Author: ACKERMANN, Rudolph; COMBE, William
Title: History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster, the
Description: London: Printed for R. Ackermann, 1812. One of the Quintessential English Regency Color-Plate Books Ackermann's Westminster with Eighty-One Magnificent Hand Colored Aquatint Plates ACKERMANN, Rudolph. COMBE, William. The History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster, Its Antiquities and Monuments. In Two Volumes. London: R. Ackermann, 1812. First edition. Two large folio volumes (13 3/16 x 11 inches; 335 x 280 mm.). [i]-xviii, 330, [vi, index]; [i-iv], 275, [1, blank], [iv, index], [ii, list of plates] pp. (pp. 204/205 repeated with asterisks). In this copy the list of subscriber's [vii]-xiii has been bound after the introduction [xv]-xviii. Complete with both half-titles. Text by William Combe. Portrait of William Vincent (uncolored), engraved Plan of Westminster Abbey (uncolored), one hand-colored line engraving and eighty hand colored aquatint plates. Uncolored line engraving on page 151 in volume one. Thirteen of the plates are watermarked "J. Whatman 1808" and another two are watermarked "J. Whatman 1811". Contemporary half red morocco, with a matching morocco 'V' insert on the fore-edge, over marbled boards ruled in gilt. Spines with five 'double' raised bands decoratively stamped and ruled in gilt, two black morocco labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled. Upper joints slightly cracked but sound. A tall copy. Some sporadic, mainly marginal foxing to the text, light offsetting from plates to text only. Overall a really nice copy with the colored plates generally very bright and fresh of this monumental work on the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster. "It is a book which should be highly rated both as an exhaustive pictorial record of the Abbey, and for its individual architectural plates, beautifully composed and aquatinted with the addition of discreet colour just sufficient to suggest the cloistered intimacy of sunlight filtered by lofty windows onto fretted stone, wood and metal" (Adams). One of the quintessential English Regency color-plate books. Ackermann's Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster is a superbly illustrated study of one of the "most interesting edifices in the British Empire. Its remote antiquity, its edificial beauty, the character and variety of its architecture, as well as the ornament it affords to the metropolis, give it a superior distinction" (introduction). "In The History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminister, Ackermann employed a variety of artists used to bring out in the plates the luster of stained glass windows and the 'dim religious light' of the chapels" (Penn Special Collections exhibition). Among the illustrators were F. Mackenzie, A. Pugin, J. Bluck, and T. Sutherland. Although described on the added title-page as a "Companion and Continuation of The Microcosm of London," the work stands on its own merits as one of Ackermann's most ambitious and successful topographical color-plate books; Combe's text, which unashamedly exudes a sense of national pride, is both interesting and informative. Note: Ackermann's Westminster was originally issued in wrappers in sixteen parts, and on completion in boards at £15.00. Large-paper copies have the portrait of William Vincent on India Paper. The finest copy is preserved and may be seen in a glass case in Westminster Abbey; the letterpress is printed on vellum, with all the original drawings mounted and bound in. (Tooley) Abbey, Scenery, 213; Adams 108; Prideaux p. 331; Tooley 2. .
Keywords: COMBE, William Architecture London Views
See more books from our catalog: Color-Plate Books
Title: History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster, the
Description: London: Printed for R. Ackermann, 1812. One of the Quintessential English Regency Color-Plate Books Ackermann's Westminster with Eighty-One Magnificent Hand Colored Aquatint Plates ACKERMANN, Rudolph. COMBE, William. The History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster, Its Antiquities and Monuments. In Two Volumes. London: R. Ackermann, 1812. First edition. Two large folio volumes (13 3/16 x 11 inches; 335 x 280 mm.). [i]-xviii, 330, [vi, index]; [i-iv], 275, [1, blank], [iv, index], [ii, list of plates] pp. (pp. 204/205 repeated with asterisks). In this copy the list of subscriber's [vii]-xiii has been bound after the introduction [xv]-xviii. Complete with both half-titles. Text by William Combe. Portrait of William Vincent (uncolored), engraved Plan of Westminster Abbey (uncolored), one hand-colored line engraving and eighty hand colored aquatint plates. Uncolored line engraving on page 151 in volume one. Thirteen of the plates are watermarked "J. Whatman 1808" and another two are watermarked "J. Whatman 1811". Contemporary half red morocco, with a matching morocco 'V' insert on the fore-edge, over marbled boards ruled in gilt. Spines with five 'double' raised bands decoratively stamped and ruled in gilt, two black morocco labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled. Upper joints slightly cracked but sound. A tall copy. Some sporadic, mainly marginal foxing to the text, light offsetting from plates to text only. Overall a really nice copy with the colored plates generally very bright and fresh of this monumental work on the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster. "It is a book which should be highly rated both as an exhaustive pictorial record of the Abbey, and for its individual architectural plates, beautifully composed and aquatinted with the addition of discreet colour just sufficient to suggest the cloistered intimacy of sunlight filtered by lofty windows onto fretted stone, wood and metal" (Adams). One of the quintessential English Regency color-plate books. Ackermann's Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster is a superbly illustrated study of one of the "most interesting edifices in the British Empire. Its remote antiquity, its edificial beauty, the character and variety of its architecture, as well as the ornament it affords to the metropolis, give it a superior distinction" (introduction). "In The History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminister, Ackermann employed a variety of artists used to bring out in the plates the luster of stained glass windows and the 'dim religious light' of the chapels" (Penn Special Collections exhibition). Among the illustrators were F. Mackenzie, A. Pugin, J. Bluck, and T. Sutherland. Although described on the added title-page as a "Companion and Continuation of The Microcosm of London," the work stands on its own merits as one of Ackermann's most ambitious and successful topographical color-plate books; Combe's text, which unashamedly exudes a sense of national pride, is both interesting and informative. Note: Ackermann's Westminster was originally issued in wrappers in sixteen parts, and on completion in boards at £15.00. Large-paper copies have the portrait of William Vincent on India Paper. The finest copy is preserved and may be seen in a glass case in Westminster Abbey; the letterpress is printed on vellum, with all the original drawings mounted and bound in. (Tooley) Abbey, Scenery, 213; Adams 108; Prideaux p. 331; Tooley 2. .
Keywords: COMBE, William Architecture London Views
Price: US$ 3850.00 Seller: David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)
- Book number: 05482
- Book number: 05482
See more books from our catalog: Color-Plate Books