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Bound in Green marbled cardboard covers.7 5/8 x 4 3/4 (19.5 x 12.2 cm) 140 pages but numbered by Ruskin on the top recto pages -1-70. Preparatory categories are written in Effie Ruskin’s handwriting. The front endpapers include diagrams of Pilaster and shaft heads, Plinth and Balcony sections, Window orders and Window sections. There are then two pages before the page numbered page 1 which has ‘No 1 House’ as a heading. The last house in the series is ‘House No 49’ the ‘Palaz Priuli’ which appears on page 61. In addition the last pages of House Book 1 include the ‘Door of House No. 5’ (page 65), ‘Door No 1’ (page 66) and ‘House No 1a’ on page 69. Of the 49 houses listed Ruskin appears to know the name of only seven at this stage of his research (Young Foscari, Great Foscari, Palazzo Bernardo, Hotel de L Europe, Pal Cavalli, Contarini Fasan and Palaz Priuli). on the back board a paper label states ‘House Book. H.’
It has been speculated that House Book 1 was started in late October or early November 1849 (Hewison (1978) p.59). A precise dating is difficult. Ruskin, his wife Effie, her friend Charlotte Ker, and John Hobbs were at Verona on the 8th November and were established in Venice at the Danieli by 13th November. It seems therefore unlikely that House Book 1 was started in October. Ruskin had reached page 43 of the ‘M’ notebook by 20th November and page 47 by 23rd November. He mentions ‘the 10th palace, p. 12 House book’ on page 64; indicating that it was 17th December on page 87 of the M notebook. Mid to Late November seems a more likely starting date. Sold at Sothebys 24th July 1930 Lot 115 No 1. Purchased by J. H. Whitehouse (see Woolford (1972) pp.193-246).
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[Version 0.05: May 2008]