The Country House/Preface
PREFACE.
HITHERTO the Contributions have appeared in a small volume: but a friend having furnished me with the Manuscripts of the following Letters, in order to do justice to the beautiful designs, it has been necessary to increase the size of the work. I trust that the merit of the drawings will reconcile my subscribers to the increased price.
The observation on the style fittest for domestic architecture, the description of the proposed house and the designs, are by Monsieur De Chateauneuf; to these, Mr. Eastlake kindly added a very valuable Letter on the Principles of Interior Decoration.
Monsieur De Chateauneuf is already known in this country by his elegant work, Architectura Domestica, and his design for the new Royal Exchange; all who have visited Hamburg must be well acquainted with the refined taste which characterizes the buildings erected under his superintendance.
It is but justice to M. De Chateauneuf to state that his letters were written merely as matter of amusement, and arose out of a discussion with a friend, as to which was the best style to be adopted for domestic architecture; the letters have been translated from the German, and unfortunately have not had the advantage of being submitted to the writer for correction.
It is proposed that the next volume should contain a reprint of the late Mr. Whately's admirable work on Modern Gardening; this it is hoped will be considered as a fit companion to the "Country House." I take this opportunity of thanking Mr. C. Knight and Mr. Jackson, who kindly furnished me with the blocks from which the vignettes have been printed.
