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SMYTH, Admiral William Henry (1788-1865). The Hydrography of Sicily, Malta, and the adjacent islands; surveyed in 1814, 1815, and 1816. London: Admiralty Hydrographical Office, 1823.
2° (657 x 490mm). Letterpress title, 32 engraved charts and views, including one double-page plate, engraved by J. Walker. (Some light offsetting to first plate, light spotting to plate 2, one plate shaved to platemark with loss of imprint.) Contemporary blind-tooled half calf, the spine in 5 compartments, lettered in gilt in the 2nd on black morocco lettering piece (extremities lightly rubbed). Provenance: Royal United Service Museum (armorial bookplate and deaccession stamp) -- gift from Lieut. J. Lewis.
First edition of Smyth's important surveys in the Mediterranean. An Admiral and scientfic writer, William Henry Smyth was one of the most influential of Admiralty surveyors of the period. From 1813 he served as Lieutenant with the Sicilian flotilla against the French in Naples, combining naval duties with his own surveying and antiquarian research. In September 1815 he was made Commander and continued carrying out his surveys along the coasts of Sicily, Italy and the opposite shores of Africa. From 1817 his role as surveyor became official and he produced a great number of important sea charts. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Astronomical Society, Smyth later went on to become one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society. Brunet V, 419; NMM 3, 435.
2° (657 x 490mm). Letterpress title, 32 engraved charts and views, including one double-page plate, engraved by J. Walker. (Some light offsetting to first plate, light spotting to plate 2, one plate shaved to platemark with loss of imprint.) Contemporary blind-tooled half calf, the spine in 5 compartments, lettered in gilt in the 2nd on black morocco lettering piece (extremities lightly rubbed). Provenance: Royal United Service Museum (armorial bookplate and deaccession stamp) -- gift from Lieut. J. Lewis.
First edition of Smyth's important surveys in the Mediterranean. An Admiral and scientfic writer, William Henry Smyth was one of the most influential of Admiralty surveyors of the period. From 1813 he served as Lieutenant with the Sicilian flotilla against the French in Naples, combining naval duties with his own surveying and antiquarian research. In September 1815 he was made Commander and continued carrying out his surveys along the coasts of Sicily, Italy and the opposite shores of Africa. From 1817 his role as surveyor became official and he produced a great number of important sea charts. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Astronomical Society, Smyth later went on to become one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society. Brunet V, 419; NMM 3, 435.
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