, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 1957. 33 pages, Softcover.
Pre-Raphaelite Art and Design Raymond Watkinson, Trefoil Publications, London, 1970. 208 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket.
All Things Bright & Beautiful: Design in Britain 1830 to Today Fiona MacCarthy, University of Toronto Press, 1972. 317 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket. First edition. Superb copy of a legendary title. “This is the story of how the British, against all odds, became design-conscious.”—JZ
A Tonic to the Nation: The Festival of Britain 1951, Thames and Hudson, London, 1976. 200 pages, Softcover. First edition.
Style of Empire: Great Britain 1877-1947, The Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Collection of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Miami-Dad, Miami, 1984. 80 pages, Softcover. First edition, rare.
William Morris As Designer Ray Watkinson, Trefoil Publications, London, 1990. 125 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket.
William Morris: Decor and Design Elizabeth Wilde, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1991. 192 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket.
At the intersection of scholarship and connoisseurship lies Curated: The Design and Library of James Zemaitis—an offering that reflects a career spent exploring, documenting, and shaping the discourse around modern and contemporary design. This carefully assembled selection includes both a compelling group of design works and a rich library of publications that have guided and inspired James Zemaitis throughout his decades in the field.
As Director of Museum Relations at R & Company since 2016, James has played a central role in developing exhibitions and fostering institutional partnerships. His recent curatorial projects, including Born Too Tall: California Women Designers, Postwar to Postmodern, demonstrate a thoughtful and inclusive approach to design history. Prior to his time at R & Company, James held leadership positions at Sotheby’s and Phillips, producing over fifty design sales and helping shape the trajectory of the postwar and contemporary design market.
This collection reflects James’s deep engagement with the material and intellectual history of design. The included library—rich with foundational texts, rare catalogues, and scholarly references—provides a rare window into the ideas and research that have underpinned his work as a curator, advisor, and educator.
This auction brings together design and scholarship in a way that reflects a lifetime of passion and purpose. We are honored to invite collectors, curators, and enthusiasts alike to discover a collection shaped by insight, research, and enduring care.
