Observations On English Architecture, Military, Ecclesiastical, And Civil,.
Bound in half calf, gilt with marbled boards. Spine divided into gilt-decorated compartments by gilt lined raised bands, morocco label. Marbled endpapers and edges. Binders's label, T. Evans, Binder, Eastgate, Rochester at top of front paste-down. Some foxing but interior fine and crisp.
£200.00
Details
EARLY WORK ON ENGLISH ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY, 1806
Publisher
Printed for J.Taylor, At The Architectural Library, 59, High Holborn, London.,
Date
1806
Synopsis
Compared with similar buildings on the continent: including a critical itinerary of oxford and cambridge; also historical notices of stained glass, ornamental gardening, etc. with chronological tables and dimensions of cathedral and conventual churches. by the rev. james dallaway, m.b. f.s.a.
Item Description
8vo. 6 x 9.25 inches. xii + 318 pp. + [14]. A-A6, B-X8, Y-Y4, Z-Z2.
Notes
James Dallaway (1763-1834), clergyman and antiquary was born in Bristol and educated at Cirencester and Oxford. He later became secretary to two Dukes of Norfolk, Earls Marshall of England, and spent much of his career working at the College of Arms. He published on heraldry, painting, the history of Gloucestershire and West Sussex and also on the Balkans and Turkey, including Troy, which he visited in the 1790s as a member of a diplomatic entourage. Observations provides a very competent overview of the development of English architecture, enhanced by his knowledge of Italian art history. He starts by dismissing the use of the the concept of the gothic style: 'The Goths had no share either in the invention or perfection of that peculiar style of architecture which bears their name...Gothick, therefore, should be considered merely as a vituperative term, adopted and applied by those who had introduced the restored Grecian. In Italy it had had its origin as appropriated to architecture, in the school of Palladio; and with us it was unknown in the present sense, before the days of Jones and Wren.' Nevertheless, not having a suitable alternative term, Dallaway continues to use 'Gothick' throughout the book. It is noteworthy for its early attempt to divide the gothic style into eras and for its lists of buildings in each of them and a final chapter supplies the measured dimensions of the principal English cathedrals The book includes detailed accounts of the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge and even describes the new art of landscape gardening. An enlarged edition under a new title appeared in 1833. A fine copy of this significant work on the history of English architecture.
[Stock No. 19999]
Subjects
19th Century • Architecture • Art Reference • Churches • Military