Vetusta monumenta quae ad Rerum Britanicarum. 6 vols

Society of Antiquaries

Edité par London, 1842

Vetusta monumenta quae ad rerum Britannicarum memoriam conservandam Societas Antiquariorum Londini sumptu suo edenda curavit. 6 volumes; see below for collations. 331 plates, mostly engraved but a few lithographed; some hand-colored. London: [Society of Antiquaries,] 1767 [i.e., 1747]-1842. 569 x 393 mm. (uncut). 19th-century cloth, rebacked in morocco, minor edgewear and insect damage. Edges a bit dust-soiled and frayed, minor offsetting from plates, tears along folds of one "Bayeux Tapestry" plate in Vol. VI, but very good. Library stamps on titles and some plates. Vol. I (1747): 4, 4, 3pp. 70 plates. Imprint date on title reads "MDCCLVII" as in some copies. Vol. II (1789): 4, 4, 2, 2, 4, 2, 15, 8, 4, 7, 7, 5, 2, 13, 5, 7, 2, 2, 3pp. 55 numbered plates and one unnumbered plate. Vol. III (1796): 3, 17, 6, 5, 4, 4, 14, 7, 2, [2], 44, 9, 13, 2, 1, 15, 19pp. 44 plates. Vol. IV (1815): 3, 8, 13-17, [2], 3, 2, 3, [2], [2], 2pp. 52 numbered plates and one unnumbered plate. Vol. V (1835): 3, [2], [2], [2], [2], 10, 7. 2, 4, 17, 5, 11pp. 69 plates (some hand-colored). Vol. VI; first 39 plates only, with the accompanying articles (1842?): [2], 2, 10, 37pp. 39 plates (some hand-colored). No title-leaf or list of plates. First Edition. The Society of Antiquaries of London was founded on 1 January 1718, and in the same year they began issuing the Vetusta monumenta, a series of large-folio plates and papers on ancient buildings, sites and artifacts published at irregular intervals and later collected into bound volumes. The Vetusta monumenta represents a growing recognition in Britain of the national significance of its ancient buildings and monuments, and the Society's efforts to publish illustrated records of British antiquities can be seen as an early effort towards historic preservation. "The emphasis was on the large and detailed illustrations, initially high-quality engravings, which conveyed information on the subject matter in an accessible and economic way. Each issue was usually developed from papers and research of the society, giving a text description accompanied by illustrated details it had commissioned. The assemblage of maps, site plans and other details was a novelty that found popular appeal" (Wikipedia). Vol. IV includes one of the earliest published images of the Rosetta Stone, depicted actual size in three engravings illustrating its Egyptian hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek inscriptions respectively. The plates for Vol. I were issued between 1718 and 1747; those for Vol. II were published between 1748 and 1789; those for Vol. II appeared between 1790 and 1796; those for Vol. IV were published between 1799 and 1815; those for Vol. V were issued between 1816 and 1835; and the plates for Vol. VI appeared between 1819 and 1885. Our copy of Vol. VI contains only the plates and articles published between 1819 and 1842 but does include the magnificent series of hand-colored illustrations of the Bayeux Tapestry, along with the colored plates of the painted chamber at the Palace of Westminster. . N° de réf. du vendeur 43433

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Vetusta monumenta quae ad Rerum Britanicarum...
Éditeur : London
Date d'édition : 1842
Reliure : Couverture rigide
Edition : Edition originale