ENCYCLOPEDIA OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF THE WORLD. Volume I: Theories and Principles. Volumes II and III: Cultures and Habitats.

First edition, first printing. Complete in three volumes. Hardcover. Publisher's original light grey cloth, with titles in white and black to the spines and upper boards. Illustrated endpapers. Illustrated with over 1700 photographs, 1000 line-drawn plans and diagrams, and 80 regional maps. A fine set, the bindings square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh, with just a tiny mark to the upper board of the first volume. The top edge of the closed text block with a few finger or dust marks. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Scarce.

An essential and classic reference work for architects, anthropologists, geographers, folklorists, planners, historians, conservationists and all those who work in, or are concerned with, the built environment Vernacular, or, traditional, architecture encompasses most of the buildings of the world. Paul Oliver's encyclopedia is the first to show the remarkable diversity of the buildings constructed and lived in by the people of over a thousand cultures. The first of the three volumes focuses on the theories, principles and philosophy that underpin traditional architecture. Volumes II and III consider these principles within specific cultural and societal contexts. As building traditions vary widely within some countries and extend across the political boundaries of others, the work considers vernacular architecture within its cultural rather than its national contexts. Richly illustrated with photographs, line drawings and maps, the work is also supported by a glossary, a lexicon, and the largest bibliography on the subject ever published.