Voyage pittoresque de la Grece.
Stock Code 108433
Paris, [J.J. Blaise], 1782, 1809, 1824.
Original price
$18,674.00
-
Original price
$18,674.00
Original price
$18,674.00
$18,674.00
-
$18,674.00
Current price
$18,674.00
A fine example of the first edition of one of the most celebrated Voyages pittoresques.
Choiseul-Gouffier's masterpiece is the first publication of a voyage to be composed mainly of illustrations of places which are complementary to a narrative and descriptive text. This work established the model for later Voyages pittoresques not only in format but also by the employment of different artists. Notable artists used in this work include Saint-Aubin and Moreau le Jeune. Volume I contains a discourse on Greek history and the struggle for liberty. Primarily, though, it is an account of the author's travels through Greece and is heavily illustrated with maps, views of natural wonders and classical ruins. The first part of the second volume is a reconstruction of the Troad, that area of the Mediterranean associated with the Iliad. It reflects the author's reduced circumstances and is sparsely illustrated. The second part, published after Choiseul-Gouffier's death by his friends from notes left by him, is a much more luxurious effort, probably as the result of subsidy, and is again heavily illustrated.
First edition, first issue of vol. I; 2 vols bound in 3; folio (53 x 35 cm. approx.), half-titles, 3 engraved titles, one portrait, 2 unnumbered double-page general maps and 284 plates and maps on 168 leaves, 8 double-page or folding, elaborate engraved head and tail-pieces, one double-page printed table; occasional light toning, uniform 19th-century maroon morocco gilt extra by J. Clarke, all edges gilt, a fine set.
Choiseul-Gouffier's masterpiece is the first publication of a voyage to be composed mainly of illustrations of places which are complementary to a narrative and descriptive text. This work established the model for later Voyages pittoresques not only in format but also by the employment of different artists. Notable artists used in this work include Saint-Aubin and Moreau le Jeune. Volume I contains a discourse on Greek history and the struggle for liberty. Primarily, though, it is an account of the author's travels through Greece and is heavily illustrated with maps, views of natural wonders and classical ruins. The first part of the second volume is a reconstruction of the Troad, that area of the Mediterranean associated with the Iliad. It reflects the author's reduced circumstances and is sparsely illustrated. The second part, published after Choiseul-Gouffier's death by his friends from notes left by him, is a much more luxurious effort, probably as the result of subsidy, and is again heavily illustrated.
First edition, first issue of vol. I; 2 vols bound in 3; folio (53 x 35 cm. approx.), half-titles, 3 engraved titles, one portrait, 2 unnumbered double-page general maps and 284 plates and maps on 168 leaves, 8 double-page or folding, elaborate engraved head and tail-pieces, one double-page printed table; occasional light toning, uniform 19th-century maroon morocco gilt extra by J. Clarke, all edges gilt, a fine set.
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