TREATISE ON THE FIVE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE - Le Muet, 1st Dutch Ed, 1646

TREATISE ON THE FIVE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE USED BY THE ANCIENTS, DRAWN FROM THE RENOWNED ITALIAN ARCHITECT A. PALLADIO, AUGMENTED WITH A SECOND PART: CONTAINING THE ART OF BUILDING WELL. [VERHANDELING VANDE VIJF ORDEREN BOUW-KNOST, DIE BYDE OUDEN ZIJN IN'T GEBRUYK GEWEEST, GETROCKEN UYT DEN BEROEMDEN ITAILENSCHEN BOUW-MEESTER A. PALLADIO, VERMEERDERT MET EEN TWEEDE DEEL: INHOUDENDE DE KNOST OM WELL TE BOUWEN.] Book Details + Condition: Cornelis Danckerts (Amsterdam, Netherlands). First Edition by this publisher, 1646. Very scarce. Wrapped in full vellum (with ties). 138 pages. Illustrated with 77 engravings by Danckerts. Two books in one volume. Rare first Dutch edition of the two main architecture textbooks by the French architect, Pierre Le Muet (1591 - 1669). Translated and engraved by the publisher, engraver and print seller, Cornelis Danckerts (ca. 1637 - 1684). Le Muet's book references Andrea Palladio’s seminal treatise, I quattro libri dell'architettura (The Four Books of Architecture). The first part details the five classical orders - Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite - focusing on their distinct proportions and ornamentation, while subsequent parts cover building techniques, private villas, city planning, and ancient Roman temples. All plates were copied from Le Muet's first French (1645) edition, including the two frontispieces (which are duplicated in the middle of the book). Le Muet's skills as both engineer and architect led him to oversee the building and improving the fortifications of several cities in Picardy, as well as with numerous houses and estates in Paris and country estates. His greatest fame came with finishing the church of Val Du Grace, building its facade, dome and vaults. Normal wear to vellum covers, which remains strong; firm binding; toning to pages; occasional age-spotting to the interior, which is otherwise clean and free of markings. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.