The only other copies I can find of such an early edition of Henry Williams' Elements of Drawing are in museum and special library collections. William's method was a highly influential and widely adopted one though--one not infrequently sees old charcoal and graphite drawings done by students in academy following the instruction on these very pages. And in fact it was fairly recently reprinted by Windham press --available in paper back or as an e-book! But this is a different thing, 1818, third edition, copper engravings on soft laid paper, some with hand-coloring. Better in person than in photos, and feels like a very special thing, with two inscriptions on the first inside page - one in ink, one in pencil--the former marking it as a gift "presented" by an Ella Dearborn to her grandaughter some 200 years ago.
7 7/8 x 6 5/8. 23 of the original 26 full page copper plate engravings; it appears the last three pages were lost. Binding is a bit loose at top and it's all a bit delicate, with wear around the edges and some toning, but no major stains or tears. Many but not all pages documented in photos, some with hand-coloring-a few pages of representative engravings first, then following in order.
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