Naples (Italie)

First edition illustrated with a title vignette depicting a Roman bacchanalia engraved by Picini and 2 large folding plates on heavy paper engraved by Schmutzer, one with medals and a vase, the second being a facsimile of an epigraph on a bronze plaque, edict of consul Quintus Marcius on the conduct of the bacchanalia.
Italian binding in contemporary rigid full vellum. Smooth Jansenist spine. Brown sheep title label. Scattered foxing on title page and in margins. Handsome copy.
Bookplate of Roger Peyrefitte.
This scholar and librarian had acquired a solid reputation in the explanation of ancient monuments. Emperor Charles VI who had acquired a bronze plaque concerning an edict on the bacchanalia (precisely the one reproduced on the plate in the book), asked Egyzio to explain it to him. Egyzio composed on this occasion a learned commentary in this work, which obtained the assent of all the antiquarians of Europe. The bronze plaque actually contains a prohibition by the senate for the celebration of the bacchanalia.

Original gummed print, dating from the first quarter of the 19th century.
This print, taken from the Saint-Jean district in Geneva on the right bank of the Rhone, was later added to a set of Italian landscapes in an amicorum album among engravings, lithographs, drawings, and wash.
Executed in the first quarter of the 19th century, these prints summarize the stages of the "Grand Tour" of Italy and its surroundings, the obligatory journey of the post-Napoleonic nobility who came to Italy or Switzerland to make an artistic and bucolic pilgrimage to the great Renaissance works, urban panoramas and delightful mountain lakes. The European aristocracy was therefore fond of these prints of good graphic quality enhanced by brilliant colors, which brought together the high places of architecture and the Italian and Swiss countryside.

Original anonymous watercolor representing the bay of Naples and the belvedere of Villa Reale , inscribed in the bottom margin: napoli alla villa Reale .
View of the belvedere of the gardens of Villa Reale Comunale , one of Naples' most important historical parks, which stretches over a kilometer. Built at the end of the 17th century, it was transformed into a real urban garden before undergoing enlargements in the Napoleonic era by architects Stefano Gasse and Paolo Ambrosino, who added paths and flower beds in the romantic style. The gardens, with the Place de la Victoire in the distance are here depicted as they were at the beginning of the XIXth century.
This type of Neapolitan watercolors was popular among wealthy European travelers, who carried out the traditional "Tour d'Italia", a pilgrimage through the bucolic landscapes and large cities of Italy. This watercolor was part of an amicorum album gathering views of lacustrine landscapes and port cities (Naples, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore ...) among engravings, lithographs, drawings, and washings made in the first quarter of the 19th century century.

Original watercolour in perfect condition depicting the Bay of Naples, inscribed in the lower margin: Napoli S. Lucia a mare.
Rare view of the Santa Lucia district, historic quarter of Naples, depicted as it was in the first quarter of the 19th century, with Vesuvius spewing ash in the background of the composition. This type of Neapolitan watercolours and views of Vesuvius in activity were much prized by wealthy European travellers undertaking the traditional "Grand Tour of Italy", a pilgrimage through the bucolic landscapes and great cities of Italy. This watercolour formed part of an album amicorum assembled between 1825 and 1826, bringing together views of lakeland scenery and port cities (Naples, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore...) among engravings, lithographs, drawings, and wash drawings.

New edition (noted as second, after the original of 1685 of which it is a faithful reprint), illustrated with a title-frontispiece, a frontispiece and nine figures (including numerous naval scenes) drawn by F. Solimene and engraved by F. de Louvemont. The engravings are fine and beautiful. Like the copy in the Library of Congress (visible online page by page), the work has a title frontispiece, without a title page duplicating the title thereafter. The copy is complete.
Contemporary full vellum binding. Spine with raised bands, unlettered. Title in black ink. Body of the work detached from the spine, noticeable on the lower board side when opening the book. The copy is however in very good condition, and quite fresh. A binder's error places leaf 257 after a preliminary leaf (ad lectorum) and after leaf 259.
This didactic poem had great success in its time due to its general themes; the two poems indeed form a universal history of fishing and navigation. The one on fishing is illustrated by various eclogues, the one on navigation is divided into eight books.
Armorial bookplate Rev. Fred. Ekins.

First edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Rare autograph inscription by Edwin Cerio, in French, to the Viscount de Lascano-Tegui "... souvenir amical de son approdo à Capri..."
Work illustrated with a frontispiece map.
Spine and boards slightly and marginally faded, boards slightly soiled, otherwise a handsome copy.

New edition containing the author's life. The first edition dates from 1582.
Contemporary full vellum binding, Italian binding with smooth spine and beige and black title labels.
Angelo di Costanza (1507-1591) was a famous Italian poet of the Italian Renaissance, native of Naples. He compiled this history of Naples covering the medieval period from 1250 to 1486.
Headcap partially worn with a one-centimeter tear and upper joints cracked and split.
See Brunet II, 322 who does not cite this edition but mentions two reprints in Naples in 1710 and 1735.

First edition, of which no deluxe copies were issued.
Preface by Luigi Pirandello.
Spine slightly faded, small foxing spots on the front cover.
Press cutting included.
Rare.

New edition, expanded and revised after the original of 1685. Published by Antonio Bulifon. Illustrated with a folding map of Naples, a frontispiece, and 49 figures hors texte, whose format is slightly smaller than the work and on a different, finer paper. Besides the churches, monuments, fountains and treasures, one sees a plate of Vesuvius and one of the port. All plates bear a caption ending with the name Antonio Bulifon. This excellent guide to Naples was published until the 19th century.
Contemporary limp vellum binding. Smooth spine with handwritten title. A thin tear to the map.
This guide for foreigners (Forestieri) lists and describes all the monuments and remarkable buildings of Naples as well as the works they contain. In the index, a catalogue of the churches of Naples. Naples has been called the city of a thousand churches, there were moreover very numerous constructions in the 17th century... Pompeo Sarnelli (1649-1724) was bishop and writer, to whom we owe another guide to the Naples region and Neapolitan tales, drawn from oral tradition.

Beautiful original Neapolitan gouache on black paper, dating from the first quarter of the 19th century, inscribed Isola di Capri on the lower margin, with handwritten indications in German on the back.
View of the island of Capri, privileged place of holiday for the European aristocracy.
Gouache typical of the "souvenir painting" which developed in the 19th century, to satisfy the many leisure travelers who come to perform their Grand Tour of Italy. This initiatory journey through the ancient remains, the wonders of Renaissance architecture and bucolic landscapes is undertaken by a wealthy and cultivated European elite, fond of these gouaches, the appanage of the "well-made" man. Turin, Padua, Florence, Siena, Venice, Rome, Naples but also Sicily and Capri are unavoidable destinations, which are then immortalized by these gouaches, often bordered by a black margin like here which enhances the bright colors present in the work. On this same margin, the artist indicates in the ink the place, or the date - one of the most common themes being the volcano of Vesuvius, the date of the eruption was marked.
The relatively small size of the works allowed for easy transport, adorning the interiors of aristocrats. Smaller formats (10 x 7 cm or 16 x 10 cm) were also made to be put in albums, which is the case here.

Original watercolor by Florian Grospietsch (signed F. Grospietsch, 1824 ), a Prussian painter and aquafortist from Silesia, born in 1789 and died in 1841.
Self-taught artist, Grospietsch is famous for his landscapes and goes to Italy in 1820 to paint from nature. He paints watercolors, etchings and canvases of Neapolitan landscapes, including this view of the Bay of Naples from a cave, where a back figure is seated. This high-quality watercolor with brilliant colors was added to an amicorum album among many landscapes of the Bay of Naples, highly prized by the European aristocracy of the post-Napoleonic era.

First edition.
Publisher's cream paper boards, smooth unlettered spine with lacks, small angular scratches and light stains on covers, some minor interior worming.
Our copy lacks engraved plates 1, 2, 3 and engraved plates 19 to 34 (it is complete with engraved plates 4 to 19 inclusive).
Rare.

First edition detailing the works presented in this museum.
Full black cloth binding, smooth spine, unidentified arms stamped in blind to front cover.
Occasional small foxing.
Rare.