Biddle, Owen. The Young Carpenter's Assistant. Philadelphia, 1805

BIDDLE, OWEN

THE YOUNG CARPENTER'S ASSISTANT; OR, A SYSTEM OF ARCHITECTURE, ADAPTED TO THE STYLE OF BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES. PHILADELPHIA: BENJAMIN JOHNSON, 1805

4to (9 1/2 x 8 in.; 242 x 203 mm). 2-page list of subscribers, 44 engraved plates, 2 folding; foxing and browning, one folding torn in two. Contemporary calf; backstrip off, covers detached, worn. 

The second architecture book written and published in the United States, after Asher Banjamin's Country Builder's Assistant. The plates illustrate porticos, domes, doors, stairs, mantles, Palladian windows, etc.; also illustrated are iconic Philadelphia buildings such as Christ Church, the First Bank of the United States, and the Bank of Pennsylvania.

LITERATURE:

Hitchcock 176; Rink 1768

PROVENANCE:

Thomas B. Patterson (d. 1865), Philadelphia house carpenter, who joined the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia in 1839 (inscription) — Edward F. Gay (1802–1875), noted Philadelphia canal and railroad engineer — William M. Harnett (1848–1892), American still life painter, inscribed by him to — E. Taylor Snow (1844–1913), Philadelphia landscape painter.