[Signed] [First Edition] Details of antient timber houses...

First edition. Original publisher's green buckram hardback, with a copy of the title page pasted down to the front board. The binding is in a good state, with just a touch of handling. The title illustration is a little darkened and with light foxing / staining to it. Inside, the engraved title page is repeated under tissue guard. This has lettering coloured in red and green water colour. The colouring is sympathetically done compared to other examples we have seen. The work consists of the engraved title and 21 further plates. (Complete). The dating of this work, which is always given as 1836, after the title, is in reality 1837, as the plates are signed with Pugin's monogram and dated February 20, 1837. Without letterpress or text, the work consists entirely of plates. This is the first edition, not a later edition (Confirmed by WorkdCat / OCLC: 3467370). The plates, all under guards, are in good condition, with light to moderate foxing to the sheets. After twenty plates of detail, the final one is rather sad, showing wooden architectural details on a bonfire, and stating "The end. Shewing the fate which will shortly befall the few remains of antient carpentry that have yet escaped the hand of the destroyers!!!" Very prescient, when you think of how many of the pieces in this work are likely to have been destroyed in the two world wars. 310 by 240mm (12¼ by 9½ inches). .

Estimate:£128.76

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