The "Tanty" Trilogy
Sag Harbor, NY: Sandbox Press, 1979 - 1981. First Editions. "Tanty": Encounter with the Past - INSCRIBED by the niece of the author More about "Tanty": A Second Growing Up - with tipped-in color painting of a cat & INSCRIBED by the author "Tanty: The Daring Decades - Completing the Tanty Trilogy with a Haitian Interlude - SIGNED by the author 8vo. Various paginations. Numerous black & white photographic plates by Cully Miller. The three volumes have minor wear to extremities; faint mustiness; the second volume has two clippings about the author's husband in WWII; a near fine set. Frances Breese Miller (1893 - 1985) was born into the mannered elegance of 19th-century wealth and privilege in the New York-Southampton society. Hers is a fairy-tale childhood, but with a twist. It is obvious almost from the beginning that Tanty, as she is nicknamed, is her father’s daughter, a tomboy whose resistance to ladylike behavior he applauds. She enjoyed a childhood divided among Southampton's summer colony and trips to Europe, fussing governesses, French lessons, and the rigors of coming out as a New York debutante. As she approached adulthood, Tanty turned her back on its conventions to become a liberated woman of the 20th century. Her early efforts with painting eventually led to her successful career as an avant garde textile designer. She lived life on her own terms. Tanty's career thrives in the thirties and forties and she remains creative and adventurous for the rest of her long life. An interlude in Haiti allowed her to further experiement with her art work. She eventually moves to Mexico for a number of years and then back to the east coast for her remaining years. Through this three-volume memoir self-published between 1979 and 1981, Tanty recorded her passage from sheltered child and Junior League debutante to the artist and committed environmentalist she became. Item #22438
Price: $350.00