Don’t you just love a bargain?

 

It doesn’t matter how much money you have, if you’re a Shopping Hound like me, you enjoy the thrill of the hunt.  Good deals are irresistible!

 

Here’s what I call a Dog-gone good deal:

 

Forty-two fabulous Dog and Decorating Books for $40.50.

 

 

Lexington Public Library’s Annual Book Sale

 

I kid you not; I bought 42 books at a-dollar-a-piece! 

 

How’s that for a fab-u-less Shopping Hound score?

 

Well, that’s not exactly true…one paperback book was a quarter, and so was a vintage magazine.

 

I purchased all 42 this weekend  when I attended the Friends of the Lexington Public Library’s Annual Book Sale.

  

Decorating & Design Book Finds.  Image: IDH

 

Have you ever been to a book sale at a library?  It’s an absolute riot, especially on the first day.

 

Public Libraries receive more donated books than they know what to do with, so they hold sales to raise needed funds.  Books removed from circulation are also included in the sale. 

 

Larger sales attract book dealers from across the country and they’ve become high tech Shopping Hounds.   

 

They scatter when the doors open, frantically scanning book ISBN numbers methodically with their iPhones.  They’re hunting for books that will fetch a high price.

 

It’s a Dog-eat-Dog affair, like an antique auction where everyone is vying for the same prize.

 

Great Finds, Fabulous Dog Books. Image: IDH

 

Like a flea market; you never know what you’ll discover. Just don’t set a book down if you’re interested, because someone will snap it up if you hesitate.

 

Interior Design Hound’s Book Sale Tip #1: 

Take a ginormous, very strong tote bag. 

 

I’ve carried the extra-large, L.L. Bean canvas tote bags for years because they’re indestructible (and they can be monogramed).  Another plus for designers: they can hold more wallpaper books, fabrics & tile samples than you can possibly lift!

 

I have found wonderful books on every subject at book sales across the country: 

 

• Interior Design
• Decorating
• Biographies
• History
• Antiques
• Art

…and plenty of Dogs books.

 

Dog Days at The White House.  Image: IDH

 

I find history & politics endlessly fascinating, so any book I find about Presidential Pets lands in my library.

 

The mint copy of Dog Days at The White House was a real find. In good condition, the out-of-print book fetches $70-$100. 

 

The kennel keeper’s insights into the White House occupants are as interesting as the fascinating stories & photographs of the Presidential Pets.

 

I also purchased many books for my Kennedy Library; one was even autographed by the author!

 

Jackie Kennedy’s Dogs.  Image: IDH

 

A 1968 edition of Nancy Mitford’s book on Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour, was a steal. In perfect condition the book even included a gift-with-purchase!

 

When I opened the 1969 edition of the book, a review by Louis Auchincloss was folded and placed in between the pages by a previous owner.

 

French Style Finds for .74 Euros.  Image: IDH

 

After making my second round around the book sale, I almost squealed when I uncovered:

 

The Practical Book of Decorative Wall-Treatments by Nancy Vincent McClelland (1877-1959).

 

Nancy McClelland, Author & Interior Decorator

  

Nancy McClelland was an Interior Decorator, lecturer, author and expert on antiques and wallpapers.

  

As the first woman President of the American Instutue of Interior Decorators (now, the American Society of Interior Design, ASID), McClelland was a true professional.

  

The ASID recently created an award in her honor. 

 

Nancy McClelland, Interior Decorator.  IDH

  

I will treasure my new, one dollar copy of Nancy’s priceless book.   

 

Published in 1926, the book is a visual feast packed with 214 photographs & illustrations of homes decorated by the first generation of Interior Designers:

  

• Allyn Cox
• Paul Chalfin
• Robert E. Locher
• Elsie Cobb Wilson
• Gertrude Gheen Robinson

   

 …to name but a few.

 

Dog-loving decoarator Elsie de Wolfe makes an appearance in The Practical Book of Decorative Wall-Treatments:

 

Elsie de Wolfe, Decorator. 1926

  

The walls of plaster were grained to imitate pine with moulding and the skillful use of paint. Elsie de Wolfe created the look of English wood paneling in her client’s modern apartment.    

 

Allyn Cox’s décor, created for the Sutton Place home of socialite, rebel & suffragist Alva Vanderbilt was a triumph of Chinoiserie.  (Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt at the time of book’s publication.)

  

Chinoiserie Décor, Allyn Cox. Image: IDH

 

Allyn Cox painted the stairway with an Oriental motif, including a trompe l’oeil wall niche with a Chinese figure.

 

Nancy McClelland called the niche “simili-architecture, done with paint.”

 

Alva must have been fascinated with pagodas.  (Have you seen the pagoda Chinese Tea House she built on the cliffs of Marble House in Newport?)

 

Here’s a 1970’s image of the same stairway, stripped of its explosion of Chinoiserie.

 

Image: Adventures With Old Houses

 

Who knew you could get so much out of a dollar?

 

Late, I’ve got to let the Dog out,

 

 

 

You’ll find information & listings on library book sales throughout the US here, or check with any branch of your local library.

 

 

Today’s post is the first of the Interior Design Hound’s new series: Shopping Hound.

 

 

My Dog Taffy & I share a Scottish heritage, and you know how thrifty Scots are!

 

Stay tuned for more Shopping Hound features with Fab-u-less Finds & Designs with a Canine twist, plus a few cheap thrills for Dog-lovers.

 

Do You have a Shopping Hound tip?  

Drop me a line, I’d love to hear from you.