This large exquisitely drawn,
original copper-plate engraved view & plan of the
Gateway to the Admiralty Building, Whitehall, London was designed by Robert
Adams in 1760 - the date is engraved on the plan - and was engraved by Fredrick
Patton, sold by A. Miller in the Strand 1761
Price 2 shillings 6 pence.
Adam, Robert (1728-1792) An important Scottish architect, born in
Kirkaldy, son of the Edinburgh architect William Adam. His three brothers also
worked in the architectural profession, and James and William Adam joined Robert
Adam in the London-based family practice (the eldest brother, John Adam, like
his father, was a Palladian architect and was based in Scotland). Robert Adam
studied at Edinburgh University, and then set off on the Grand Tour in 1754,
travelling through France and Italy, and returning after 4 years well versed in
classical and Italian Renaissance architecture. His own work was mainly
Classical, in a lighter style than the Palladians, and some Gothic castles. He
became one of the two most important architects of the latter part of the 18th
Century - the other being William Chambers.
In London, the Adams Brothers designed the Adelphi scheme (1768-1772), built in
Westminster and based on a Thames-side terrace with a parallel row closer to the
Strand, with a ladder of side streets between. It was largely demolished in the
1930s. A few remain, in John Adam Street, Robert Street and so forth, among
which is the Royal Society of Arts, with an elegant Ionic frontage. The south
and east sides of Fitzroy Square are also theirs.
A few of Robert Adam's town houses remain, including 20 Portman Square, 20 St
James's Square, and Chandos House in Queen Anne Street. The majority of his work
was on large country houses, usually altering existing ones rather than starting
from scratch, and partly for this reason, he is particularly known today for his
opulent interiors rather than exteriors. Around London we may mention Kenwood
House, home of the Iveagh Collection of paintings, Osterley Park, and Syon House
(near Kew). An early work of his is the facade for the Admiralty in Whitehall.
Among artists employed by Adam to decorate his interiors are the painter
Angelica Kauffman, the sculptor John Flaxman, and the Italian painters Antonio
Zucchi and Giovanni Cipriani. (Ref:
M&B; Tooley)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy & stable
Paper color: - White
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 27 1/2in x 21in
(700mm x 535mm)
Plate size: - 25in x
16in (635mm x
635mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Small repairs to margin edges
Plate area: - Light vertical fold
Verso: - None
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