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We are delighted to offer these exquisite & extremely
rare black & white copper engravings from the first
edition of Vitruvius
Britannicus or, the British Architect. Containing the
Plans, Elevations, and Sections of the most Regular
Buildings both Publick & Private in Great Britain.
Colen Campbell (1676-1729)
was a Scotsman & a lawyer who took up architecture.
Vitruvius Britannicus was the first English
architectural publication since Elizabethan times, &
catalogued the work of great architects of the time,
including
Inigo Jones and Sir
Christopher Wren, as well as Campbell
himself.
It was a time when Britain was
growing tired of the excesses of the ornate Baroque
period and returning to classical or Neo-Palladian
architecture. It was also the beginning of a building
boom amongst the aristocracy & Whig politicians of the
day. Campbell’s work secured him many commissions & for
a short time he served as a government advisor.
These superb engravings are certainly testament to
the extent & grandeur of this new architectural style,
epitomized by the magnificent Blenheim Palace, home of
the Duke of Marlborough, set in sweeping parks in
Woodstock, near Oxford.
The grounds of this palace have long been open to the
public, & we played in them as children. In keeping
with modern aristocrats, the present Duke has made a
business of his ancestral home & one can even fish in
Blenheim’s great lake. It is definitely worth a trip
when in the UK, as it is an oasis of tranquility in the
midst of a very populated area.
Each single print measures
approximately 11 ½ inches wide by 18 ½ inches long & the
doubles 21 ½ inches wide by 18 ½ inches long, on strong
creamy white chain linked paper without blemishes &
occasional crown watermarks. In most cases, the plan
for the building accompanies the view, so it is a “two
for one”. A copy of the original title page
accompanies each print, along with a copy of the book
listing from the 1800's, pricing the work at two guineas. The photos are very accurate, so please
review carefully. All our prints are authentic antique
prints and guaranteed to be from the date stated. These
prints are about 295 years old, over a quarter of a
millennium!
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