Billings. The Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland [240 plates]

Billings, Robert William. The Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland (4 vols. in 2); Illustrated by Robert William Billings, Architect, 1845-52. London: For the Author, by William Blackwood and Sons, 1845-52. First Edition. [5958]

Two large books in half leather bindings with marbled boards, 9 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches, both volumes with light scuffing and wear, hinges fine. All page edges gilt, marbled end papers, text and plates clean. 240 fine engraved plates, complete. Each gathering of text & plates numbered separately from the others.  Very good.

Robert William Billings (1812-1874), London-born architect and illustrator. The drawings for this splendid set were executed by Billings; a number of different engravers were employed in the production.

This work was issued in parts from 1845 to 1852, and here collected and bound. It was later discovered that the descriptions were written by the Scottish historian John Hill Burton. It has been called "in the front rank of Architectural publications, and from this position it has not been displaced." Robert Rowand Anderson, Foreword of the 1901 edition.