The title of the book De la distribution des maisons de plaisance, vol., already tells us what topics the book deals with. It is written about luxury houses and shown with pictures. Accordingly, the book is addressed to architects who deal with luxury houses. Presumably, the houses are needed to entertain richer guests.
Two tables of contents are used for the book. One shows where the plans of this volume are located. The other shows where each chapter is located. The book is divided into five chapters.
In the book you can see plans and pictures of floor plans, sections and elevations. There are also many facade drawings shown.
The text is written relatively small and everything is compact in a rectangle. Around the text there is a lot of empty space. So the book is very large and rather thick. The print quality looks good and everything is easy to read. Because of the massive cover and the decorations and especially the much empty space, the book looks important and of great significance.
The author, Francois Blondel was French. He was a French architect and teacher of the 18th century. He was one of the leading theorists of 18th century architecture.
Blondel’s On the Distribution of Pleasure Houses, a handbook for financiers and nobles, offers programs from which the reader can choose according to his means. The book is part of the trend of the time, in which privacy and comfort trump status and etiquette.