Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000002233561 | Z5944.G7 A72 1984 r | Reference Book | 1:BOOKREF | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
While few historians would dispute the importance of the printed book in the development of domestic design in 18th- and 19th-century Britain, this is the first major study to trace the evolution of architectural ideas during the period by examining the literary output of architects. It is a work of extraordinary scholarship, based on an extensive search of dozens of major library collections, that will serve as a standard resource for researchers and librarians, book dealers and collectors. Most of the book is devoted to descriptions of hundreds of books and periodicals containing original designs for domestic structures. The earliest title described is Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus (1715), an important Palladian manifesto and the first book to illustrate a series of the author's own executed designs for dwellings, intended to redirect and reform British architectural taste, and the latest title is Supplement (1842) to John Claudius Loudon's Encyclopedia. Related materials on agriculture, landscape design, drawing, and perspective also are covered. Each entry includes a bibliographic description of all known editions and a commentary that describes and analyzes the text and plates, focusing in particular on the author's ideas and approaches to design issues. Appendixes to the principal entries provide a checklist of additional handbooks and manuals by important authors such as Crunden, Halfpenny, Langley, Nicholson, Pain, Richardson, Salmon, and Swan, and books showing domestic interiors. There is also a valuable short-title chronological list, and a list of printers, publishers, and booksellers. In a lengthy introductory essay, Archer discusses architecture and the book trade, the format and content of the books, and aspects of architectural theory and design-including ideas of "character" and "retirement," dwelling types such as villas, cottages, and row houses, model housing for laborers, and town and village planning. John Archer is Associate Professor in the Humanities Program at the University of Minnesota.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
This 12-year labor of Archer (University of Minnesota) traces the evolution of architectural ideas in Great Britain and Ireland by examining the literary output of their architects. The scope covers the span commencing with the 1717 publication of Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Brittanicus and ends in 1842 when new publications heralded change. A length introductory essay describes the architectural book trade of that period and the format and content of the publications, then analyzes the important aesthetic and social issues raised. The major section is a detailed bibliographic description of 360 books and periodicals containing original designs of entire dwellings. Each entry is followed by a description and analysis focusing on ideas and approaches. The third section contains appendixes giving additional checklists of manuals and handbooks. The work has been thoroughly researched and carefully compiled; the index is accurate; photographic illustrations are useful and clear. This is more than an authoritative bibliography: it is the first architecture book on this period to trace the evolution of dwellings in England and to analyze the themes. Highly recommended for students of architectural history and for all architecture collections.-P. Brauch, Brooklyn College, CUNY
