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- Mark Hampton on Decorating, Signed to Drue Heinz
Mark Hampton on Decorating, Signed to Drue Heinz
[Signed to Drue Heinz] Hampton, Mark. Mark Hampton on Decorating. First Edition. 1989. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition. Book is inscribed, “Dear Drue, I hope this amuses you—it’s certainly full of thoughts about houses you know more about than I do! Yours, Mark.”
Gustave Flaubert cautioned that a writer should be “like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.” That was Mark Hampton’s approach to decorating. His projects revealed no signature style—it was the personality of the client and the scope and context of the project that mattered. What he brought to the equation was an encyclopedic knowledge of design and an appreciation for scale and suitability. Like Nancy Lancaster, he understood that less is usually more. That approach is evident in this general decorating guide that is the most readable of any in the genre. It is not only informative, it is entertaining. And, unlike Hampton’s approach to design, he permits his charm and personality shine through. Drue Heinz, to whom this copy was inscribed, was one of Hampton’s major clients. What a great gift this would make to present to one’s decorator … or to anyone, really.
“My favorite book story [about guest rooms] involves a famous European chatelaine who had rented her house to an equally famous American. The owner of the house called a friend of mine in London frantically asking whether or not her imminent tenant’s maid was French. What difference does it make, asked my friend, whereupon this legendary paragon of housekeeping replied, ‘I’m selecting the books for the maid’s room.’”
--Mark Hampton