Bye bye Bosse … It seems like our little friendship is coming to an end. I’m not sure if I should be sad or relieved. Although I love books I didn’t really know what to expect from this exercise. I have never had contact with such an ancient book about architecture, or about anything really. Now almost a year has passed and it went by so quickly. Since this is the first old book I have ever analyzed in my life I believe this experience will remain as a fond and unique memory. Our first exercise wasn’t all that exciting. We just collected data about the book and made a list. Back then, I had no idea where this journey would go and wasn’t particularly passionate about it. But then the second exercise happened. The first encounter. Wow, that was a moment. It felt so strange to apply for a date at the ETH library. The book was carefully prepared and we met in a quiet room. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous, also because I felt like people from the library were watching me so I wouldn’t do anything wrong. I made sure I took special care of it while going through the pages. And then, after a first getting to know each other, I enjoyed the time we had together. My book felt so precious. It obviously looked and felt like something from the 17th century. Just an astonishing piece of words and images. It is written in French and I was surprised how much I could read and understand. That, and also all of the beautiful drawings and sketches made me want to look at it for much longer than the twenty minutes assigned to us. I could see parallels between its content and the lectures we had in architectural history. Abraham Bosse has written and sketched excessively about the classical orders. I enjoyed a lot of analysis of ionique, corinthien, dorique, toscan or composé columns. I was impressed by the quality of the illustrations and how detailed they were. Bosse also included many geometrical sketches that seem quite complex. In the third exercise I could learn a lot more about the author. I was amused by his biography. The fact that good old Abraham was expelled from the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture kind of made me like him. Spicy details. In the fourth exercise I could spend some more time looking at the beautiful graphics. I read through the whole book again and with more knowledge now from the lectures this was an insightful and good experience. The last exercise was a bit weird, but I liked the idea, that our different books could now meet each other and have a conversation, discussion, or even an argument. I’m not sure though if the way you suggested to do it is the best one. What I know for sure is that spending time with Abraham Bosse’s book was a precious experience. Just as precious as the fact, that all of our books are being treated with such care and love by the libraries, historians, and scientists. They have such a value and it is important to see different views and opinions that naturally also existed in more ancient times. Making these accessible and understandable is the future. Thank you for the opportunity and I hope that there will be many more old book friends to come. Adieu for now Abraham.