James Paine’s Books

During the 18^thcentury, the roles of the architect, the surveyor and the clerk of works were not as clearly defined as they are today.  Paine believed that an architect should be properly trained – ‘an architect should be bred an architect’ – and he helped to put this into practice by employing articled apprentices himself.  He was also concerned with ‘the dignity of his profession and the establishment of proper modes of conduct among its members’ and with their clients.  In order to promote his achievements and express his own views on architecture, Paine published three books during his lifetime. These books contain magnificent architectural engravings of all his most important projects with accompanying explanations.