How To Build A Cathedral
(Ivy Press / A&C Black 2012)

When we were building up the Reference list at Ivy, we tried to combine the visual impact of the sort of classic, large format illustrated books of the Seventies with a scholarly approach to the text and an intriguing route into the information. In this case, rather than just looking at the architectural history of a Gothic cathedral (such a fantastic subject, visually), we instead added the twist by exploring the incredible architectural and mechanical challenges involved in constructing such a vast building. To achieve this, we combined a commissioned text with nineteenth-century engravings as well as new illustrations reconstructing the building process. The result is a book equally at home in an academic library or a National Trust gift shop.