Principles of Beauty Relative to the Human Head
Principles of Beauty Relative to the Human Head
This treatise on the nature of beauty was written by 18th century British landscape artist Alexander Cozens, with plates engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi. Dedicated to King George III upon publication, the book allows the reader to study the principles of beauty through Cozens portraits of archetypes such as Haughty, Majestic, or Simple, as well as the artists various and changeable combinations of heads and features.
A folio sized volume in the original binding half bound in leather with hand marbled paper covering the boards. The front board is detached and the back board is attached only by the sewing cords. The spine is missing areas at the head and tail. The front pastedown has a bookplate from the countess of Harrington. The first page is detached and the second is creased due to use with an area of loss about 1 cm sq.
The volume is oversewn. There are 15 pages of text in English and then French followed by 17 plates. Most of the plates have tissue paper printed with different hair styles that you lay over underlying engravings of faces. There is some gummed residue on some of the plates to hold down the printed tissue paper overlay. Some of the tissue papers have soot marks along the edges.
The oversewing is causing stress to the spine area and does not allow the volume to open completely. Disbind the volume and resew the pages through the fold in order to create a book that opens properly. Humidify the creased endpaper and fill the area of loss. Clean and line the spine. Create a new spine and re-attach the boards.
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Adoption Type: Preserve for the Future
