The full title of the book is: Rules for drawing the several parts of architecture in a more exact and easy matter than has been heretofore practised, by which all fractions, in dividing the principal members and their parts, are avoided.
The book is quite large, it has a height of 48cms, a width of 28cms and a thickness of 3,5cms. This rather large size is required to attain large enough illustrations that show the drawing methods in enough detail. The thickness is reached by having over 200 pages and a rather thick outer binding. It’s a second edition printed by W. Bowyer in London in 1726. This book was written and illustrated by James Gibbs. He was one of Britain’s most influential architects. His works delt a lot with the transition from the Baroque Architecture and the Palladian Architecture.
It reveals to be a very descriptive and detailed book. It’s not addressed to people who have just started out in Architecture. It’s for people who already know all the basics and want to further perfect their methods. Although it seems to be set out to be for people with some experience I’m sure it’s no mistake to check it out as a beginner as well. “Drawing in a more exact and easy matter” always is a valuable lesson, whether a beginner or experienced.
On the 6th page of the book there is a list of contents. The book is divided into 64 chapters starting at I: Of the Five Orders in general and their principal Parts and ending on LXIV: The Corinthian Modillion explained. The different chapters refer to different cornices, capitals, entablatures, columns, etc.
There are quite a lot of illustrations easing the explanation of the written text. The book talks about a very practical matter; therefore, it is best to explain what is meant in technical sketches. There are a lot of very detailed sketches of columns and cornices.