“Le plus excellents bastiments de France vol. 1” (engl. “the most excellent buildings in France”) published in 1576, is a compilation of some of the nicest houses and palaces in France. It is the first of two volumes. The book cover is made of leather. With its Folio format (307mm x 445mm) the book is quite heavy and thick. There are 213 pages with around 65 illustrations on them. Because of its age the pages are sometimes dusty or even dirty. There even seem to be some wine stains which, together with the smell enhances the special reading experience You also need to be quite careful going through them in order not to rip any of them.
On the first twenty pages all the buildings illustrated in the book are being described in fairly short terms in French. After the introducing texts in the beginning the described buildings are displayed on the following pages. The illustrations contain elevation drawings, floor plans, detailed drawings etc. The illustrations are not colorized but very detailed and exact. Most of them also fill two pages.
Details:
Title: Le Premier volume des plus excellents bastiments de France
Author: Androuet Du Cerceau, Jacques (1511?-1586)
Publication date: 1576
Format: in-folio (307mm x 445mm)
Illustrations: 65
Pages: 213
Language: French