Watercolour drawing by John Plaw, 'The Front Elevation of a Design for a Villa', from 'The Plaw Album', an album of 60 architectural designs for villas and cottages, pencil, pen and ink and watercolour drawing in an album half bound in calf with marbled boards, London, ca.1784

An architectural drawing, coloured with watercolour, illustrating the front elevation of a classical style villa set in picturesque grounds.

The designs for villas and cottages in 'The Plaw Album' were later reproduced as aquatints in Rural Architecture or Designs from the simple cottage to the decorated villa: including some which have been executed, published in 1785 by Isaac and J. Taylor. The publication was one of the first of many books on villas and smaller houses which profoundly affected the development of architecture in the years around 1800. Its aquatint illustrations were the first to set classical buildings into the newly fashionable picturesque landscape. These preparatory drawings show some small differences of detail from the aquatints, particularly in the landscape backgrounds.

E.654:17-1996