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PRIEUR, Armant Parfait (fl. 1791--1804
[Petites maisons de Paris]
Paris (Place), [c. 1791?]
[24] etch. pl. ; 46.0 cm. (1°)

Without a title-page. The title cited above is taken from Berlin Kat. 2524 which is also lacking a title-page, but has plates of the same number and size (i.e. 370 x 245 mm), that are hand-coloured, unlike the Soane copy. The Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris has an imperfect copy containing 14 plates, again hand-coloured, catalogued under the title Recueil des plans, coupes et vues des plus jolies maisons de Paris, and attributing publication to François Étienne Joubert between 1789 and 1791. A possible explanation for the absence of a title-page is that Prieur and Van Cléemputte planned to continue issuing further cahiers of plates which never appeared. Plates 1--20 are numbered, plates 1, 7 and 8 additionally bearing the indication '1er (2eme) Cahier'; as in the case of the 'Grands prix d'architecture' (q.v.), also a collaborative effort by Prieur and Van Cléemputte, the etched outline plates were probably also intended to be hand-coloured. As yet, no other copies of this work have been located.

The plans, perspective views and sections are of 11 contemporary Parisian buildings, in order of appearance: Hôtel de Thélusson by Claude Nicolas Ledoux (2 pl.); Hôtel de Tamney, rue de Provence, by Pierre Henri Itasse (1 pl.); Nouveau Théâtre des Variétés (i.e. Théâtre du Palais-Royal) (2 pl.); Hôtel de Radix de Sainte-Foix, rue Basse du Rempart by Alexandre Théodore Brongniart (2 pl.); Hôtel de Salm by Pierre Rousseau (2 pl.); Maison batie rue Neuve des Capuchins by François Joseph Bélanger (2 pl.); Maison de Mlle Guimard by Claude Nicolas Ledoux (2 pl.); Théâtre de Monsieur, rue Feÿdeau by Jacques-Guillaume Legrand and Jacques Molinos (2 pl.); Hôtel de Mme de Brunoy by Etienne-Louis Boullée (2 pl.); Bagatelle park and pavilions by François Joseph Bélanger (5 pl.); 'une maison pres la pompe a feu a Chaillot' (1 pl.). Most of the perspectives and sections are signed by Prieur; most of the plans are by Van Cléemputte. Plates 14 and 16 are signed by Prieur and dated 1791.

Copy Notes Bought with one other book at a Christie's sale on 16-17 February 1815, lot 91 for £2 10s. Inscribed in pencil on front pastedown 2-2-0, and in ink Guillaume Kinnard a Londres. 1808., i.e. Willam Kinnard (c. 1788--1839). As District Surveyor for the parishes of St Giles-in-the Fields and St George Bloomsbury, Kinnard brought a court action against Soane's projecting loggias on the front of his new house at 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields; the court decided in Soane's favour (see Colvin, p. 620 and Watkin, Soane, pp. 81--2).

Binding C19th half dark green calf, marbled paper boards, gilt metope and pentaglyph roll-tooled spine, red morocco spine label gilt-lettered 'Maisons/ Bourgois'.

Reference Number 6511

Additional Names Kinnard, William (c.$1788--1839); Christie, James, the younger (1773--1831), auctioneer. [Sale cat. 1815:02:16--17]; Cléemputte, Pierre-Louis (1768--1834)


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