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Contrasts. Or a Parallel Between the Noble Edifices of the Middle Ages and the Corresponding Buildings of the Present Day

Contrasts. Or a Parallel Between the Noble Edifices of the Middle Ages and the Corresponding Buildings of the Present Day

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Contrasts. Or a Parallel Between the Noble Edifices of the Middle Ages and the Corresponding Buildings of the Present Day

by Pugin, A. Welby [Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin]

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Condition
Very good in modern quarter leather over marbled boards with minor scattered foxing throughout, primarily to edges.
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Haddonfield, New Jersey, United States
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About This Item

London: Charles Dolman, 1841. Second Edition. Very good in modern quarter leather over marbled boards with minor scattered foxing throughout, primarily to edges.. Second edition of Pugin's groundbreaking work which arguably defined the Gothic Revival in architecture.

With a total of 20 plates, an addition of 5 plates (and omission of 1) from the first edition, this second edition adds the notable plates whereby Pugin shows contrasting views of English Catholic towns in 1440 versus 1880, and ancient homes for the poor versus the modern-Victorian panopticon workhouses, and in which he of course laments and "exposed the degrated [sic] state of architecture" after the Middle Ages.

The "most important addition to Contrasts [second edition] was a pair of plates. . . These plates made an argument more powerful than Pugin would ever make in words." Hill, God's Architect (2007, pg. 248).

4to. v, 104pp. + 20 plates. Belcher A3.2. Scarce in commerce.

Synopsis

The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is one of Joseph Conrad’s later novels. Set in London in 1886, the novel tells the story of Adolf Verloc, a member of a largely ineffectual anarchist group who is also a secret agent, and an operation with unforeseen consequences. In his Author’s Note written in 1920, Conrad explains that the plot of the novel was inspired by the Greenwich Bomb Outrage of February 1894. In this event, explosives prematurely detonated in the hands of French anarchist named Martial Bourdin on the grounds of the Greenwich Observatory. What fascinated Conrad the most about the Greenwich Bomb Outrage was the fact that the motives remained a mystery. Through themes of espionage, anarchism, and terrorism based on horrific, but true events, The Secret Agent questions the world's capacity for reason and order in a smart, yet skeptical way. Perhaps this explains why the novel is said to be one of the three most talked-about works of literature in the media immediately after 9/11. The Secret Agent did not sell well initially, but is now considered a classic. The novel is ranked 46th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. The Secret Agent has undergone multiple adaptations for both the stage and the screen. Perhaps most notable is Alfred Hitchcock's 1936 film, Sabotage, loosely based on the novel, though many changes to the plot and characters were made. (Not to be confused with another 1936 Hitchcock film, Secret Agent, based on short stories by W. Somerset Maugham.) Fun fact: The Secret Agent is said to have greatly influenced Theodore Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber. Kaczynski, who engaged in a nationwide bombing campaign in the US between 1978 and 1995, strongly identified with the Professor, the villain of the novel.

Read More: Identifying first editions of Contrasts. Or a Parallel Between the Noble Edifices of the Middle Ages and the Corresponding Buildings of the Present Day

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Nelson Rare Books, ABAA/ILAB

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About the Seller

Nelson Rare Books, ABAA/ILAB

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2012
Haddonfield, New Jersey

About Nelson Rare Books, ABAA/ILAB

Bookseller of 18th and 19th century British and American literature, Gothic Revival, architecture, street literature, chapbooks, private press books, focusing on the unpopular, the obscure, and the forgotten. We also handle commonplace books, friendship albums, scrap books and manuscripts.

Glossary

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Marbled boards
...
Edges
The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
First Edition
In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Poor
A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...

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