WILLIAMS, William.

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.A fine copy, in very fresh, clean impression, of the first edition of this famous, monumental and richly illustrated collection of views of Oxford and its colleges, by the little- known Welsh engraver William Williams (fl.1724-33). Intended as an update to David Loggan s Oxonia illustrata (1675), it is a rare instance of the rolling press machine of Oxford University being used to print a purely illustrated book (Gadd, p.21). The 60 years that separate Loggan s and Williams s works were a period of great architectural change at the University, beginning with the construction of the Old Ashmolean , near the Sheldonian (Tyack, p.127). The colleges soon followed the University s lead in commissioning new buildings. [...] while the overall numbers [of students] fell, the average wealth of the students increased. By 1700 only about a quarter of the undergraduates were being recruited from outside the gentry and aristocracy. [These] gentlemen commoners baulked at the idea of sharing rooms [...]; instead they demanded a set of at least two rooms. [...] The changing social composition of the colleges brought about fundamental changes in architecture and layout , with increasing interest in classicism (Tyack, pp.129-31). Oxonia depicta begins with a southern and eastern view of the city, a reproduction of the Agas map (1578), a very detailed plan of the university, a majestic extra-large folding plate of the Bodleian buildings, with the heraldry of illustrious people (e.g., John Selden and Kenelm Digby) and a long file of students and officers in academic dress, a couple more copperplates devoted to the Bodleian s interiors, and a plan of the Botanic Gardens. The remainder are devoted to the façades, plans, courtyards and gardens of colleges, with small cartouches with dedications to important alumni featured in the subscribers list. One plate is devoted to the chapel of Trinity College and All Souls, another to the handsome garden of St John s College. The subscribers list encompasses Cambridge colleges, Eton School, a dozen earls and a few dukes, including Buckingham. Show more