Details
BELL, John (1763-1820). Observations on Italy. Edinburgh: William Blackwood & London: T. Cadell, 1825
4o (239 x 180 mm). 9 engraved plates after the author and Gherardi. (Some spotting.) Contemporary boards (rebacked) Provenance: Ballitobin? (signature on pastedown, pencil list of subsequent readers).
FIRST EDITION. John Bell, the great Edinburgh surgeon, went abroad for the sake of his health in 1817 after a fall from his horse, and spent the last 3 years of his life in Italy. His notes on painting, statuary, architecture and life in general were edited by Bishop Sandford of Edinburgh and published after his death in this work which Garrison calls "the finest book of travel ever written by a physician." A second edition was published in 1835 and an Italian translation in 1828. Pine-Coffin 8178.
4o (239 x 180 mm). 9 engraved plates after the author and Gherardi. (Some spotting.) Contemporary boards (rebacked) Provenance: Ballitobin? (signature on pastedown, pencil list of subsequent readers).
FIRST EDITION. John Bell, the great Edinburgh surgeon, went abroad for the sake of his health in 1817 after a fall from his horse, and spent the last 3 years of his life in Italy. His notes on painting, statuary, architecture and life in general were edited by Bishop Sandford of Edinburgh and published after his death in this work which Garrison calls "the finest book of travel ever written by a physician." A second edition was published in 1835 and an Italian translation in 1828. Pine-Coffin 8178.