A. COUCHAUD: CHOIX DES EGLISES BYZANTINES EN GRECE. PARIS 1842 FIRST and only edition.FOLIO, contemporary green leather over boards,few wear at covers, text with some light scattered spotting, complete 32p. and the 37 folio plates, including four very early chromolithographed plates, overall in very good condition. A foundational work. It is essentially the first book to apply modern architectural scientific methods to the medieval churches of Greece. Couchaud was a French architect who spent years on the ground in Greece, specifically in Athens and the Peloponnese. Couchaud was one of the first to argue that Byzantine churches were just as beautiful and architecturally significant as the ancient temples. He didn't just draw the churches; he created professional architectural elevations, floor plans, and cross-sections. The book contains roughly 37 magnificent plates. Some are technical line drawings, while others are views of the churches in their 1840s landscape. It feature stunning chromolithographs of Byzantine frescoes and mosaics. Couchaud documents several churches that were either destroyed shortly after he drew them or restored so heavily that they no longer look the same. His drawings of Agios Eletherios (the small Mitropoli) this tiny, ancient cathedral in Athens are world-famous. He provides some of the earliest professional records of Kapnikarea and Panagia Likodimou, these Athenian landmarks. He was one of the first to bring the the ruined city of Mistra to the attention of the public. One of the very first books depicting Byzantine monuments