The Contents of Wilsford Manor, Wiltshire

Stephen Tennant.

Sotheby's. Sussex. Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th October 1987. Paperback, quarto; illustrated wrappers. 200 pages. Lots illustrated in colour and b&w, with many archival photographs. English. 270 x 210mm. 0.7kg. . Near fine; slight toning to wrappers; small fragment with Stephen Tennant's handwriting pasted to title-page.

The auction catalogue for the contents of Stephen Tennant's Wilsford Manor home. This copy with a small fragment of Tennant's instantly recognisable, florid handwriting pasted to the title-page. Tennant spent his whole life at Wilsford; his final years were spent as a recluse confined to the house and the gardens. The house had it's heyday in the 1930s as a weekend bolthole for the Bright Young Things. The sale catalogue includes many mementoes from these days as well as the fantastic, rococo-inspired furnishings contained in Tennant's heavily decorated rooms. Artworks by Tennant himself are also included, alongside works by his friends, such as Beaton and Whistler. An introduction documents the history of Tennant and Wilsford and is supported by many archival photographs, several by Cecil Beaton.