Pre-1800 Continental Art & Architecture, Etc., from Charles Wood
Continental books before 1800 from Charles Wood.
By Michael Stillman
From Charles B. Wood Antiquarian Booksellers we have received catalogue 125. It is headed, Architecture, History of Art, Garden Design, Arts, Crafts & Trades, & Related Fields. That describes the subject matter. The subheading is "continental books before 1800." Now we have the time and place for the material. These are early books primarily on the practical or artistic arts. The "continental," naturally, refers to continental Europe, with the greatest number of these titles in the French language, though others such as Italian and German are represented. Charles Wood is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., and there are undoubtedly many American collectors of such continental material. However, we suspect that this catalogue will also be of great interest to many collectors located an ocean away. Here is just a sampling of a few of the titles Wood is now offering, but you will find much more variety within the catalogue itself.
The best of these books had a much longer shelf life in earlier days. Item 17 is Architecture pratique, qui comprend la construction generale & particuliere des Batiments...by Pierre Bullet. This is a 1774 edition of a work on practical architecture first published in 1691. It was intended to help contractors, architects and other tradesmen with such topics as selecting materials, determining costs, and complying with the Paris building code. It would continue to be republished at least as late as 1826. It is hard to imagine a manual on building from 1870 still being published today, 135 years later, as was the case with Bullet's guide. Priced at $500.
Item 84 is an illustrated catalogue of sculptures published in 1772, all of which were long ago lost to the ravages of time. In fact, not a one survived the following summer. These were ice sculptures, works of art destined to wither to a pool of water when the summer sun returned to Antwerp, Belgium, in 1772. Frankly, I have never understood those who employ such great effort and artistic talent to the construction of ice sculptures and sand castles, preordained to such a short life and complete destruction, but at least these frozen works of art from 1772 were preserved through the illustrations in this book. The artists were the students and teachers of the Antwerp Royal Academy of Drawing, but the book's author was Compte de Robiano. The title is Collection des desseins des figures colossales... $2,500.
Filippo Buonanni wrote the first complete survey of the architecture and decoration of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. With the title Numismata Summorum Pontificum Templi Vaticani fabricam, it recounts the structure's long architectural past. Buonanni used numerous sources to recreate that history, including literature, manuscripts, even medals minted by the Vatican through the centuries. Numerous illustrations are used to depict the basilica. This is a 1700 edition of this book first published in 1696. $4,500.
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Pre-1800 Continental Art & Architecture, Etc., from Charles Wood
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Item 42 is perhaps the most important early book on fireplaces. Nicolas Gauger wrote about the causes of smoky chimneys, and how to use air ducts in fireplaces to better spread the heat. Gauger was aware of how such things as neighboring structures could impact wind patterns, leading to chimney downdrafts that back up smoke into the home. His discussion of internal heating ducts was a precursor of the technology used widely by wood and coal burning stoves such as the popular Federal Convection Heaters during the 1980s' energy crisis. Benjamin Franklin acknowledged his use of this source book in designing his Pennsylvania or Franklin Stove. The title is La mechanique du feu... This is the 1714 Amsterdam edition of a book first published in Paris in 1713. $750.
C.L.F. Fosse claimed to have built a better mousetrap, or, in this case, a better stove than Franklin. This book, published in 1786 (42 years after Franklin's stove), is titled, Cheminee economique, a laquelle on a adapte la mechanique de M. Franklin. Fosse claimed that his stove used a smaller amount wood while creating less smoke than Franklin's. Achieving both of those aims has always been a challenge to stove builders as those which burn wood more slowly tend to be smokier as well. Item 38. $575.
Here is a big fish in a small pond, or a very important work in a very targeted field. The books is L'art de la teinture des laines...by Jean Hellot. It is one of the most significant books on the art of dyeing wool. Experts in this field, and I will have to rely on their expertise as I am without such knowledge, consider this one of the foremost treatises on the dyeing process. Item 48, published in 1750. $1,000.
Here is something else you never thought about: when did the process of bleaching with chlorine begin? Apparently in 1785, and you can learn about this process (provided you speak French) in the 1799 title L'art du blanchiment des toiles, fils et cottons du tout genre. Author C. Pajot des Charmes will update you on everything that was known about chlorine bleach at the end of the 18th century. Item 71. $450.
You may reach Charles B. Wood Antiquarian Booksellers online at www.cbwoodbooks.com or by phone at 617-868-1711.
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