ASHER BENJAMIN (1773-1845)

This is the first edition of the first original American work on architecture. Earlier American architectural imprints were compilations of English material or local editions of works by English authors. Benjamin, an architect who had built houses and churches throughout the Connecticut Valley, was influenced by English sources. His builder's guide spread late colonial design throughout New England. In its many editions, The Country Builder's Assistant is a superb record of popular taste, which it both reflected and influenced, through the early Federal period.