The Seven Lamps of Architecture
Marxist art historian F D Klingender's copy, with his bookplate
Author
Publisher
Printing Details
Reprint (Seventh edition in small form). Hardback, bound in the original green cloth with gilt titling to spine. 19 × 13cm, xv + 444pp.
This copy carries significant provenance, having belonged to the Marxist art historian and pioneer of Kunstsoziologie (the sociology of art), Francis Donald Klingender (1907–1955). Better known as F. D. Klingender, he was a key figure in analyzing the relationship between art and the Industrial Revolution—a theme that directly echoes Ruskin’s own critiques. His bookplate is present on the front pastedown.
First published in May 1849, this extended essay outlines Ruskin’s fundamental principles of architecture, which he termed "Lamps": Sacrifice, Truth, Power, Beauty, Life, Memory, and Obedience. Writing from a deeply moral and spiritual stance, Ruskin argues that the technical innovations following the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution had sapped the vitality of architecture by subsuming its spiritual content.
The work is illustrated with 14 plates, all drawn and etched by Ruskin himself.
Condition
A reading copy only as the cloth is rubbed, the plates (all present) have a waterstain to the top edge, and the book is in generally well-read condition. However, this copy comes with an interesting provenance.
Books are currently zero-rated for duty (as of April 2026), so the price shown is the price you pay.
Price
£40.00
