CONTRACT OF AGREEMENT, FOR BUILDING AN EXCHANGE, IN THE CITY OF EDINBURGH

(EDINBURGH)  CONTRACT OF AGREEMENT, FOR BUILDING AN EXCHANGE, IN THE CITY OF EDINBURGH.                                                 

Edinburgh: Hamilton, Balfour, and Neill, 1754. Small 4to. 19th century quarter-morocco, marbled boards. Folding frontispiece, 11, 60, (27) pages. First, and only, edition. [Harris, 218].

To our knowledge, this is the first published contract for a public building printed in the English language.  The commission was part of a more general plan to improve the public buildings in Edinburgh.  The building by John Fergus and Patrick Jamieson follows the overall design of John Adam and details its costs. A folding frontispiece illustrates the building's frontal elevation.  Closely trimmed; with slight edge wear.  While there are several copies located by OCLC, copies in the trade are rare.  We could not locate a single copy selling at auction during the past twenty-five years.

 

$1,850.00