Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau, 1 of 66 plates of designs for chimney-pieces, monuments, fountains, etc, French, c. 1561-1580.

1 of 66 plates of designs for chimney-pieces, monuments, fountains, etc. re-bound into a 20th-century volume.

The Second livre d'architecture was first published in Paris in 1561 as a series of 66 unnumbered plates with a title page, dedication to Charles IX and introductory text. In this edition the title page was lettered 'Imprimé pour Jacques Androuet du Cerceau'. A second edition was then published around 1580, with the original 66 plates but with a new text and title page, the latter retaining the original publication date (i.e. 1561) but now lettered ' De l'imprimerie d'André Wechel'.

The V&A museum's volume contains all 66 plates but is missing its title page etc. A facsimile of the title page from the Latin edition (published the same year and not De Architectvra as it might suggest), has been bound with the volume, probably when it was re-bound on its acquisition in 1903. It is therefore not entirely clear whether this volume is the first, second or Latin edition, though Guillaume and Fuhring et. al (Paris, 2010) note that the second edition was printed on thinner paper than the first.

For more on these two editions see Guillaume and Fuhring et. al., 2010, p. 315.

The NAL holds editions of the following works by Androuet Du Cerceau:

De architectvra (Paris, 1559-61)
Leçons de perspective positive (Paris, 1576)
Livre d'Architecture (Paris,1582) and later editions
Livre des Edifices antiques Romains (1584)

Sarah Grant

E.5151-1903