L'ïle de Staffa et sa grotte basaltique

First and only edition of this beautiful album, illustrated with a double-page map and 12 mounted plates after drawings by the author, including 11 aquatints offering spectacular views of the island.

The half-title page bears the following title: Voyage pittoresque aux îles Hébrides.

Some occasional spotting, otherwise a pleasing copy of this album.

Contemporary full purple shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands, compartments decorated with blind-ruled panels, minor rubbing to spine, covers framed with double blind fillets and scrollwork, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle border on pastedowns, gilt dots along the edges, all edges gilt. Half-title: Voyage pittoresque aux îles Hébrides, title, 32 pp., a double-page map and 12 mounted plates after drawings by the author, including 11 aquatints depicting striking island views.

Publisher Charles-Louis-Fleury Panckoucke (1780–1844), son of the renowned Charles-Joseph, recounts a journey to the islands of Skye, Iona, and Staffa from Glasgow, with particular emphasis on the latter. Staffa is famed for its basalt cave, known as "Fingal's Cave" in homage to Ossian and his pseudo-Gaelic creations, which in the 19th century drew numerous writers and artists enchanted by the wild majesty of its interior.