The complete works of Robert and James Adam /

Since its publication in 1922, Arthur T. Bolton's The Architecture of Robert and James Adam (2 v.) has been the standard scholarly work on the subject, supplemented by many more recent specialized studies. King's important new book does not render Bolton's volumes obsolete, but it extends and amplifies them, aiming as it does "to give details of all the significant architectural and decorative work which was executed to [the Adam brothers'] designs." It is essentially a catalog of Adam projects that were actually carried out, organized into 15 chapters according to the kind of commission, with two additional chapters on works of questionable attribution. (Adam furniture and chimneypieces are not included except for a few examples.) There is also a substantial introduction discussing the salient features of the 18th-century "Adam style." King's interesting descriptions and conclusions are in almost every case informed by a careful study of the many surviving drawings and by his own site visits. His prodigious research has resulted in an authoritative reference work, profusely illustrated with original designs, views of facades and interiors, floor-plans, etc. (568 in black and white, 32 in color) and supported by useful appendixes, indexes of people and places, a chronology, and an extensive bibliography. This is a book that no research library, four-year college collection, or larger public library should be without. J. Riely; Boston University