Festival of captivating architectural illustrations of yesteryear
 March 24, 2006

 By Melvyn Minnaar

Here is something that ought to provide a cultural, but equally enjoyable tone to the Cape Town Festival - a captivating exhibition of stylish and smart drawings of a different kind. Stewart Harris, a relentless and passionate sniffer-out of the unusual, lesser-known, but important and interesting local places of the past, has put together a delightful exhibition which not only put some Cape building gems in the spotlight, but demonstrates the thrill of smart architectural illustration of yesteryear. Architects' drawings may serve mainly practical purposes, but any admirer of good graphics is bound to get a kick out of the line skills of a chap called John Fassler. Fassler, a student of the famous G E Pearse, the first professor of architecture at the University of the Wit-watersrand, was the main illustrator of what is known in the trade as "measured drawings" for Pearse's landmark book, 18th Century Architecture in South Africa, published in 1935.

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