Skip to main content

Distributed for Paul Holberton Publishing

Living with Architecture as Art

The Peter May Collection of Architectural Drawings, Models and Artefacts

Distributed for Paul Holberton Publishing

Living with Architecture as Art

The Peter May Collection of Architectural Drawings, Models and Artefacts

This stunning two-volume publication introduces readers to one of the largest private collections of architectural drawings in the world. Showcasing drawings and related models and artifacts dating from 1691 to the mid-twentieth century, this lavish tome provides a fascinating look at these often beautiful byproducts of architectural training and practice.

The collection, assembled over a thirty-year period by investor and philanthropist Peter May, comprises more than six hundred architectural sheets, all carefully preserved and handsomely framed. Arranged by category, the sheets are primarily nineteenth and early twentieth-century competition or certification drawings by design students, as well as presentation drawings for public commissions, reconstruction studies, and interior designs. An introduction by the collector Peter May, afterwords by Mark Ferguson and Bunny Williams, and essays by leading authorities in the field—including Maureen Cassidy-Geiger, Charles Hind, Basile Baudez, Matthew Wells, and more—provide historical context for the drawings.

352 pages | 800 color plates | 12 1/4 x 14 1/4

Art: Art--General Studies


Paul Holberton Publishing image

View all books from Paul Holberton Publishing

Reviews

"A fine two-volume set accompanied by scholarly commentaries. . . . The phrase 'living with architecture' can be a cliché but it can also have real meaning. These drawings capture a great deal of life. . . . You can feel a kind of embrace from these drawings, a comforting maternal instruct in action: that's why architecture is rightfully known as the mother of all the arts."

World of Interiors

"Seldom do we see architectural designs that never made it off the drawing board. . . . But one American collector's ardor for Beaux-Arts drawings has meant that we can catch a rare glimpse of architectural treasures that beautifully document professional architect training in France."

Epoch Times

"An invaluable resource, offering unsurpassed documentation of May's extensive collection, and containing some of the largest and best reproductions of architectural drawings in any book I have seen."

Architectural Histories

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press