Description: The Builder's Compleat Assistant: Or, A Library of Arts and Sciences, Absolutely Necessary to Be Understood by Builders and Workmen in General, by Batty Langley, with some work by Thos. Langley. A fascinating book. This copy has no lettering on the covers or the spine. It also lacks a title page, but we're quite sure that this is Batty Langley's book, first published in 1738 in London. Later editions appeared in 1766, 1790, etc. It may have been published by Richard Ware. (This information came from a listing in Abe Books.) Published as two volumes with the first offering textual information, this is the second volume, filled with 77 copperplate engravings, all of which are here and all of which are in very good condition. (Plate XXIII somehow is without the "III" so that only "XX" appears, but this plate is between Plate XXII and Plate XXIV.) Each plate is labelled "Batty Langley Invent. Delin. & Sculp. 1738." and occasionally "Thos. Langley Delin. & Sculp." appears. Many have written about the books of Batty Langley since they were very popular in the American colonies. "Several books had been published such as Batty Langley’s Gothic Architecture (1742) and while Jefferson owned one of Langley’s books, he apparently never acquired this one." -- UVA. "Langley's books were enormously influential in Britain's American colonies where Palladianism was immensely popular (just look at the White House!). At Mount Vernon, George Washington relied upon plate 51 of Langley's The City and Country Builder's and Workman's Treasury of Designs as the source for the famous Venetian (or Palladian) window in the dining room; upon plate 54 of the same book for the ocular window on Mount Vernon's western facade; and upon plate 75 of Langley's The Builder's Jewel for the rusticated wood siding. Copies of Langley's works were also given prominence in the library of Thomas Jefferson. Not a bad legacy for a landscape gardener's son from Twickenham." -- Geehigh's History Blog "77 leaves of plates, each crammed with geometrical diagrams and architectural plans and designs" -- Royal Collection Trust, U.K. A similar volume may be seen at the Internet Archive. Langley frequently referenced the work of Andrea Palladio, particularly on Plates XXXII and XXXIII. Measures 23.5 cm.
Price: 550 USD
Location: Pisgah Forest, North Carolina
End Time: 2024-12-07T15:19:29.000Z
Shipping Cost: 5.38 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Leather
Language: English
Special Attributes: Illustrated
Author: Batty Langley
Topic: Classic architecture
Subject: Architecture
Original/Facsimile: Original
