This listing is for the bound manuscript that you see in the photos. I purchased it at a thrift store in Oregon where I was not told its history. I am guessing that it was written by an American. I do not know how old it is. I am guessing that it is from the early part of the 20th century. I leave it to the buyer to decide how old it is. 

The front cover indicates that the title is Master Art and that the author is Bess Mann. 

Including the spine, the covers of the book measure close to 10 ¼ by 13 ½ inches.  Including the covers, the book measures close to 2 ⅝  inches thick. It weighs close to 5 pounds 12 ounces.  The pages are not numbered, The table of contents indicates that there are 14 Italian, 5 Spanish, 18 French, 5 Flemish, 10 German, 4 Dutch, 9 English, 1 American, 3 sculpture by Michelangelo and 3 examples of architecture. There are 72 illustrations.  Each illustration has a page or two of hand written commentary on the painting written on one side of the paper. I counted 89 pages of commentary. With the 10 title pages and 3 pages of contents, there are close to 174 pages all written on one side of the paper. My count might be slightly off. Each section has a page before it with the title of the section nicely written iith large calligraphy type letters.

The titles, etc., look like they are a dark brown in the photos, but when the light shines on them at an angle, they partially shine like gold.

 All of the illustrations are on a moderately thick and a little stiff paper that is lightly toned with a slightly yellow tint. Most of the writing is on a thinner paper that is a little translucent.There is a table of contents handwritten at the beginning of the book. For each painting listed in the table of contents there is a tipped in picture of the painting. All of the pictures of the paintings are in a kind of sepia tone black and white except for the picture of the Mona Lisa and one other which are in color.

The condition is much like you see it in the photos. The covers are somewhat worn. Curiously, considering the condition of the covers, the binding and pages are in excellent condition. There are no loose or torn or creased pages. There are a few small marks on the back of one of the thicker pages that look like they were made by small squashed insects. Otherwise, the book is generally fine and as shown. 

 I guarantee this book to be as described and represented by the photos. The photos are part of the description. Please look at all of them. I allow two business days for shipping, but I usually ship the same or next day if possible. Please note that the lighting in my photos is uneven and there might be shadows or reflections. The colors on my monitor look close to but not exactly like the actual colors. Different monitors may show different colors. I often say that an item measures or weighs "approximately" or “close to” because no measurements are exact, and some things are difficult to measure.

I like to leave feedback after I know that the item has arrived and that the buyer is satisfied. I reserve the right to cancel any bids without explanation. I sometimes purchase signature delivery for my more valuable packages. I often, but not always, ship the same or next day. Often, I have a box custom made for items that I do not have a used box for  which might result in a short delay. When I use packing peanuts, they are usually made from biodegradable materials.