first edition Hardcover
1840 · London
by Willis, Nathaniel Parker & William H. Bartlett
London: George Virtue, 1840. First edition. Hardcover. Orig. dark salmon cloth decorated in blind and gilt, front and back covers with gilt arabesques and lettering at spine. Aeg. Five Vols. Very good. Bartlett, William H. 48, 106, 96, 140 (4), 52, 28 x 22 cm. 117 steel engrave plates with tissue guards. Originally published in Thirty parts at one shilling, or in Divisions, 6s. 6d., cloth gilt. Drawings by William Henry Bartlett one of the most prolific of illustrators for topographical works. "It is almost certain that there are more steel engravings after Bartlett than after any other painter of views," -- [see RUSSELLp.196]. Bartlett made four voyages to America between the years 1836 and 1852. HOWES B209. From the publisher's original announcement: "Like Columbus, at first, we only dream of America. It is yet both a new and an unknown world to us, in regard to its scenes of natural beauty and sublimity. The Proprietors...have sought to produce a series of Select Views, which will form a characteristic Panorama of the Western World; especially in its Lake and River Scenery, which has no parallel in Europe, perhaps not on earth." Four pages of adverts Vol. 1, Vol. III book label rear pastedown of publisher, rare first issue in five volumes. Slight rubbing to backstrip extremities and a few corners, cover gilt illustrations very bright and fresh.
(Inventory #: 22476)