Ruggieri, Ferdinando.

4 volumes, folio (494 x 392mm.), 5 title-pages printed in red and black with engraved vignettes, 4 engraved additional title-pages, 3 engraved portraits, large engraved folding map of Florence, 279 engraved plates (many double-page), engraved headpieces, woodcut and engraved initials, contemporary half-vellum over carta rustica, light marginal staining affecting inner lower margin of some plates in vol. 1 and outer margin of few plates in vol. 3

from the library of Dr. George Rosu

BAL RIBA 2878

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

a fine unsophisticated copy of ruggieri's magisterial work on florentine architecture. 

Ferdinando Ruggieri (1691-1741), despite being one of the leading Baroque architects of his generation, was unfortunate that, as very little construction work took place in Florence whilst he was in his pomp, his work was largely confined to the theoretical. Of those buildings whose construction he did oversee, his crowning achievement was the design for the façade of the Complesso di San Firenze (1715), inspired by that of San Gaetano in Piazza Antinori. In addition, he was commissioned to reconstruct the church of Santa Felicita in 1735 and later rebuilt the small bell tower of San Lorenzo that had been destroyed by a conflagration in 1427.  Although reluctant to leave his beloved Florence, and thereby limiting his opportunities for practical employment, he did work in Siena on the reconstruction of the Sansedoni Palace and in Empoli, where in 1736 he oversaw the reconstruction of the collegiate church of St Andrew in the Florentine Romanesque style.

Ruggieri's immediate inspiration for his Scelta di architetture antiche e moderne della citta di Firenze, the first edition of which appeared between 1722 and 1728, was Domenico de' Rossi's three volume Studio d'architettura civile sopra gli ornamenti di porte e finestre tratti da alcune fabbriche insigni de Roma (1702-1722). Ruggieri produced his magnum opus on an equally grand scale and embraced de' Rossi's scheme of following an elevation of a building with a series of details and plans. Ruggieri appears to have worked at great speed. A volume containing 296 ink and wash drawings with a manuscript title-page dated 1722 was sold by Craveri in 1995. The French publisher Joseph Bouchard, who was based in Florence in the 1750s, obtained Ruggieri's copperplates and succeeded in selling the resulting second edition to travellers on the Grand Tour.