Tall heavy hardcover book with illustrated dust jacket, dust jacket has considerable surface and extremity wear, including heavy tearing and curling, a section is missing from the upper rear panel, front end panel is clipped, binding is complete and mostly solid for such a large book, book’s red cloth boards have bumped corners and top edge of book has light surface moisture wear, interior is clean but there’s a slight odor, all pages are present. Overall condition of the book and dust jacket is Acceptable - near Fair. Please see photos for more information on the condition of the book and dust jacket. Book’s measurements are 12 1/2” tall x 9 3/4” wide x 1 1/4” thick. 4to/Quarto size at spine, 318 pages, both sets of end papers are illustrated, front free end page has a blue ink inscription, contents pages, introduction, acknowledgements page, illustrated throughout with both b&w and color photographs - many full-page - by Edwin Smith, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, NY 1961, printed in Italy.

The book’s dust jacket has multiple issues with condition but the book itself is in mostly clean and fair condition, very suitable for gifting and/or collecting. From the front end flap notes: “ Among Europe’s greatest legacies to the arts are the private houses which richly stud its cities and countryside. In this book forty of the finest are shown in all their splendor. They range from a palace in Leningrad to the beautiful rose-pink Queluz near Lisbon, and in time from the end of the medieval period to the beginning of the nineteenth century. No house has been chosen which is radically altered, none which is ruinous, and none which is not fully representative of its country and its age. The forty color-plates show some of the most famous, as well as some of the less well-known, examples of the Renaissance, Tudor, Baroque, Rococo and classical periods, and equal emphasis has been given to the interior as to the outside of the houses. Each house is described by an author familiar with the house itself and the cultural history of the country in which it lies, but the text is written for the non-specialist, whose appreciation of these houses will be heightened by a knowledge of their history, builders and owners. The magnificent illustrations speak for themselves.”

Book’s been stored in a smoke free home with two short haired pets. Please study and understand what you’re looking at/buying; I accept returns within 30 days, buyer pays for return shipping. I only accept PayPal for payment. I will ship internationally via eBay’s Global Shipping Program. Shipping charges listed are for US shipping and are paid by the seller; alternate US shipping is paid by the buyer. Please don’t hesitate to contact me through eBay with any questions or serious reasonable Best Offer submissions; I’ll gladly respond ASAP. I invite you to visit my eBay store Bill’s Books And Things, browse through the hundreds of other fine books and items listed there for sale, and follow the store to keep current with all the latest additions to the store, thanks!