[ARCHITECTURE]
DECKER, PAUL. Ausfuhrliche Anleitung zur Civil Baukunst. Nuremberg: Joh. Christoph Weigel, n.d [1720]. First Edition. Bound in contemporary German pigskin and brown speckled paper over boards. 15 5/8 x 11 inches (40 x 28 cm); illustrated with three engraved title pages, dedication, and 56 engraved plates. Some wear to fore-edges of boards, else a fine, well-preserved copy with very fine impressions. Familiae Kuppelmayr, with armorial ex-libris (Max Kuppelmayr was a Munich architect whose collection of arms and armor was among the most important private collections in Germany.
Decker's three-part illustrated work on decorative ornament in German private buildings, palaces, churches, and civic structures contains detailed engravings of design features for windows, doors, fireplaces, columns, arches, ceiling moldings, pilasters, iron gates, over doors, niches, altars, tombs, staircases, floor designs, building facades, elevations, and floor plans. The 60 plates were designed by Decker, and several are signed by the engravers J. A. Delsenbach and G. D. Heumann. Guilmard 415; Berlin Katalog 1991.