THE ADDRESS BOOK OF JESSIE MARION KING

The personal address book of the artist Jessie Marion King. Soft dark green leather binding with 'here it is' stamped in gilt on the front panel. The book is divided alphabetically with entries in pen and pencil by King throughout. The leather is rubbed, with chips to the mid spine and head of the spine. The inner front hinge is cracked but holding firm. The pastedowns have a few small chips and closed tears at the edges, the index tabs are a little creased, and the margins are lightly toned, the hand-lettered contents are bright and crisp.

A fascinating personal document belonging to Jessie Marion King, filled in in her hand. The entries include artists such as Elizabeth Amour Watson, Dorothy Johnstone, Alice Coates, Anna Hotchkis, William Gillies, Mrs Newbury, Oscar Paterson, Ronald Searle, Cecile Walton, Wendy Wood, George Wragge; other individuals such as King's students and the writer Lady Alice 'Alix' Egerton; and addresses of shops and services such as publishers, galleries, framers, and London department stores, among many others. There are occasional notes such as "Liberty bodice in 5 sizes S.S.W. small medium large outsize", and "Crêpe de chine - Harvey Nichols... 60 wide - 45-". (Exhibited: Glasgow School of Art Jessie M. King Anniversary Exhibition, 27 July - 3 September 1999, cat no. 148) Jessie Marion King was one of the most influential of the 'Glasgow Girls' of the Glasgow School, helping to shape the British realisation of the Art Nouveau style, particularly in relation to book illustration, though she also worked across a wide range of disciplines and materials. She and her husband E. A. Taylor ran an art school in Paris called 'The Sheiling Atelier' for five years (this period of her life is reflected in the many French addresses in her address book) before returning to Scotland at the onset of WWII, where they lived in the artist's community of Kirkcudbright. King learned the wax resist 'batik' method in Paris and brought it with her to Scotland where it was mostly unknown. She popularised the technique with her batik scarf designs which were sold in Liberty's, and her own narrative guide book on batik called 'How Cinderella Was Able to Go to the Ball'.