Written In English
9" H x 5.75" W x 1" D
Highly Illustrated
This four-volume set of The Antiquarian Itinerary was conceived as a comprehensive, illustrated survey of Britain’s medieval and early-modern architecture and the sculptured and painted ornament that defines it. Compiled by leading antiquaries and published in 1815–16, it marries concise, on-site descriptions with finely engraved plates, making it both a field guide for the Victorian traveler and a permanent reference for architects and scholars.
Volumes I & II (1815) take you through Scotland, northern England, Yorkshire and the Midlands. You begin among the great abbey ruins—Fountains, Melrose, Jedburgh—move on to Norman parish churches and their capitals, fonts and tracery, then encounter fortified keeps at Bolton and Tutbury, rural manor-house details, and medieval wood-carvings and mural fragments in village churches. Throughout, measured drawings and precise notes “authenticate” every moulding, carving, and painted panel.
Volumes III & IV (1816) shift south and west: Volume III covers Wales and western England, from Aberystwyth Castle and Tintern Abbey to the domestic ornament of Hampton Court’s outliers; Volume IV completes the tour in southern England and Kent, surveying Canterbury’s arcades, Dover Castle, painted church roofs, and an appendix on metal-work and decorative accessories. Each engraving is keyed to its descriptive text, so you can instantly cross-reference illustration and explanation, making this set a seamless, portable archive of Britain’s architectural heritage.
Condition:
In very good condition for over two centuries, this set is soundly bound with tight hinges and square spines. The morocco shows only modest rubbing at corners and head caps, no joint cracks, and only faint surface scuffs. Internally, the text blocks are remarkably clean, only a few spots of foxing in preliminary leaves and the engraved plates are clear and unfoxed. A discreet professional paper repair on the title-leaf of Volume III is barely visible.
