Batty and Thomas Langley, 1800

LANGLEY, Batty (1696-1751) and Thomas LANGLEY (1702-1751). The Builder’s Jewel; Or, the Youth Instructor, and Workman’s Remembrancer. Boston: S. Etheridge for Samuel Hill, [1800].

First American edition. First printed in London in 1741, this book had a considerable influence on American architecture—George Washington's Mount Vernon in particular. The author, Batty Langley, was a rather eccentric designer of gardens and Neo-Gothic buildings as well as a prolific writer of guides on architecture and design. Evans 37778; Hitchcock 705.

16mo (143 x 110mm). 94 engraved plates [of 100] (lacking 6 plates, title neatly silked with some dampstaining, first plate with large closed tear, heavy spotting). Modern half calf over marbled boards retaining earlier morocco title piece.