Product Description

From Diderot’s monumental illustrated record of 18th-century European arts and sciences: elegant renderings of architectural landmarks; drawings and plans for windmills, bridges and boats; renderings of palatial interiors and furnishings; elevations and floor plans for many well-known European theaters; scenes of 18th-century craftsmen at work in the building trades; and much more. Invaluable to students and enthusiasts of the architectural and decorative arts, history, sociology, industrial technology, graphic artists, designers and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1008287 in Books
• Published on: 1995-08-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Customer Reviews

So You Say You Want To Build a Palace
This collection of plates is an extract from "L'Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts, et les Métiers", a 28-volume collection published in the mid-1700s. It contains some detail drawings of columns, capitals, windows, arches, pediments, and porticos, several of them with contrasting representations of different orders (Doric, Ionic, et al). There are also façades (front elevations) and plans for a palace, church, abbey, town hall, prison, mansion, theater, and concert hall, just in case you were thinking of cobbling one of those together. There is a collection of traverse and longitudinal sections for rooms you might find in these buildings, along with furniture, floor patterns, ceiling patterns, and sculptures. The focus is on Greek- and Roman-based architectural elements.

The last half of the book is devoted to craftsmen's tools and techniques. There are some fascinating illustrations of masonry work, tile laying, and wall framing. There is also a small collection of other oddities, from pile drivers to underwater saws.

This book has little practical value today, but it does have a certain "gee whiz" factor. Architect and mechanical engineers might appreciate some of the drawings. Otherwise, unless you are a truly eclectic collector of architectural works, you can give this one a pass.