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A well-selected collection of foreign photographs has come to be as necessary and invariable a feature in a well-equipped architect’s office as good drawing instruments or as Vignola’s treatise on the Roman Orders.  But unfortunately a really satisfactory collection of photographs is seldom within the reach of more than a small proportion of the architects who could use them to advantage.  This is partly on account of the expense of a good collection, as photographs can hardly be bought for less than twenty-five cents each, and partly on account of the difficulty of finding a desirable stock from which to make selections on this side of the Atlantic.  Nearly all of the most valuable collections have been gathered together abroad by the owners and are the result of gradual accumulation, probably extending over years of travel, and representing no small investment of money.

Such a collection, it is needless to say, is not within the grasp of the young and struggling draughtsman, but he, of all others, would profit most by possession and use of such a treasure if it could be placed in his hands.  It would help to form and direct his tastes, making him familiar with the masterpieces of the past, and would furnish a basis for comparison of the current work about him.

Of course a draughtsman in any of the larger offices will have certain opportunities to study and work from the collection in the office library.  This is a valuable privilege, but it is only open to a few out of the many draughtsmen in the country, and is not to be compared in its resulting benefits to the actual possession of even a very much smaller collection.

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It is the purpose of the Brochure series to place in the hands of draughtsmen a most carefully selected series of photographic reproductions, chosen both for their educational value and their usefulness as practical reference material for everyday work.  This can be done at one fiftieth the cost of ordinary photographs, and thus be easily within the reach of any draughtsman.

No attempt will be made to follow any systematic arrangement of the subjects presented, although it will be frequently found advisable, as in the present issue, to group a number of subjects of more or less related character.  The main result to be sought for is the presentation of the greatest amount of the most valuable material in the most available shape, and at the least cost.  The possibility of realizing this ambitious purpose remains to be demonstrated.  It need only be said that this initial number is put forward as an earnest of the work to follow.

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