[Rarebooks] fs: Pugin Lays Blame, Broadly (1837)

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

        "Pugin, a convert to Catholicism,
         blamed Protestants for the degradation
         of architecture, and in the second edition
         he broadened his scope and simply
         blamed the entire Renaissance."


AN APOLOGY FOR A WORK ENTITLED "CONTRASTS;" being A Defence of the 
Assertions advanced in that publication, against the various attacks lately 
made upon it. By A. Welby Pugin, author of the book in question.

Birmingham; printed for the author: 1837.

A rather scarce reply to critics of Pugin's blockbuster panegyric, 
"Contrasts", published in 1836 and again, substantially revised, in 1841. 
"Contrasts, A Parallel between the Noble Edifices of the 14th and 15th 
centuries and Similar buildings of the Present Day. Showing a Decay of 
Taste" blew the lid off the staid early Victorian architectural and 
antiquarian world when it was first published. Pugin had not even been able 
to find a publisher willing to handle the volume, and had printed it at his 
own expense (as appears to also have been the case with this pamphlet).

As H.R. Hitchcock notes in his reprint of the second edition of "Contrasts"-

     "The archeological study of the Gothic of the Middle Ages by English 
scholars over the preceding twenty years provided the background for 
Pugin's familiarity with and enthusiasm for the 'noble edifices' of the 
mediaeval, Catholic past which he believed his contemporaries should 
emulate. Yet 'Contrasts' is neither an archeological treatise nor a 
collection of models for direct emulation. It is a polemical work whose 
motivation was almost as much religious, and even social, as architectural. 
Pugin held that the high quality of mediaeval building was later lost since 
'heresy had destroyed faith'."

The basic difference between the two editions was that in the first 
edition, Pugin, a convert to Catholicism, blamed Protestants for the 
degradation of architecture, and in the second edition he broadened his 
scope and simply blamed the entire Renaissance. All of which makes Pugin 
sound like just a bit of a crank...

Well, perhaps just a bit, but he was also one of the most influential 
designers of the entire Victorian period, and an amazing and indefatigable 
personality whose depths and influence we can only begin to hint at in this 
limited space. Augustus Welby Pugin was the son of Auguste Pugin, a French 
architect who had fled France during the Revolution and worked as chief 
draughtsman for John Nash. Augustus grew up helping his father create 
meticulous drawings of Gothic ornament and architecture, and at the age of 
just 19 was commissioned to design furniture for Windsor Castle. He was 
soon in business for himself, and when he was 25 he published the amazing 
and controversial "Contrasts". Over the next decade he published several 
more influential books and cemented the importance of the entire Gothic 
Revival in England.

At 39 he was working on the Medieval Court for the Crystal Palace 
Exhibition when he suffered a breakdown from exhaustion and died in 
September, 1852 at the age of 40. But he packed a lot into those 40 years, 
and always fought for what he so deeply believed. Pugin ends this "Apology" 
by declaring-

     "In conclusion, although I am well aware that the principles I have 
advanced are alike opposed to the prejudices, interests, and vanity of this 
age, and therefore are likely to meet with every opposition which these 
powerful motives can incite, yet, as I have the satisfaction of knowing 
that they are based on the solid foundation of truth, I feel confident 
that, sooner or later, their justice will be acknowledged; and, in the 
meantime, I am perfectly ready to defend them against all attacks, whether 
proceeding from Churchman, Architect, or Painter".

Scarce- OCLC only locates 3 copies. Original plain grey-brown wrappers. 
4.25"x7.25", 49 pages; cover with some soil and wear, two tiny pinholes in 
the cover, spine partially perished, tips thumbed, etc.; light internal 
soil and spotting; "A.W. Pugin" written in the center of the front cover in 
pencil and "J.A. Millward" in pen in the upper right corner. Although 
somewhat worn, it is nice to find a copy of this very fragile piece in any 
condition, to say nothing of its original state. [05591] $875.00

Picture-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images03/th-05591.jpg>


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