[Rarebooks] fs: Scarce Augustus Welby Pugin "Apology" -1837

Tue Jun 8 17:11:39 EDT 2004

>From our Just Catalogued pages
<http://www.joslinhall.com/justcat.htm>
_____________________________________________

Pugin, A. Welby. AN APOLOGY FOR A WORK ENTITLED "CONTRASTS;" being A
Defence of the Assertions advanced in that publication, against the
various attacks lately made upon it. By A. Welby Pugin, author of the book
in question. Birmingham; printed for the author: 1837.

A rather scarce reply to critics of Pugin's blockbuster panegyric,
"Contrasts", published in 1836 and again, substantially revised, in 1841.
"Contrasts, A Parallel between the Noble Edifices of the 14th and 15th
centuries and Similar buildings of the Present Day. Showing a Decay of
Taste" blew the lid off the staid early Victorian architectural and
antiquarian world when it was first published. Pugin had not even been
able to find a publisher willing to handle the volume, and had printed it
at his own expense (as appears to also have been the case with this
pamphlet).

As H.R. Hitchcock notes in his reprint of the second edition of "Contrasts"-

"The archeological study of the Gothic of the Middle Ages by English
scholars over the preceding twenty years provided the background for
Pugin's familiarity with and enthusiasm for the 'noble edifices' of the
mediaeval, Catholic past which he believed his contemporaries should
emulate. Yet 'Contrasts' is neither an archeological treatise nor a
collection of models for direct emulation. It is a polemical work whose
motivation was almost as much religious, and even social, as
architectural. Pugin held that the high quality of mediaeval building was
later lost since 'heresy had destroyed faith'."

The basic difference between the two editions was that in the first
edition, Pugin, a convert to Catholicism, blamed Protestants for the
degradation of architecture, and in the second edition he broadened his
scope and simply blamed the entire Renaissance. All of which makes Pugin
sound like just a bit of a crank...

Well, perhaps just a bit, but he was also one of the most influential
designers of the entire Victorian period, and an amazing and indefatigable
personality whose depths and influence we can only begin to hint at in
this limited space. Augustus Welby Pugin was the son of Auguste Pugin, a
French architect who had fled France during the Revolution and worked as
chief draughtsman for John Nash. Augustus grew up helping his father
create meticulous drawings of Gothic ornament and architecture, and at the
age of just 19 was commissioned to design furniture for Windsor Castle. He
was soon in business for himself, and when he was 25 he published the
amazing and controversial "Contrasts". Over the next decade he published
several more influential books and cemented the importance of the entire
Gothic Revival in England.

At 39 he was working on the Medieval Court for the Crystal Palace
Exhibition when he suffered a breakdown from exhaustion and died in
September, 1852 at the age of 40. But he packed a lot into those 40 years,
and always fought for what he so deeply believed. Pugin ends this
"Apology" by declaring-

"In conclusion, although I am well aware that the principles I have
advanced are alike opposed to the prejudices, interests, and vanity of
this age, and therefore are likely to meet with every opposition which
these powerful motives can incite, yet, as I have the satisfaction of
knowing that they are based on the solid foundation of truth, I feel
confident that, sooner or later, their justice will be acknowledged; and,
in the meantime, I am perfectly ready to defend them against all attacks,
whether proceeding from Churchman, Architect, or Painter".

Scarce- OCLC only locates 3 copies. Original plain grey-brown wrappers.
4.25"x7.25", 49 pages; cover with some soil and wear, two tiny pinholes in
the cover, spine partially perished, tips thumbed, etc.; light internal
soil and spotting; "A.W. Pugin" written in the center of the front cover
in pencil and "J.A. Millward" in pen in the upper right corner. Although
somewhat worn, it is nice to find a copy of this very fragile piece in any
condition, to say nothing of its original state. [05591] $875.00

Illustration-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images/th-05591.jpg>

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