Reprinted from the 9th edition of 1896, the reference is extensively illustrated with examples, packed with names, definitions and descriptions. Parker's most popular, if not his most profound, work. It includes fresh ideas on Saxon architecture, an article on stained glass by Willement, and (like most of Parker's writings) is charmingly - and accurately - illustrated by Jewitt. John Henry Parker was born in London in 1806. An English scholar, he was interested in the history of architecture and in restoration. After a period spent in Rome, Parker entered the field of classical archaeology. In 1868 he founded the British and American Archaeological Society of Rome. In 1870 he was elected director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. He died there in 1884.