Large folio (570 x 380 mm), Rebound by Trevor Lloyd to the highest standard in a period style binding of full calf, with a Greek-key gilt roll border to both boards, gilt hatching to the edges, the spine divided into ten compartments with raised bands, the second with a red leather and gilt lettering-piece, the remaining compartments superbly tooled in gilt; [6], 50pp., printed on thick paper, the text is followed by 59 etched and engraved plates, engraved by Paul Foudrinier, Thomas Major, J.S. Müller,  and T.M. Müller. The first plate consists of three coppers, forming together a panoramic view of the ruins (sometimes found pasted together and folded), 3 full-page etched and engraved reproductions of inscriptions with letterpress on the verso, light occasional spotting and marginal age-toning, otherwise a good clean copy, all edges uncut, a very handsome tall paper copy.

Robert Wood (1717?-1771), traveller, author and politician, was born at Riverstown Castle near Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland. In the year 1751 he made the tour of Greece, Egypt, and Palestine, in the company of James Dawkins and John Bouverie, along with their Italian draughtsman Giovanni Borra.
In the preface Wood recounts they visited 'most of the islands of the Archipelago, part of Greece in Europe, the Asiatic and Bosphorus, as far as the Black Sea, most of the inland parts of Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, and Egypt'. Five days were spent in Palmyra making drawings, taking measurements and writing detailed descriptions of the ruins. On their return to England at the end of 1751 Wood began compiling this work which was to set a new standard for archaeological accuracy, with exact records of the appearance and dimensions of the buildings seen. The book was published on the 23rd November, 1753, in both English and French editions - its appearance contributing greatly to the neo-classical revival in architecture and decoration both here and on the Continent. In particular, elements of the soffit of the Temple of the Sun can be detected in ceilings by Robert Adam at Osterley, Syon, Bowood and Compton Verney; by Giovanni Borra at Stowe and Norfolk House, St. James’s Square, London; and by Henry Flitcroft at Woburn. Further afield, Borra included further elements in his work in Turin and Piedmont.

The lavish plates range from carefully measured drawings of architectural details to panoramic views of the site as a whole.



Provenance: William Bagot (1728-1798), first surviving son of Sir Walter Bagot, 5th Baronet of Blithfield, Staffordshire, with his signature and a library press-mark to the front paste-down. William was educated at Westminster and Magdelen College, Oxford, he was elected MP in 1754 and stood until 1780 when he was created 1st Baron Bagot.
Ingamells notes that Bagot travelled extensively in Italy during 1751 and 1752 with the Rev. Thomas Townson, a friend from his Oxford college. In Rome Bagot was one of the sponsors of Lord Charlemont’s Academy for British Artists and he was included by Joshua Reynolds in his Parody of the School of Athens (National Gallery of Ireland). Bagot “remained all his life enamoured of Italy.”

BAL Early Printed Books 3707; Harris/Savage 939; John Ingamells. A Dictionary Of British And Irish Travellers In Italy 1701-1800. Yale, 1997. p.40.
 

Stock number: 1661