The book ” Le secret d’architecture découvrant fidèlement les traits géométriques, couppes, et dérobemens nécessaires dans les bastiments : enrichi d’un grand nombre de figures, adioustées sur châque disours pour l’explication d’iceux”, written by Mathurin Jousse is basically composed of illustrations and texts, which are equally organised in this book. Exactly to say, despite of forewords and table, illustrations are always on the left-hand pages and texts are always on the right-hand pages.
The page margins are quite standard across the entire book. Only on several pages containing illustrations, especially on those fold-out pages, the margins are relatively irregular, because the illustrations can be differently large. The font of headings is larger than the rest of the text and stands in the middle upon the main body. Even smaller are the notices in illustrations, sometimes they are also written in a different type. Each text is written in a whole paragraph and begins with a large decorative letter.
All of the illustrations are geometrical blueprints. Clarified by the title of the book, it is all about discovering the geometric features like stone-cuts and so on. The book has 111 full-page illustrations inclusive 11 fold-out pages, which are explained directly on the next page with a corresponding text. The titles of each text is also repeated on the top of the relating blueprints. Small notices for describing or marking certain subjects can be found in the blueprints.
In this book illustrations and texts share an equal importance (also space), because they are strongly corresponding with each other and can not be read separately.
This book is a kind of glossary with an alphabetically organised catalogue without specific logic among the contents. Therefore, it is better to be used for reference and academic study.