60 FULL-PAGE ENGRAVED VIEWS OF ROME

(ROME). Li [sic] Monumenti Più Celebri di Roma Antica e Moderna. Roma: Pietro Datri, 1850. Oblong quarto, contemporary full brown morocco, raised bands, gilt-decorated spine and covers, patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. $1200.

First edition of this wonderful pictorial “guide-book” to the Eternal City, with vignette title page and 60 engraved plates of the best tourist attractions in Rome and environs.

Prior to the 19th century, most tourists were aristocrats who could afford several weeks’ stays in each locality— whole trips lasting as long as months or an entire year. When the “grand tour” opportunity spread to the new industrial and professional elites, tourist destinations such as Rome shifted their attention from the privileged class to meeting the leisure and recreational needs of the monied middle-class. Also, by the mid 19th century, Rome was attracting increased numbers of artists and connoisseurs in search of an on-site education in the classical art of antiquity. Intended for the burgeoning tourist trade, this stellar collection of Roman attractions represents the best achievements of the contemporary artistic and print-making community in Rome, depicting such famous sights as Hadrian’s Tomb, Saint Peter’s Square, Trajan’s Column, the Forum, the Pantheon, and ruins on the outskirts of Rome. Captions in French and Italian. Plates bound out of numeric order. Early owner signature on title page and annotations throughout of dates a given site was visited. Embossed stamp on title.

Faint dampstaining to plates An extremely good copy.