The History of the Royal Residences

William Pyne's celebrated work was the first to illustrate royal palaces and houses in any detail: vol. I contains a valuable record of the state rooms of Windsor Castle formed for Charles II, and concludes with the more domestic scenes of Frogmore; vol. II is devoted to Hampton Court, whose state rooms had fallen into disuse for almost 60 years, and also covers Buckingham and Kensington Palaces, the latter constructed for William III, but so neglected by 1814 that the Duke of Kent complained of 'rain pouring through the ceiling at twenty different points' and of being 'literally perishing with cold in my library'; vol. III's subjects are St. James's Palace and Carlton House, with the final 24 plates devoted to the latter and depicting the most spectacular interiors in Regency London. Pyne was one of Ackermann's most important collaborators, but this work was self-published in parts, until A. Dry took over publication sometime in 1819.