A Bibliographical Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany.

Three volumes. Royal 8vo. [4], xxv, [7], 462, lxxix, [1]; [iv], 555; [iv], 622, lxii pp. Numerous engraved plates and illus., bibliography, i.e., "Index of Manuscripts, and of Printed Books, Described, Quoted, or Referred To", supplemental; some offsetting, few stains, minor occasional foxing. Modern gilt-stamped green morocco, marbled fore-edges; head vol. II chipped, rubbed, faded, spine faded to natural tan, some light wear to extremities. Very good. FIRST EDITION. Complete with all listed 83 steel engraved full-page plates and all listed 63 half-page steel engravings (though a few miss-numbered or miss-placed). Plus, with an additional full page plate facing p. 586 of vol. III, titled, "The Prater, Vienna". Note: half-page illus. are engraved on fine India paper and mounted. Thomas Frognall Dibdin, (1776-1847), born in Calcutta, India, English bibliographer who helped to stimulate interest in bibliography by his own enthusiastic though often inaccurate books, by his share in founding the first English private publishing society, and by his beautifully produced catalog of Lord Spencer's library (which collection later became the nucleus of the John Rylands Library, Manchester). His father, the captain of a sailing ship, was the inspiration for his Uncle Charles Dibdin's song "Tom Bowling." Both of Dibdin's parents died on the passage from India to England in 1780, and at age four he became the ward of his mother's younger brother, Charles Compton. Educated at St. John's College, Oxford, Dibdin began a legal career but took holy orders in 1805. His Introduction to the knowledge of rare and valuable editions of the Greek and Latin Classics (1802) attracted the notice of Lord Spencer, through whose patronage Dibdin obtained a clerical appointment in London. His Bibliotheca Spenceriana (1814 15) became famous for the high quality of its printing. Dibdin travelled widely in search of books and manuscripts, and his Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany (1821) is typical of his work in containing much lively anecdote, many factual errors, and some excellent engravings. His Bibliomania (1809) contributed to the public's interest in old and rare books. Among his many other works is the two-volume autobiography Reminiscences of a Literary Life (1836). - Britannica First Edition.

Product Info

Publisher: W. Bulmer and W. Nicol, Shakspeare Press, 1821. Dedicated to the president and members of the Roxburghe Club.

Year: 1821

Type: Used

Binding: Softcover

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