The architect Arthur Ashpitel (1807 69) worked on a wide variety of projects, including churches, houses and schools, and wrote widely on architecture, literature and politics. He became a fellow of the Institute of British Architects in 1841 and the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1847. This 1867 work comprises his compilation and revision of notable tracts on architecture from the Encyclopaedia Britannica. It includes entries by William Hosking (1800 61) on classical, Gothic and modern architecture, building and construction; Thomas Tredgold (1788 1829) on joinery and stonemasonry; Thomas Young (1773 1829) on carpentry; and John Robison (1739 1805) on roofs, arches and the strength of materials. Intended to be of practical use to architects, craftsmen and 'the building trade', Ashpitel's synthesis remains a valuable resource for scholars interested in nineteenth-century thought on architectural history, practice and technology."