The Builder's Assistant, Containing the Five Orders of Architecture for the Use of Builders, Carpenters, Masons, Plasterers, Cabinet-Makers and Carvers, and for Whom are Sixty Original Designs, with Their Plans, Elevations and Sections. The Whole Exemplified on 150 Copperplates

HAVILAND, John (1792-1852, Architect), BRIDPORT, Hugh (1794-1868, Artist)

Published by John Bioren, No. 88, Chesnut-street, and John Haviland and Hugh Bridport, No. 26, North Fifth-street, Philadelphia, 1821

(8 1/4 x 5 inches). First edition. Vol. I: [i]-x [ii] xi-xii [1]-263 [1]. 278 pp. Title, Deposit, Preface, Table of Contents, Contents of the Plates, On the Grecian Orders, Errata. Vol. II: [i]-[xvi] [1]-260 [iii]-xiv. 288 pp. Title, Deposit, Table of Contents, Errata, Builder's Assistant, Different Printing of Table of Contents of Vol. I, Contents of the Plates. Vol. III: [2] 1-228 [2] [1]-50 [iii]-viii Engraved Plates 1-150. 592 pp. Title, Deposit, Builder's Assistant, Index, Appendix Title, House Carpenter's Book of Prices, List of Prices of the Master Plasterers in Philadelphia, 150 engraved plates printed recto. Slight trimming of a few plates. Several plates bound-in upsidedown. Toned, as usual. Contemporary full tree calf paneled with gilt roll-tooling, flat spines double-ruled gilt into six compartments with gilt-lettered red morocco lettering-piece in second compartment and gilt volume number in fourth, gilt-patterned board edges Provenance: Bookplate of Dr. James Hay (1792-1847). Hay built Farnley, a Virginia plantation on the National Register of Historic Places. First edition of "the cornerstone of Greek revival in America." This is the first American publication to depict the Greek Orders of architecture, with the House Carpenter's supplement bound in and provenance to the builder of an architecturally significant Virginia plantation. [Wood] "Very rare." - Alexander, Sources of Classicism One of the most important books in the literature of American architecture, The Builder's Assistant is the first book published in America to include images of the Greek Orders of architecture. Bridport's style of delicate line engraving was so influential it became characteristic of American architectural books published before 1840. [Hamlin] The most notable of Haviland's books, The Builder's Assistant includes sample designs of both Greek and Roman architecture as well as directions for plasterers, among other detailed practical information for builders. Bound into Volume III of this set is the called for supplement House Carpenter's Book of Prices and Rules for Measuring and Valuing All Their Different Kinds of Work (Philadelphia: 1819). Haviland was an English-born American architect who was a major figure in American Neo-Classical architecture, and one of the most notable architects working in Philadelphia during the nineteenth century. He worked on a number of landmark buildings in Philadelphia including the Walnut Street Theatre, Presbyterian Church at Norfolk, the State House, New Pennsylvania Hospital, Lancaster County Prison, and the New Athenaeum in Philadelphia. Haviland was an Honorary and Corresponding Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1827, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary Academician. The engraver Hugh Bridport and his brother, George, founded a drawing academy in Philadelphia and built successful careers as artists. Hugh was a founding member of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and taught drawing there for six years. This copy has excellent American architectural heritage provenance. As the Virginia Department of Historic Resources relates, "James Hay built Farnley's principal residence, a grand late-Federal mansion, begun ca. 1832. Dominating the surrounding pastoral landscape, the stuccoed dwelling is distinguished by its stately outline, bold interior woodwork, and an unusual wrap-around veranda on the rear. Attached to the house is a series of service structures. On a knoll nearby is a rare two-story stone slave quarters. One of the county's numerous historic estates, Farnley is now a noted pony farm." Alexander, Sources of Classicism 81. Hamlin, Greek Revival, p. 69. Hitchcock 578. Hughes, Old Chapel of Clarke County, p. 36. Rink 2548. Shaw and Shoemaker 44282. Virgina Department of Historic Resources 89001914. Wood, American Architectural Books 156. Three volumes bound in two with supplement. 8vo. Seller Inventory # 41659

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Builder's Assistant, Containing the Five...
Publisher: John Bioren, No. 88, Chesnut-street, and John Haviland and Hugh Bridport, No. 26, North Fifth-street, Philadelphia
Publication Date: 1821
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Edition