France In The Nineteenth Century 1830-1890 (Inscribed By The Author To Her Sister Ariana R W Curtis, Owner Of The Barbaro Palace In Venice, Where Henry James Wrote "The Aspern Papers

Chicago: A. C. Mcclurg, 1892. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Good. [Vii], 450 Pp. Blue Cloth, Gilt. First Edition, With 1892 Date On Title Page. Cover Gilt Bright, Spine Gilt With Some Wear. The Binding Is Worn, Completely Frayed Across Both Ends Of The Spine, Tips With Small Frays, Front Hinge Tight; Rear Hinge Cracked With Thin Line Of Exposure Of Webbing. Inscribed "Ariana R W Curtis / Palazzo Barbaro / Venice/ From The Author", And With Latimer's Handwritten Summary Of Her Writings, To 1892, Tipped On To The Rear Free Endpaper. The Palazzi Barbaro Are A Pair Of Adjoining Palaces, Formerly One Of The Homes Of The Patrician Barbaro Family, On The Grand Canal Of Venice. It Is One Of The Least Altered Of The Gothic Palaces Of Venice.The First Of The Two Palaces Is In The Venetian Gothic Style And Was Built In 1425 By Giovanni Bon, One Of Venice's Master Stonemasons. While The Palazzo Remained The Barbaro Family'S Property, They Did Not Always Live There. In 1499 It Served As The French Embassy To The Republic Of Venice. In 1524, Isabella D'Este, Widow Of Francesco Ii Gonzaga, Marquess Of Mantua And The Sister Of Alfonso I D'este Was Living At The Palazzo Barbaro. In 1797 The Palazzi Belonged To Senator Zuanne Barbaro. After The Barbaro Family Died Out In The Middle Of The 19Th Century, The Palazzo Was Bought By A Series Of Speculators Who Auctioned Off Furniture And Paintings. In 1881 The Older Palazzo Was Rented By Daniel Sargent Curtis (1825-1908), A Relative Of The American Painter John Singer Sargent, And His Wife Ariana Randolph Wormeley (1833-1922) Who Purchased It In 1885. The Curtises Begun A Thorough Restoration And Kept The Palace With Love And Dedication Bringing It Back To Social And Cultural Life And Making It The Meeting Place For Some Cosmopolitan Americans And Others With Visits From Sargent, Ariana'S Sisters The Translator Katherine Prescott Wormeley And The Prolific Authoress And Translator Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer, Their Son The Artist Ralph Wormeley Curtis, Henry James, Whistler, Robert Browning And Claude Monet. Other Members Of The "Barbaro Circle" Included Bernard Berenson, William Merritt Chase, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Edith Wharton, And Charles Eliot Norton. Henry James Finished The Aspern Papers At A Desk That Is Still Housed In The Palace Today; James Considered The Barbaro Ballroom The Finest Example Of A Venetian Baroque Interior, And Included A Description In His Novel The Wings Of The Dove (And A Scene From The Recent Movie Was Filmed There). In 1898, John Singer Sargent Painted A Group Portrait Of The Curtis Family In The Salon, Titled "An Interior In Venice". Isabella Stewart Gardner, An Art Collector And The Foremost Patron Of The Arts In Her Time, Had Her Portrait Painted At The Barbaro By Anders Zorn In 1894; She Fell In Love With It, Renting It Several Times From 1890 When The Curtis' Were Traveling, And When She Went Back To Boston, She Built Her "Venetian Palazzo", An Interpretation Of The Renaissance Palaces Of Venice.