(ARCHITECTURE.) Biddle, Owen. Biddle's Young Carpenter's Assistant . . . Adapted to the Style of Building in the United States. Revised and Corrected . . . by John Haviland. 64 engraved plates including folding plates of the frame of the Schuylkill River Bridge and of the steeple of Christ Church, Philadelphia. 4to, contemporary full calf, general wear; scattered foxing, slight weakness to hinges; contemporary ownership signature on front endpaper. Philadelphia: M'Carty & Davis, 1833
scarce first complete revised edition. Biddle's first edition in 1805 was the second architectural book by an American author, after Asher Benjamin's Country Builder's Assistant (1797), and one that helped set a precedent for a truly American building style. This edition, enlarged by Haviland, master of neo-classical American architecture, contains a new preface, 48 new designs, and 20 additional plates that cover rural and civic buildings in the U.S. in the Federal through Greek Revival styles. Hitchcock 180. All editions of this work are scarce and this is only the second copy to have come up for auction in the past 20 years (at Swann Galleries: sale 1764).
