Week 4_2/4/16_English Church Architecture Vol. 1

         English Church Architecture vol. 1 by Francis Bond is heavy with a dark blue cover and golden inscriptions. The golden inscriptions, which include the book's tittle and author, are in elegant, Medieval-looking font. The spine of the book also includes an insignia with the saying "Dommina invstio illvmea", which Google Translate has deemed to be Italian. These words appear in an open book that is surrounded by three crowns. Inside the book, the margins are so large that only a scant amount of paragraphs are on each page. On each page, there is a picture of the structure which is being discussed in the text. In all, there are 1,400 illustrations included. Some pages are only pictures of deconstructed manuals of how that structure was put together. Many pictures are actual photos of famous churches while others are basic concept designs. Francis Bond used Turabian format for his citations, of which there are many. The format of the text is centered to the middle of the page and framed comfortably by its abundant margins. In addition, the cover features ornate coats of arms and floral designs. While the author's name, the title, and insignia are all outlined in gold on the spine of the book, the title and author's name that appear on the cover are not printed in gold but are instead indented and dark blue, which makes them more difficult to see.  

         Not surprisingly, the subject of the book discusses the architecture of English churches. It was published by the Oxford University Press in 1913. The author had also written other notable books, including Gothic Architecture in England and Stalls and Tabernacle Work. By analyzing this, I can conclude that the intended audience are highly educated architecture experts or those studying to become an expert in architecture since the subject is about architecture. I think they would need to be very highly educated to have the desire to read this because the concepts included are very sophisticated and complex. I could also see anyone studying humanities or interested in English history between the eleventh and sixteenth century being interested in this because most of the churches discussed and portrayed were built at that time. Also, I would bet that book is for educational purposes, so their audience would be students or professors. It is educational in the way it reads. For example, the wording is dry and reminds me of a textbook.

         The book also seems very official and important because of the golden, elegant scrawl on the spine. The dark blue of the cover combined with the eye-catching and fancy golden font lends credibility to intelligence needed to read this book. In addition, the overall fanciness and authenticity one could gather from the appearance leads me to believe that those who would read or purchase this book would have to be wealthy due to the heaviness and specificity of the subject. I also believe this would be for a wealthy reader because the book is hardcover and of an older edition, which typically heightens the price of the book.

Call #

         OVERSIZE

         NA

         546I

         .B68

         vol. I

Citation:

         Bond, Francis. English Architecture. Vol. 1. London: Oxford University Press, 1913. Print.