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AN ENCYCLOPÆDIA

OF

ARCHITECTURE

HISTORICAL, THEORETICAL, & PRACTICAL.

BY

JOSEPH GWILT, F.S.A., F.R.S.A.

ILLUSTRATED WITH ABOUT SEVENTEEN HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD,

NEW EDITION,

REVISED, PORTIONS REWRITTEN, AND WITH ADDITIONS

BY

WYATT PAPWORTH,

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.

LONDON:

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET.

1888.

$

PREFACE

TO

THE FIRST EDITION.

AN ENCYCLOPEDIA of any of the FINE ARTS has, from its nature, considerable advantage over one which relates to the sciences generally. In the latter, the continual additions made to the common stock of knowledge frequently effect such a complete revolution in their bases and superstructure, that the established doctrines of centuries may be swept away by the discoveries of a single day. The arts, on the other hand, are founded upon principles unsusceptible of change. Fashion may, indeed-nay, often does change the prevailing taste of the day, but first principles remain the same; and as, in a cycle, the planets, after a period of wandering in the heavens, return to the places which they occupied ages before, so, in the arts, after seasons of extravaganza and bizzareria, a recurrence to sound taste is equally certain.

It is unfortunate for the productions of the arts that the majority of those who are constituted their judges are little qualified for the task, either by education or habits; but on this, as it has been the complaint of every age, it is perhaps useless to dwell. This much may be said, that before any one can with propriety assume the name of architect, he must proceed regularly through some such course as is prescribed in this work. The main object of its author has been to impart to the student all the knowledge indispensable for the exercise of his profession; but should the perusal of this encyclopædia serve to form, guide, or correct the taste even of the mere amateur, the author will not consider that he has laboured in vain.

An encyclopædia is necessarily a limited arena for the exhibition of an author's power; for although every subject in the department of which it treats must be noticed, none can be discussed so extensively as in a separate work. An attempt to produce a Complete Body of Architecture the author believes to be entirely original. In his celebrated work, L'Art de Bâtir, Rondelet has embodied all that relates to the construction of buildings. Durand, too (Leçons et Précis d'Architecture), has published some admirable rules on composition and on the graphic portion of the art. Lebrun (Théorie d'Architecture) has treated on the philosophy of the equilibrium, if it may be

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so called, of the orders. The Encyclopédie Méthodique contains, under various heads, some invaluable detached essays, many of which, however, suffer from want of the illustrative plates which were originally projected as an appendage to them. All these, with others in the French language, might, indeed, be formed into a valuable text-book for the architect; but no such attempt has hitherto been made. Neither in Germany nor in Italy has any complete work of the kind appeared. In the English, as in other languages, there are doubtless several valuable treatises on different branches of the art, though not to the same extent as in French. In 1756, Ware (London, folio) published what he called A Complete Body of Architecture. This, though in many respects an useful work, is far behind the wants of the present day. It is confined exclusively to Roman and Italian architecture; but it does not embrace the history even of these branches, nor does it contain a word on the sciences connected with construction. The details, therefore, not being sufficiently carried out, and many essential branches being entirely omitted, the work is not so generally useful as its name would imply. From these authorities, and many others, besides his own resources, the author of this encyclopædia has endeavoured to compress within the limits of one closely-printed volume all the elementary knowledge indispensable to the student and amateur; and he even ventures to indulge the belief that it will be found to contain information which the experienced professor may have overlooked.

Though, in form, the whole work pretends to originality, this pretension is not advanced for the whole of its substance. Not merely all that has long been known, but even the progressive discoveries and improvements of modern times, are usually founded on facts which themselves have little claims to novelty. As a fine art, architecture, though in its applications and changes inexhaustible, is in respect of first principles confined within certain limits; but the analysis of those principles and their relation to certain types have afforded some views of the subject which, it is believed, will be new even to those who have passed their lives in the study of the art.

In those sciences on which the constructive power of the art is based, the author apprehended he would be entitled to more credit by the use of weightier authorities than his own. Accordingly, in the Second Book, he has adopted the algebra of Euler; and in other parts, the works of writers of established reputation. The use of Rossignol's geometry may indeed be disapproved by rigid mathematicians; but, considering the variety of attainments indispensable to the architectural student, the author was induced to shorten and smooth his path as much as possible, by refraining from burdening his memory with more mathematical knowledge than was absolutely requisite for his particular art. On this account, also, the instruction in algebra is not carried beyond the solution of cubic equations; up to that point it was necessary to prepare the learner for a due comprehension of the succeeding inquiries into the method of equilibrating arches and investigating the pres sures of their different parts.

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