Breve ragionamento sul vantagioso impiego delle ardesie di Lavagna.
With a folding chromolithograph (28 x 43 cm), signed “Lit. Santarelli | in Roma 1839 | Luigi Valadier dis. in Lit.” In buff paper wrappers, light wear, two closed tears on rear foredge. An exceedingly rare booklet (no recorded copies in OCLC) on roofing materials, illustrated with a large folding chromolithographic plate. Noting the various disadvantages of lead, zinc, copper, and brick tiles, the author advocates for the use of slate in roofing (fig. D on the plate): “The proposed roof, made from slate, illustrated with Fig. D, would seem to avoid all the above-mentioned disadvantages and attain stability, lightness, and elegance” (p. 4). Figure F is a slate roof, designed specifically for Genoa. Figures A and B depict terracotta tiles affixed to wood, widespread in Rome at the time. Three cost analyses (analisi) of various roofing materials are included at the end of the publication. The work was written and illustrated by Luigi Maria Valadier (1791-1864), a son of the Italian architect, designer, and urban planner Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839), the key champion of Italian Neoclassicism. Luigi assisted his famous father in his various professional activities, holding well-paid positions from an early age. An accomplished artist, he specialized in chromolithography. In the 1830-1840s, he led several important religious restoration projects in Castello in Fano, Urbino, and Perugia. Around 1853, he moved to Naples, where he became a court architect. The booklet is sometimes erroneously attributed to Luigi Valadier, the author’s grandfather.
* Montani, “Luigi Maria Valadier. Notizie biografiche,” in Civiero, Garberini, Fernandez et al., Restauri a Licenza: Un patrimonio storico recuperato (2016), pp. 139-146; Guerrieri Borsoi, “L’attività di Giuseppe e Luigi Maria Valadier a Frascati,” in Strenna dei Romanisti 70 (2010), pp. 333-354.
Price: $950.00