About this Book

The role played by the book trade in the diffusion of artistic and architectural theory, fashion and practice is explored, while other essays trace the impact on the appearance of books themselves of aesthetic trends and of advances in the techniques of binding, colour printing and illustration. Among topics discussed are the printed sources for decorative motifs in 16th-century churches, the publication history of the works of Andrea Palladio, and the evolution of drawing manuals in 17th-century England. Other subjects include the library formed by the architect Sir John Soane, developments in 19th-century art publishing, and the role of printed catalogues in documenting the acquisitions made by English collectors of paintings, sculpture and antiquities.