ANDROUET DU CERCEAU, Jacques (1510-1584) -- A collection of plates from Plus excellents bastiments de France, Paris [probably c.1607]. 2° (406 x 290mm). 121 (of 125) engraved double-page plates. (First and last plate creased, one plate torn with some mostly marginal losses, one old marginal repair, occasional soiling.) 19th-century calf, marbled edges (spine ends chipped, corners rubbed, sides scuffed and soiled). Provenance: Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe (signature) -- Margaret Mercer Elphinstone (inscription) -- Emily Mercer, Marchioness of Lansdowne (1819-1895; bookplate).

ANDROUET DU CERCEAU, Jacques (1510-1584) -- A collection of plates from Plus excellents bastiments de France, Paris [probably c.1607]. 2° (406 x 290mm). 121 (of 125) engraved double-page plates. (First and last plate creased, one plate torn with some mostly marginal losses, one old marginal repair, occasional soiling.) 19th-century calf, marbled edges (spine ends chipped, corners rubbed, sides scuffed and soiled). Provenance: Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe (signature) -- Margaret Mercer Elphinstone (inscription) -- Emily Mercer, Marchioness of Lansdowne (1819-1895; bookplate).

A near-complete set of plates from Androuet's most important work, 'our best source of information for many 16th-century houses that have since been altered or destroyed', including the Tuileries and Bury (Anthony Blunt, quoted in RIBA). Some of the most famous Renaissance buildings are included: the Louvre, Vincennes, Chambord, Gaillon, Blois, Amboise, Fontainebleau, Chenonceau, Chantilly and Anet. First published in 1576, but this set of plates probably from the second edition of 1607. Cf. RIBA 101.