Important early volumes of Blondel’s foundational architectural treatise, one of the defining pedagogical works of eighteenth-century architectural education in France and beyond.

Bibliographic Details

Author: Blondel, Jacques-François (1705–1774)
Title: Cours d’architecture, ou traité de la décoration, distribution & construction des bâtiments; contenant les leçons données en 1750, & les années suivantes
Place of Publication: Paris
Publisher: Chez Desaint
Date: 1771
Pagination: Vol. I: xxxiv, 478, [1 errata] pp.; Vol. II: lxiv, 468, [4] pp.; Vol. III: cii, [2], 460 pp.; Vol. IV: cxiv, [1], 431, [1] pp.
Illustrations: Four text volumes only [of 6]; without the separately issued plate volumes
Binding: Uniform contemporary mottled calf with marbled endpapers
Size: 8vo
Provenance: All half-titles present

Condition

Very Good to Good. Bindings worn and scuffed, but hinges firm and text blocks solid. One spine label misnumbered (labelled “V” but corresponding to Vol. III). Evidence of a previous owner’s name erased from endpapers, resulting in a small abraded hole to the half-title of Vol. II.

Pages generally clean and well preserved, with occasional small spots or blemishes and light, even age-toning. Please examine images closely or request a more detailed condition report if required.

Description

Jacques-François Blondel was one of the most influential architectural theorists and teachers of the eighteenth century, operating a highly successful private architectural school before his appointment as Professor of Architecture at the Académie Royale d’Architecture in 1762.

His Cours d’architecture became the standard pedagogical text for architectural instruction in France and exercised broad influence upon architectural education throughout Europe. Drawing upon decades of teaching experience, Blondel systematically addresses architectural theory, ornament, proportion, distribution, and construction, combining classical principles with practical instruction.

Published between 1771 and 1777, the work effectively superseded the earlier treatise of the same title by François Blondel (1628–1686), who had occupied the same professorship during the late seventeenth century. Jacques-François Blondel’s version reflects a more rationalised and Enlightenment-oriented approach to architecture and academic training.

On The Present Set

This offering comprises Volumes I–IV only of the complete six-volume text set and does not include the separately issued plate volumes.

Nevertheless, these volumes contain the core theoretical and instructional material and remain highly valuable as working texts for the study of architectural history, theory, and eighteenth-century academic practice.

Notes

An important and well-preserved partial run of one of the defining architectural treatises of the Enlightenment, preserved in attractive contemporary bindings.

Particularly appealing for collectors and institutions concerned with architectural education, French theory, and eighteenth-century design history.