P.A. Brouwer

The Pioneering Architectural History Books of Fergusson, Kugler, and Lübke

Halfway through the nineteenth century, three pioneering architectural publications came out almost simultaneously: James Fergusson, The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture (1855); Wilhelm Lübke, Geschichte der Architektur (1855); and Franz Kugler, Geschichte der Baukunst (1856–78). These surveys were the first that aimed at narrating a world history of architecture. While today the canonical images and histories in architectural surveys are regarded as clichés that confirm dominant values and established practices, this essay argues that at the time of its invention it was a critical and dynamic genre. Conscious of the pioneering nature of their books, Fergusson, Lübke, and Kugler accounted extensively for their aims and methods. All too soon, however, the genre of the architectural history survey text became a victim of its own success. The critical nature of the survey’s origin was put to an end by its spectacular succession of reeditions in the subsequent decades.