“The origin of building”, written by John Wood (1704-1754) consists five books. Each book is organized with 10-15 chapters. It mainly consists out of text, which is added by a total amount of 22 illustrations with a close link to the text. These illustrations can be folded up to a larger sheet of paper.
The page structure is kept simple. At the top left is the page number, in the middle at the top is the book title “The origin of Building: or, the plagiarism of the heathens Detected” and at the top right the number of the book (1-5).
Each chapter begins with the following structure: First, the chapter is listed in caps lock and in large font size, followed by the title of the chapter, which is written in the same font size but without caps lock. The font could be the “antiqua” font, as it is a round font and was typically used as a print font at that time. The text then starts with an extra capital letter. Then the text is divided into different paragraphs in justified type. At the bottom of the page there are also the paraphrases, which refer to other pages, chapters etc. This structure is used throughout the book.
This structure of the text is interrupted by illustrations, which are very precisely drawn plans of columns, floor plans or facades. Some of these are detailed drawings, others are entire plans on a large scale. The illustrations are labeled “plate 1-36” (more than 22, because some illustrations consist more than one plate) and all have a fine frame, which is probably due to the plates. The illustrations are directly related to the text and underline the content of the text. The text is still in 1st priority and the illustrations complement it as foldout spreads.
The organization of text and images indicates that it is a book that focuses on the development and description of architectural themes and is intended to express this with its clear structure of books, chapters and images.