AROUND HOME : Notes on Laundry Space, Dipped Candles, Tiffany Glass and Movado Watches : The Victoria and Albert Colour Books FROM THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON (Abrams; 1988)

THIS IS A SET of four Victoria and Albert Museum picture books on the decorative arts. In one daintily slipcased book, “Novelty Fabrics,” whimsical ‘20s-to-’40s roller-prints, film maker Jean Cocteau sketches masks, cartoonist Pat Sullivan draws Felix the Cat, and flapper artist John Held commemorates the debut of “Rhapsody in Blue” with Gershwin and orchestra in cobalt and white. Further nostalgia: opulent Victorian paisleys in “Designs for Shawls,” old indigo kimono patterns in “Japanese Stencils” and, in “Floral Fabrics,” the lovely dress-prints worn under furs before World War II austerity. A delight for students, designers, collectors and historians. ($40)