LES EDIFICES ANTIQUES DE ROME

DESGODETZ, Antoine. LES EDIFICES ANTIQUES DE ROME. Farnborough, Hants: Gregg Press, 1969. Large folio. Cloth. (ii), (xiv), 323 pages. A particularly handsome facsimile of the first edition (Paris 1682.) It is a handsome survey of the monuments and buildings of ancient Rome. It is one of the earliest and most accurate architectural studies of the ancient monuments in the city of Rome. The accuracy of Desgodetz's measurements, the brilliance of his drawings, and the beauty of the engraved plates have made this a most respected and desired book. Jefferson owned a copy of the 1779 edition, and relied heavily of its plates in designing many of the buildings and respective details on the buildings at the University of Virginia, especially the great Rotunda at the end of the Lawn, which is based upon Desgodetz's meticulous drawings of the Pantheon in Rome. Numerous light pencil notations on front and back boards and end leaves; some light pencil notation in margins, else a fine, bright copy.