I quattro libri dell' architettura. Four books in one volume.

1570. PALLADIO, Andrea. I quattro libri dell' architettura. Four books in one volume. 34 ff., 40 ff., 24 ff., 68 ff., profusely illustrated with 217 woodcuts throughout the four books, of which 156 are full-page (of these 84 are printed as plates, recto and verso of 42 leaves). Folio, 295 x 200 mm., bound in slightly later Italian calf over paper boards. Venice: Domenico de' Franceschi, 1570. First edition of the four books together, a work of superlative importance in the history of architecture. "Palladio's lasting influence on architectural style in many parts of the world was exercised less through his actual buildings than through his textbook…. (truncated) Palladio left no immediate successors, his book exerted a powerful influence on contemporary architecture and classical ideals until the end of the eighteenth century" (Printing and the Mind of Man pp. 55-6). The influence which this work had on eighteenth-century England and America cannot be over-emphasized. "Palladio's Quattro Libri (Venice, 1570) is the influential architectural testament in which he set out his formulae for the orders, for room sizes, for stairs and for the design of detail. In the Fourth book he published restorations of the Roman temples which he had studied most closely and, in the Second and Third books (as no architect had done until then), offered a sort of retrospective exhibition of his own designs for palaces, villas, public buildings and bridges. Concise and clear in its language, effective in its communication of complex information through the coordination of plates and texts, the Quattro Libri represents the most effective illustrated architectural publication up to that time. The intelligence and clarity of the 'interface' which Palladio offers to his readers can be seen if one compares it to Serlio's architectural books which started to appear in 1537. Whereas Serlio does not inscribe dimensions on the plates but laboriously rehearses them in the small print of his text, Palladio frees the text of this encumbrance and places the measurements directly on the plans and elevations... It was therefore not only Palladio's architecture, with its rational basis, its clear grammar, and its bias towards domestic projects, but the effectiveness of his book as a means of communication that led to the immense influence of Palladio on the development of architecture in northern Europe, and later in North America" (Guido Beltramini, Andrea Palladio: The Complete Illustrated Works, p. 9). Outer margin of title and first page reinforced, some insignificant browning and two corners missing small pieces presumably paper flaws. But overall an unusually fine copy of this landmark book. PMM 92. Mortimer, Italian 352. Millard, Italian 65. Berlin Katalog 2592. Besterman 78. Cicognara 594. Fowler 212. (Inventory #: 172129)