As documents of the built environment, as source material for architectural historians and preservation architects, and as stunning works of art, architectural drawings serve a wide and diverse audience.

This book explores the materials and techniques used in their fabrication while illustrating their evolution from the eighteenth through the twentieth century. In addition to documenting the drafting process, this exploration also contributes to an understanding of the development of architectural design, the architectural profession, and the manufacturers that served its drafting and reprographic needs.

Because architectural drawings survive in great numbers and in large, often unstable formats, preservation and access issues present major challenges for institutions that hold research collections. This book provides a comprehensive look at both the problems and the solutions. It is beautifully illustrated with examples from major collections and includes extensive source citations. The Foreword is by James F. O'Gorman.

The first three chapters discuss: the development of drafting-specific drawing, detail, and tracing papers and cloths; the changing media and techniques used in drafting, rendering, and mounting working, detail, and presentation drawings; the use of drawing instruments and correction and copying methods; and the introduction, development, and identification of blueprints and other photo-reproduction processes, including the history, chemistry, and working procedure for each process.

The fourth and final chapter includes: an introduction to preservation, collection management, storage, and exhibition specifically for architectural drawings and photo-reproductions; and descriptions of specific conservation treatments with an assessment of their appropriateness for different deterioration issues and types of drawings.

Lois Olcott Price is Director of Conservation and Senior Conservator of Library Collections at the Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE. She holds an MS in art conservation and serves as Assistant Winterthur Professor in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. She also holds an MA in American Material Culture from the University of Delaware. Since 1991, she has pursued a long-standing research interest on the fabrication and preservation of American architectural drawings. In support of her research she has received several grants and has lectured, consulted, and published widely on issues related to architectural drawings.