History of Indian and Eastern Architecture; 1876, First Ed.

First edition of ‘History of Indian and Eastern Architecture’ by James Fergusson. Published in London by John Murray in 1876. Abundantly illustrated with 394 black & white woodcut text illustrations and folding maps. The book covers Buddhist architecture, Jain architecture, architecture in the Himalayas, Dravidian style, Chalukyan style, Northern or Indo-Aryan style, Saracenic Architecture, Further India (Burma, Siam, Java, Cambodia), and China.

Background History:
James Fergusson (1808 – 1886) was a Scottish-born architectural historian, mainly remembered for his interest in Indian historical architecture and antiquities. He was an important figure in the 19th century “rediscovery” of ancient India.
“Fergusson was almost the only British architectural historian of his time to take a serious interest in the architecture of the Indian sub-continent, and his book of 1876 and its subsequent reissues offer the most considered and detailed account of the subject to be published during the nineteenth century.”
“His observations on Indian architecture were first published in his book The Rock-cut Temples of India, published in 1845…. Then in 1855 he published the Illustrated Handbook of Architecture, being a Concise and Popular Account of the different Styles of Architecture prevailing in all Ages and Countries…. The 1855 work was reissued ten years later… but the chapters on Indian architecture, which had been considered at rather disproportionate length in the Handbook, were removed from the general History, and the whole of this subject treated more fully in [this] a separate volume, The History of Indian and Eastern Architecture.”

Condition:
Very good condition with only light foxing. Recased in modern red cloth, blue morocco gilt spine label. Front board has two small dents in the centre. Top edge gilt.