Vitruvius Britannicus volume 1 is an architectural book from 1715 and was written by Colen Campbell. In comparison to standard book formats it possesses quite astonishing dimensions, with a width of 385 mm, a length of 550 mm and a breadth of 60 mm. Its volume corresponds with the folio format. Noteworthy is also the immense weight of the book, which I would estimate to be over 20kg. The edges of the 237 pages are golden (which is visible when closed) and the hardcover is made of leather. The pages themselves are, although in great state considering its age, occasionally besmirched with stains. There is no title on the title page, but you can find a description of the book on the third page. Vitruvius Britannicus volume 1 is the first of 3 volumes (later 5).
The book itself mainly contains 197 illustrations of both public and private buildings located in Great Britain. Mostly consisting of plans of ground and other floors, elevations and sections, this particular book contains almost no text. The elevations are the most interesting elements in my opinion; there are ones of the façade of the buildings but also cross-sections of the inside. Lighting is not neglected either; the drawings describe the location of the sun by the casting of shadows. The darkness of the elements are depicted by the amount of lines inside it. For example, a part of the façade which lies in the shadow of a larger element contains more lines which gives it a more overall darkness. Each Illustration has its own scale and short description or title. The Illustrations were glued on to the pages of the book, some of the illustrations (especially the elevations) required more space than the double width of the book itself, so the sheets had to be folded. In general, I found this old book very interesting to examine and am thankful for this exercise arousing my interest in architectural books.