London, The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, 1847-1849. Two parts in two. Large 4to (23.5 x 17.2 cm). 506 pp. (viii, 144; 145-493, [i]; [iv]); numerous text engravings; 46 plates, of which 13 in full colour, the others tinted or plain, including three larger, folded. Original, uniform printed wrappers.

A beautifully illustrated work, by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt (1820-1877), "a British architect and art historian who became Secretary of the Great Exhibition, Surveyor of the East India Company and the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge. From 1855 until 1859 he was honorary secretary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and in 1866 received the Royal Gold Medal" (Wikipedia). Published in an early volume of the T ransactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts for 1846-7, with beautiful full-colour plates of mosaics. It includes a related paper, viz. On the first principles of symmetrical beauty, and their application in certain branches of the art of design, by D. R. Hay (also illustrated). "The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) is a London-based, British organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. Founded in 1754 by William Shipley as the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, it was granted a Royal Charter in 1847, and the right to use the term Royal in its name by King Edward VII in 1908. The shorter version, The Royal Society of Arts and the related RSA acronym, are used more frequently than the full name. Notable past fellows include Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Hawking, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Nelson Mandela, David Attenborough, William Hogarth, and Tim Berners-Lee (the English computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web). Today, the RSA has Fellows elected from 80 countries worldwide" (Wikipedia). Uncut. Contents leaf (4 pp.) issued separately and loosely inserted. First part wrappers a bit soiled, otherwise an excellent, clean and unmarked set. Rare.