24 pp. booklet on the ornamental ironwork at the Hotel Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco, designed by the architectural and engineering firm of Weeks & Day, plus a laid-in four-page pamphlet with facsimiles of three letters sent to Michel & Pfeffer Iron Works, the firm who executed the ironwork at the hotel. Small folio (12 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches). Original printed side-stapled publisher's wrappers with Art Deco-style illustration to front cover. Some light sunning and edgewear to wrappers, minor rusting around staples, light soiling to back cover, minor wear along spine, overall very good. San Francisco: [Michel & Pfeffer], [1929].

The Sir Francis Drake Hotel (now known as the Beacon Grand) opened in San Francisco in 1928 adjacent to Union Square. It was built by midwestern hotel developers Leon W. Huckins and John A. Newcomb for a cost of $5 million, equivalent to close to $100 million today. It was described at the time as the "last word in hotels" for its features and amenities and extravagant interiors.

San Francisco-based architectural firm Weeks & Day was contracted to design a luxurious hotel which reflected the European Renaissance of Sir Francis Drake's time, with elaborate architectural features and luxurious accents. The firm was founded in 1916, and specialized in theaters and cinemas. Some of their other design projects included the Huntington Hotel and the headquarters of the San Francisco Chronicle in San Francisco; the Fox Oakland Theatre in Oakland; Woolworth's Building and Lowe's State Theatre in Los Angeles; the California State Office Building in Sacramento; and the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, among many others.

This booklet was put out by the firm of Michel & Pfeffer Iron Works shortly after the hotel opened to the public. In a full-page advertisement taken out in the April 1929 issue of California Arts & Architecture, they introduce it: "Our new brochure - 'Beauty in Iron' - featuring the ornamental iron in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, is just off the press." They also dedicate the brochure to "Messrs. Weeks & Day, Masters in the use of Ornamental Iron."

The brochure features photographs of the ornamental iron used throughout the hotel, including the entrance and front door, the grand marble staircase with iron railing, ornamented mirrors, doorways, elevators, radiator grilles, and windows.

As of April 2025, OCLC locates only four holdings of this booklet in North American libraries.

Book ID: 53483

Price: $950.00