 UK £29.95 US $55.00 CAN $71.50 Hardback with jacket 160 pages 150 illustrations, 140 in colour, 4 plans 25 x 25 cm (9.75 x 9.75 in) ISBN: 978-1-8589-4649-8 | Sir John Soane's Museum, London Tim Knox Photography by Derry Moore The celebrated British architect Sir John Soane (1753–1837) created his extraordinary house-museum from three properties in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London. There, in houses that embody both his architectural vision and his passion for collecting, Soane exhibited a marvellous array of artefacts, including an outstanding collection of plaster casts, thousands of books and such spectacular items as the sarcophagus of the Egyptian king Seti I. Soane intended the collection to become an ‘Academy of Architecture’ that would inform and inspire students for generations to come, and today, perfectly preserved in all its idiosyncratic style, it continues to attract more than 100,000 visitors every year. In this, the only major illustrated guide to the museum – now revised and updated to include the recent restoration of Soane’s magnificent Private Apartments, reopened for the first time since his death to display their original contents – former Director Tim Knox explores the latest research into the creation of the house and its collections, and leads the reader on a fascinating room-by-room tour of the building. Featuring specially commissioned photographs by Derry Moore, this evocative account of a perpetually surprising cabinet of curiosities offers an absorbing insight into the genius of an exceptional man.
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Author Profile Tim Knox is Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. As Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London from 2005 to 2013, he oversaw a major campaign of restoration. He was previously Head Curator of the National Trust. He regularly writes and lectures on art, architecture and the history of collecting.
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Reviews A distillation of all that is wonderful about the compact and complex Sir John Soane's Museum. Those who know the Soane will love this book. Those who do not know the Soane will run there once they have read it. A room-by-room guide that is beautifully shot. | ||
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