Gothic Ornaments of the Cathedral at York  by  Joseph HalfPenny Published by Todd & Sons, London (1795) Todd & Sons, London, 1795. printed by Geo. Peacock -1800, 1795. 1st Ed.  From the set of 105 engraved plates.Joseph Halfpenny (1748–1811), topographical engraver and watercolour painter. Halfpenny was born on 9 October 1748, at Bishopthorpe in Yorkshire, where his father was gardener to the Archbishop of York. He was apprenticed to a house-painter, and practised house-painting in York for some years. He afterwards raised himself to the position of an artist and a teacher of drawing. He acted as clerk of the works to John Carr the architect who was restoring York Minster, and repaired some of its old decoration From the scaffolding put up in York Minster, Halfpenny made drawings of Gothic ornaments that made his name. They include a record of some portions of the building that were later damaged by fire. In 1795 Halfpenny began to publish by subscription Gothic Ornaments in the Cathedral Church of York, completed in twenty numbers in 1800. It was reprinted in 1807, under the old date, and a second edition appeared in 1831. The work consists of 175 specimens of ornament and four views of the interior of the church and chapter-house. His Fragmenta Vetusta, or the Remains of Ancient Buildings in York, was published in 1807. In both these works Halfpenny acted as his own engraver. Halfpenny was responsible for the sensitive repair of many of the decorative features in the minster, and he made careful drawings of much of the medieval detail. These drawings, which were often taken from the scaffolding erected for the restoration, were engraved by him and formed the basis of [the above work], which he published in twenty parts to subscribers between 1795 and 1800.

**These are some of the cheapest original pre 1800 architectural detail plates I have ever seen all are full page 34.5 x 27.5 cm clean and would block frame brilliantly if plain back frames**   £20 each ..  Plates identified  via google books !