"The Architectural Drawings of Benjamin Henry Latrobe (Series 2)" by Benjamin Henry Latrobe

The Architectural Drawings of Benjamin Henry Latrobe (Series 2) Volume 2 2-2, Parts 1 & 2 Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Jeffrey A. Cohen, Charles E. Brownell

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Series:: The Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe Series
Format:: Hardback
Publication date:: 20 Mar 1995
ISBN:: 9780300061000
Imprint:: Yale University Press
Dimensions:: 802 pages: 305 x 229mm

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This two-volume set is a comprehensive catalogue of the architectural drawings of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, a key figure in the birth of the architectural profession in the United States. All Latrobe's architectural projects are considered in detail, and each project is illustrated with his surviving drawings. Among the works discussed are the U.S. Capitol, the Bank of Pennsylvania, the Baltimore Cathedral, the Virginia State Penitentiary, the Stephen Decatur house, and numerous other commissions for public and private buildings. The volumes also analyze Latrobe's style of architectural drawing, trace the evolution of his technique, and place his graphic legacy in the contexts of his own architectural work and international currents at the end of the eighteenth century.

The Architectural Drawings represents the final publication of the Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, an editorial project launched more than two decades ago under the direction of editor-in-chief Edward C. Carter II. The series as a whole also includes volumes on Latrobe's correspondence, journals, engineering drawings, and watercolor views of American scenes.

Jeffrey A. Cohen is an associate editor for the correspondence volumes of the Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Charles E. Brownell is associate professor of art history at the Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a co-editor of Latrobe's View of America.

"A major scholarly accomplishment of great significance for American architectural history and the history of the Early Republic, this is a thoroughly researched, well-written, and profusely illustrated catalog of the architectural designs of America?s first professionally trained architect. . . . This is an indispensable study of his work, organized through his drawings."?Choice

"Brownell and Cohen have compiled an exhaustive and generally excellent study of Benjamin Henry Latrobe's architecture both in England and the United States. . . . The editors and authors are to be congratulated for presenting this aspect of Latrobe's legacy with such scholarly competence. For the discussions of Latrobe's use of drawing and the elucidation of his design principles, creative process and practice are both the foundation and cornerstone of the interesting and informative contribution to transatlantic architectural history."?Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, Journal of the Early Republic

"A handsomely produced, exhaustively researched survey of Latrobe's work as illustrated by his surviving drawings. Scholars need not be concerned with Latrobe to find value here. Latrobe was a central figure in the effort to build the physical manifestations of a federal government, and his papers may be used for a myriad of issues. Latrobe's work provides important insights into the rise of architecture as a distinct profession. . . . Scholars will find much in the minutia of the drawings as changing room use in gentry houses, the structural challenges of building domes, and the earliest glimmerings of Greek Revival detail in domestic interiors. . . . Will be a standard reference for generations to come."?Orlando V. Ridout, Maryland Historical Magazine

"First-rate scholarship and lucid writing, providing more than just the foundation for all future work on Latrobe's architectural career."?Jeffrey A. Cohen, Society of Architectural Historians

"Latrobe is the most important professional architect in the United States's early history, and the books will be of interest to anybody working in this area."?Richard Guy Wilson, William and Mary Quarterly