A HANDY GUIDE FOR THE LATE 18TH CENTURY CONTRACTOR AND RENOVATOR. 8vo. Engr. title-page, IV pp, (5)-206 pp, (2). Bound in original printed pink wrappers, now rather worn. Occasional dogearing, otherwise an excellent, unsophisticated copy. Extremely rare first edition of this practical manual for the late 18th century ‘contractor’ or construction manager, giving a fulsome account of all manner of available building materials, their costs, and the advantages of using one material over another. The preface suggests that it will be most useful to young “Architetti Estimatori” perhaps unfamiliar with the costs of materials, and many of the examples given are drawn from the Grossi’s own practice, shedding intriguing light on the economical considerations of building and renovation in prosperous Northern Italy in the late 18th century. Grossi gives a full discussion, including prevailing prices, for everything from walls to different types of marble, the cost of demolition, windows, different façade materials, sheet metal, and so on. Sample proposals for an entire building are also given, not limited to urban structures; an especially detailed breakdown for the construction of a mill costing more than a thousand lire is found on pp. 44-50. Also of note is a lengthy proposal apparently executed by Grossi himself, who was commissioned to appraise the material value of a ‘usury bank’ operated by two Torinese Jews, Bacchi and Treves (pp. 55-67). Giuseppe Luigi Amedeo Grossi (1753-1805) qualified as a ‘Misuratore’ or surveyor in Torino in 1772, as an ‘Estimatore’ in 1779 and finally as a Civil Architect in 1788. The first edition of his Pratica appeared in 1790 and a further edition in 1796; both are rare in census outside of Italy, with just one copy recorded in US libraries, at Princeton. Further, more common editions appeared long after Grossi’s death in 1829 and 1835. * ICCU TO0E\064553