A New Collection of Chimneypieces.
by
George Richardson (1708 -1813).
published 1781.
from
https://archive.org/details/gri_33125011188378/page/n3
Richardson published 36 designs for chimney pieces
"suitable to the most elegant range of apartments". The classical
orders became standard for all features of interior design in polite
architecture. The capital, which is not from one of the five regular orders, is
derived from those on the 'Tower of the Winds' in Athens, of about 40 B.C.
(Label text)
Like Richardson's A Book of Ceilings pub. (1776) this work was issued serially in six part numbers of six plates each,
and these still carry their original publication dates - May 1778, June 1780,
September 1780, December 1780, March 1781, and June 1781.
The last of these was
probably priced as a 'double number' since it would have included the
title-page, dedication and 16-page letterpress description.
On 25 June 1778 the
Royal Academy paid 12s. for 'A Number of Richardson's Chimneys' and on 29 June
1781 a further £3 12s. for the rest of the book, making the total price £4 4s.
This book is one of the earliest in Britain to include plates made by means of
the aquatint technique, which Richardson learnt from Paul Sandby.
Richardson
went on to use this method of representing tone in all his subsequent
architectural publications - though never, as most others employing the technique
after him did, to represent architectural designs set within picturesque
scenery.
Some copies of this book were sold with the plates hand-coloured in
imitation of marble.'
Two Designs for Chimneypieces for Keddleston
Images Courtesy National Trust
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