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large, thick shiny brown "leatherette" faux leather hardbound 8vo. 8º (octavo). dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean with couple of tiny nicks. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped (no price listed). nice clean copy. no library markings or store stamps, no stickers or bookplates, no names, no inking , no underlining, no remainder markings etc ~. first printing (letter "a" in letter line) of this reprint edition. b&w frontis. xx+1364p. b&w drawings, diagrams & illustrations. appendix. glossary. index. history of architecture. art history. archaeology. ancient history. medieval history. ~ This marvelous compendium is really "the architect's five~foot bookshelf in two inches," as Michael Mostoller so aptly remarks in his new foreword to this edition. First published in London in 1842, and later revised in 1867, The Encyclopedia of Architecture was an achievement prototypical of the nineteenth century, including everything then known about and relevant to its field, and it enabled the "gentleman" (amateur) architect of that period to function as a professional, utilizing this book alone. Fourteen hundred beautiful and precisely detailed wood engravings add to the power of this comprehensive overview of architecture from man's earliest times to the late nineteenth century. The author, Joseph Gwilt, was an extraordinary man: he was prolific, scholarly, and expert in many branches of literature and science. He was not only a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FR.A.S.) but also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians (F.S.A.), and his background enabled him to produce this monumental and authoritative work. The book begins with the history of architecture~proceeding from a description of the origins of architecture in "the wants of man" through the development of design in various countries and periods. The second area~the theory of architecture~is actually quite down~to~earth, dealing with construction, building materials, and practical building methods as well as mediums of expression. The third section~the practice of architecture~ begins with a discourse on beauty, in which the author discusses the importance of order, expression, unity, and variety. He then examines in detail architectural composition, the principles of proportion, and includes two chapters on medieval architecture. This is followed by a description of public and private buildings. In addition, there are extensive glossaries of terms and a list of the principal architects of all countries up to the 1860s, their chief works, as well as a bibliography and index. As the foreword notes, "Perhaps the most significant aspect of the book is that it puts the entire universe of art and science into the framework of a professional discipline. Consequently, the magic of that discipline~architecture~is excitingly restored to us. For a cathedral and a skyscraper are not only structures, following laws of physics, they are shelters, they provide emotional experiences, and they are 'books in stone,' images of cities, and signs of culture. Sometimes they are beautiful. This book gives us a remarkable sense of the completeness of architecture, a feeling that architects may generate today, but one that all may share." MICHAEL MOSTOLLER is an architect practicing in New York City and a professor at the School of Architecture at Columbia University.
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