Ever since the initial issue of Charles F. Mitchell's Building Construction and Drawing books in 1881, no other series of books has had such a continued presence in the construction industry. For almost 140 years, students and practitioners have referred to both the First Stage or Elementary Course and the Advanced and Honours Courses as the go-to reference works for construction detailing and materials. The series grew from the initial single volume in 1881 to a two-volume issue in 1893/4 and expanded very quickly from two books into a collection of support issues by specifically qualified authors, dealing with structure, environment & services, components & finishes, with a specific Issue of 40 plates of the detailed drawings used in many of the releases, as well as other more specific books on carpentry and bricklaying, offering a complete cross discipline guide to construction technology.

The Mitchell's series of books from this period gives both an understanding of design and construction for this period, but also shows the way to upgrade and repair historic structures, which demands an understanding of the manufacture of the materials used at the time, their installation and the ageing of the individual material over the lifetime of the building. The highly regarded Mitchell's series, and this reissue in particular, is an invaluable tool in helping the modern-day architect to understand how a change of use to a historic building will impact on the materials used in its construction.