Bound in gilt stamped red roan, with gilt edges.

Translated into English from the original Spanish.

An unpublished manuscript translation by Philip Carteret Webb of extracts from Andrés Ximenez's Descripción breve del monasterio de S. Lorenzo el Real del Escorial. Although the title page is undated, the second leaf bears an inscription to Philip Yorke, Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, dated 1754. The title and dedication leaves are carefully inked to resemble letterpress printing. The 26 pages of text are written in a neat fair copy, with consistent wide margins, page numbers, a head-piece, and Webb's occasional marginalia and footnotes. Following the text are three large pen and ink illustrations of the library, with gray and pink wash, mounted on blank leaves. The illustrations consist of a floor plan and two detailed elevations of the interior of the Escorial Library; the elevations include the wall paintings by Pellegrino Pellegrini and Bartolomé Carducho, as well as the book cases.The illustrations appear to be the work of a skillful architect or draftsman; it's not clear whether they are by Webb or an uncredited artist.

A marginal note on page 1 indicates that the present excerpt begins at Chapter 15, page 85, of the original work. This portion of text offers a brief description of the layout of the library, including its lighting, paving, and book cases. There follows a lengthy commentary on Pellegrino's frescoes, which depict the seven liberal arts: Rhetoric, Dialectic, Music, Grammar, Arithmetic, Geometry and Astronomy. The remainder of the text describes the books and manuscripts present in the library, which consists primarily of religious works and writings concerning antiquity.

Monasteries > Spain > San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Libraries > Spain > San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Library shelving > Spain > San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Architectural drawings.

Floor plans.

Elevations.

Ink drawings.

Watercolors.