THE FOUNDATION OF SAFER STREETSCAPES
A proposal or plan for An Act of Parliament for the better Paving, Cleansing and Lighting the Streets, Lanes, Courts, Alleys, and other open Passages, and for removing of Nusances, as well within the several Parishes of the City and Liberty of Westminster...
London.
[s.n.], 1756.
Second edition.
8vo.
[16], 20pp. Modern grey paper boards, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece. Fore-edge shaved with occasional slight loss to text (without loss of sense), single early manuscript correction.
The second and final edition of a proposal for the better maintenance and repair of pavements and street lighting in the capital, the only work of the elusive John Spranger, initially published in 1754.
A foundational document of modern streetscapes, Spranger's pamphlet notably recommends the construction of convex streets, paved with Purbeck stone, lined with guttering, and free of the 'Encroachments of Stalls, Sheds, Bulks, and other irregular Buildings'.
In regards to lighting, Spranger notes the benefits reaped by the recent installation of streetlights in City of London, primarily the reduction in crime:
'The wise Governors of Westminster...reap this Fruit of having their Streets equally, and regularly, lighted in Winter and Summer, from Sun-set to Sun-rise, that they are very seldom infested with Robbers; whilst we of Westminster...are exposed, every Night we pass through our Streets, to frequent Insults, Assaults, and Robberies'.
A foundational document of modern streetscapes, Spranger's pamphlet notably recommends the construction of convex streets, paved with Purbeck stone, lined with guttering, and free of the 'Encroachments of Stalls, Sheds, Bulks, and other irregular Buildings'.
In regards to lighting, Spranger notes the benefits reaped by the recent installation of streetlights in City of London, primarily the reduction in crime:
'The wise Governors of Westminster...reap this Fruit of having their Streets equally, and regularly, lighted in Winter and Summer, from Sun-set to Sun-rise, that they are very seldom infested with Robbers; whilst we of Westminster...are exposed, every Night we pass through our Streets, to frequent Insults, Assaults, and Robberies'.
ESTC T42835.
£ 250.00
Antiquates Ref: 34192
