Blonde, tall, sensitive and proud, strong-willed without being harsh and with a sincere intellectual curiosity, Margaret had a great charm with which, once she became queen, she was able to strongly influence the decisions of her husband and his court.
At the turn of the 19th century, through the words of journalists and writers, the phenomenon of ‘Margheritism’ was born: from the fashion weekly to the bonnet, from the pizza to the cake, from the dress to the alpine hut, everything spoke of the queen, symbol of moral regeneration and object of admiration for her elegance, smile and regal grace. Margaret showed exceptional talent and versatility in representative activities, well aware of the fascination she exerted on her interlocutors.
This section displays a small portion of the books offered to the Queen and accompanied by dedications from the authors. We are facing an astonishing variety: writers of various nationalities and belonging to the most distant fields, from science to medicine, from poetry to geography, all wanted to establish a privileged link with the sovereign. So many volumes also constitute, with their trove of images, an important witness of the history of Italy in which photography is set in a context of references to the history of landscape, architecture and the construction of the territory, with its baggage of customs, traditions and transformations. Variety and richness are the common denominator of the “Margherita style” that had so much weight in the fashion of the time: book bindings as well as clothes become the calling card with which to adorn a precious content. Books featured in editorial bindings show the great imagination and search for beauty even in common objects: English, German, French texts, dressed according to the same rules, evidence an international taste capable of attracting all social classes.
The Pearls
The Queen's ‘pearls Between editorial treasures and fine bindings