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WOOD, Robert (1717--1771)
The ruins of Balbec, otherwise Heliopolis in Coelosyria.
London (Place), 1757.
[2], 28 p., XLVI [i.e. 47] pl. (1 unnumbered, 11 fold.) ; 55.8 cm. (2º)

The author's name appears on page 16. The plates were drawn by Giovanni Battista Borra, an architect from Turin who accompanied Wood, James Dawkins and John Bouverie on their travels to Asia Minor which had previously led to the publication of Wood's acclaimed Ruins of Palmyra in 1753 (q.v.); like the earlier work, it was offered initially to subscribers at 3 guineas and later available for £3 10s., and also issued with the letterpress in French. The views were engraved by Thomas Major, and the architectural plates by P. Fourdrinier. Plate III is composed of 2 plates which were intended to be joined but are usually bound separately as two leaves as in Soane copy 1. ESTC t137527; Harris 936; Millard II, 94 (French ed.); BAL, Early printed books, no. 3706; Fowler 444.

Copy Notes Copy 1: With the two plates forming pl. III bound separately as usual, the second, unnumbered plate misbound after pl. V. Several plates inscribed by Soane in pencil with notes providing captions and legends.
Copy 2: 53.0 cm. Bound (2) with copy 2 of the Ruins of Palmyra, 1753 (q.v.). The two plates of pl. III are joined in this copy, hence there are 10 folding plates

Binding Copy 1: C18th half sprinkled calf, marbled-paper boards, red morocco spine-label.
Copy 2: C19th diced russia calf, blind-tooled within gilt double-rule borders, gilt double-ruled and blind-tooled spine, direct-lettered in gilt. Bound by Edwin Hutchinson for £2 plus 2s. for cleaning, 28 February 1832. (Archives 7/16/29).

Reference Number 3624

Additional Names Hutchinson, Edwin; Borra, Giovanni Battista (1712--1786); Major, Thomas (1720--1799); Fourdrinier, Paul (c.$1720--1760)


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