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First published in 1999, this volume examines Sir John Soane
(1753-1837) who was one of Britain's most inventive architects. His
achievements include the Bank of England and the world's first
picture gallery at Dulwich, buildings of international importance.
His country estate work, inspired by classical antiquity, ranges in
scale from the remodelling of existing country houses, such as
Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire and Aynhoe Park in Northamptonshire,
to simple outbuildings. Here we see the emergence of the key themes
of his style and the results of his precise attention to
proportion, design detail, and light and shade. These are among
Soane's finest works. Making full use of the Soane Museum and
country house archives, Ptolemy Dean here examines ten country
house projects, reconstructing the creative transactions between
client and architect, architect and skilled craftsman. It is
impossible to understand Soane's intentions without the drawings,
sketches and letters which enable us to trace the process of
design. With the author's own drawings in watercolour to illustrate
Soane's use of light and space, and beautiful photographs by Martin
Charles, Sir John Soane and the Country Estate offers an
enthralling insight into the work of a great architect. An
illustrated inventory, the first fully researched guide to Soane's
country house practice, details an architectural legacy that has
rarely been matched.
Reports of the surveyors of Westminster Abbey in the twentieth
century provide a wealth of information on this most important
building. The annual reports of the Surveyors of the Fabric in the
twentieth century give much detailed information about the
maintenance and major restoration of Westminster Abbey and its
contents. The Surveyors, William Lethaby, Walter Tapper, Charles
Peers and Stephen Dykes Bower, had to deal with many problems and
challenges between 1906 and 1973. Not least of these were two World
Wars and the most extensive programme of cleaning and re-decoration
since the timeof Sir Christopher Wren. Lethaby brought to light
original decoration on medieval tombs, lost to sight for centuries
under grime and shellac used by his predecessor Gilbert Scott;
Tapper had to carry out emergency restoration tothe fan vault of
Henry VII's chapel after a stone crashed to the floor; Peers was
required to deal with the evacuation of hundreds of treasures
during the 1939-45 war and with repairs to bomb damaged areas after
it. Dykes Bower, meanwhile, was the most controversial of the
Surveyors of this period. His replacement of medieval roof timbers
drew criticism, although these were riddled with decay and death
watch beetle. The nave could have looked vastly different if his
design for a Cosmati work floor had gone ahead. But the Abbey
interior would not look as it does today without his massive
contribution to the cleaning of the brown stonework and
re-decoration of the dirty and damaged Tudor and Jacobean
monuments. The Abbey's current Surveyor, Ptolemy Dean, outlines the
legacies of the work of these Surveyors of the modern age in his
introduction; Christine Reynolds, the Abbey's Assistant Keeper of
the Muniments, adds valuable notes from other sources within the
archives to supplement the fascinating accounts of work carried out
in the most historically significant church in England.
Geography of Claudius Ptolemy, originally titled Geographia and
written in the second century, is a depiction of the geography of
the Roman Empire at the time. Though inaccurate due to Ptolemy's
varying methods of measurement and use of outdated data, Geography
of Claudius Ptolemy is nonetheless an excellent example of ancient
geographical study and scientific method. This edition contains
more than 40 maps and illustrations, reproduced based on Ptolemy's
original manuscript. It remains a fascinating read for students of
scientific history and Greek influence. CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY (A.D. 90-
A.D. 168) was a poet, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and
geographer who wrote in Greek, though he was a Roman citizen. He is
most well-known for three scientific treatises he wrote on
astronomy, astrology, and geography, respectively titled Almagest,
Apotelesmatika, and Geographia. His work influenced early Islamic
and European studies, which in turn influenced much of the modern
world. Ptolemy died in Alexandria as a member of Greek society.
Ptolemy's "Almagest" is one of the most influential scientific
works in history. A masterpiece of technical exposition, it was the
basic textbook of astronomy for more than a thousand years, and
still is the main source for our knowledge of ancient astronomy.
This translation, based on the standard Greek text of Heiberg,
makes the work accessible to English readers in an intelligible and
reliable form. It contains numerous corrections derived from
medieval Arabic translations and extensive footnotes that take
account of the great progress in understanding the work made in
this century, due to the discovery of Babylonian records and other
researches. It is designed to stand by itself as an interpretation
of the original, but it will also be useful as an aid to reading
the Greek text.
When Dr Eben Alexander wrote about his own startling near-death
experience in Proof of Heaven, he was contacted by countless people
from all walks of life. His story had touched them personally and
they in turn had their own miraculous experiences of the afterlife
to share with Eben. In The Map of Heaven, Eben recounts the
astonishing stories he has heard on his travels, from near-death
experiences and encounters with angelic beings to inspiring
messages from departed loved ones. Each account helps us to
understand just how vast the universe really is. Drawing on these
accounts and lessons from religious leaders, philosophers and
scientific investigations into the role of consciousness, Eben
explores our true place in the universe and what exactly exists
beyond death.
The Almagest is by far the greatest work in astronomy in ancient
times. In a massive series of thirteen books, Ptolemy shows how
every detail of the motions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars
can be expressed using geometrical models that can be used to
compute celestial positions with remarkable accuracy The present
selection covers all the essential features of Ptolemy's treatment
of the heavens, omitting only more difficult and abstruse matters
such as the moon's motion and the calculation of eclipses. In the
interest of conciseness, development of planetary theories is
restricted to two planets, one inferior (Venus) and one superior
(Mars). Ptolemy's text is accompanied by extensive notes and
introductions that are aimed at making the book accessible to
students encountering Ptolemy for the first time. This edition is
designed to provide everything needed for a one-semester course, or
it can be a component of a more general course on planetary theory
or history of astronomy.
The "Tetrabiblos" of the famous astronomer and geographer
Claudius Ptolemaeus (ca. 100-178 CE) of Egypt consists of four
books, the title given in some manuscripts meaning 'Mathematical
Treatise in Four Books', in others 'The Prognostics addressed to
Syrus'. The subject is astrology, which in Ptolemy's time as down
to the Renaissance was fused as a respectable science with
astronomy. Translations and commentaries are few, and only three
Greek texts had been printed (all in the 16th century) before the
present one and the one begun by F. Boll and finished by Emilie
Boer in 1940.
Ptolemy, considered a proto-Humanist by some, combined the
principles of Northern Italian republicanism with Aristotelian
theory in his "De Regimine Principum," a book that influenced much
of the political thought of the later Middle Ages, the Renaissance,
and the early modern period. He was the first to attack kingship as
despotism and to draw parallels between ancient Greek models of
mixed constitution and the Roman Republic, biblical rule, the
Church, and medieval government.In addition to his translation of
this important and radical medieval political treatise, written
around 1300, James M. Blythe includes a sixty-page introduction to
the work and provides over 1200 footnotes that trace Ptolemy's
sources, explain his references, and comment on the text, the
translation, the context, and the significance.
Ptolemy's "Geography" is the only book on cartography to have
survived from the classical period and one of the most influential
scientific works of all time. Written in the second century AD, for
more than fifteen centuries it was the most detailed topography of
Europe and Asia available and the best reference on how to gather
data and draw maps. Ptolemy championed the use of astronomical
observation and applied mathematics in determining geographical
locations. But more importantly, he introduced the practice of
writing down coordinates of latitude and longitude for every
feature drawn on a world map, so that someone else possessing only
the text of the "Geography" could reproduce Ptolemy's map at any
time, in whole or in part, at any scale.
Here Berggren and Jones render an exemplary translation of the
"Geography" and provide a thorough introduction, which treats the
historical and technical background of Ptolemy's work, the contents
of the "Geography, " and the later history of the work. Also
included here are unique color reproductions of maps from
manuscripts and early printed editions of the text, representative
of the beautiful and practical cartographic artistry that flowed
from Ptolemy's work. Historians of science, classicists, and anyone
who enjoys beautiful maps or map making will find this work an
indispensable addition to their library.
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