Designs for Gold and Silver Smiths; Drawn and Etched by A. Welby Pugin
London: Ackerman & Co., 1836. First edition. Quarto (12 inches tall), original polished blue cloth, gilt spine, large engraved paper label in red-and-black mounted to front board. Bookplates, minor puckering to cloth, slight cracking to joints with loss to upper spine, modest foxing to interiors, mild damp-stain to lower corner not affecting plates. Very good indeed. Item #1739
DESIGNS FOR GOLD AND SILVER SMITHS—SIGNED BY A.W. PUGIN
First edition of A.W. Pugin's Designs for Gold and Silver Smiths—entirely engraved with 28 superb plates (with the original tissue-guards) drawn and etched by Pugin. In the original Victorian binding with a large engraved label (reproducing the title page) mounted on the front board. Thought to be Pugin's own copy with his distinctive signature to the blank flyleaf. Uncommon, especially signed by "God's Architect."
In 1836, A.W. Pugin published "Contrasts," a polemical manifesto of the Gothic style, exalting "the noble edifices of the Middle Ages" and lamenting "the present decay of taste." Inspired by his aesthetic interest in the Middle Ages, A.W. Pugin had recently converted to Catholicism, part of the revivalism of the age: "The combined effect of the Oxford Movement and the Gothic Revival changed the metaphysical atmosphere considerably. As Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, the medievalist winds of change were sweeping across England" (Joseph Pearce). A recent convert to Catholicism, Pugin declared that "everything grand, edifying, and noble in art is the result of feelings produced by the Catholic religion." In that the same year Pugin also published two books of designs with Ackerman & Company: "Designs for Iron and Brass Work" and "Designs for Gold and Silver Smiths." The engravings, mostly of ceremonial church plate, are each signed in the plate and captioned in Gothic "Black Letter" accented in red. With an old bookseller's slip speculating that the signature means that this was A.W. Pugin's personal copy. Joseph Pearce. Catholic Literary Giants: A Field Guide to the Catholic Literary Landscape.
Price: $500.00