Jean Charles KRAFFT, Recueil des plus jolies maisons... Lot 94

Jean Charles KRAFFT, Recueil des plus jolies maisons de Paris et de ses environs. Deuxième partie, Paris, l'auteur, J.L. Scherff, 1809. 1 vol. in-folio oblong: title, foreword, frontispiece, 89 plates including 7 double num. 1-96 Moderate foxing and creasing to title page and text leaf. Faded octagonal stamp on title page. Original carmine glue paper boards, black title page. A very good copy of this monograph on Krafft's "country" houses. The buildings, often garden "follies", are mostly located and their owners identified. Line engraving, which Krafft was instrumental in popularizing in his works, gives a light, airy rendering, concentrating on proportions and ornamental details. The work of this architect, best known for his graphic work, is complicated to classify because he reused the same plates, sometimes marginally amended, in different publications with slightly different names, thus enabling a wider commercial distribution of his writings. This collection was reprinted several times up to the mid-19th century.