The book «Ein kunstrych Buoch von allerley Antiquiteten, so zum Verstand der Fünff Seulen der Architectur gehörend» written by Hans Blum was published in 1560. It is written in Ancient German, in an ancient font, which made it quite difficult for me to read. I tried to read several passages, but I could not understand everything.
As the title points out; the book should explain the five classical orders of architecture. Each of the orders is explained by a text and several impressive sketches of columns.
The book can be divided in 7 chapters: The first chapter is an introduction. The following 4 chapters describe the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite order. Somehow, I was not able to find a chapter about the Tuscan order, so I suppose the book actually only describes four orders. The last two chapters are called “Von den Aufzügen” and “Von aufeinander Setzung der Säulen.
The book consists of 45 pages and contains 22 precise sketches. Five sketches and a text are too long to fit a single page, so the author folded them like a Luparello.
The height of the book is 39 cm, it is 25 cm wide and about 3 cm thick. Over the years the book has become worn out and appears to be very fragile.