Campi Phlegraei - photo 1
Campi Phlegraei - photo 2
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Campi Phlegraei

Lot 66
27.06.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 32 760
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1236296
Lot 66 | Campi Phlegraei
Estimate value
$ 15 000 – 25 000
HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803). Campi Phlegraei. Observations on the Volcanos of the Two Sicilies. Naples: [Pietro Fabris,] 1776.

Hamilton's “superbly illustrated work on the volcanic region around Naples” (Rudwick). From the collection of Carl Friedlaender, the son of Immanuel Friedlaender (1871-1948), the founder and director of the Volcanological Institute in Naples, Italy. Sir William Hamilton, the English ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800 and a prolific collector of Greek vases, became captivated by the grandeur of Vesuvius. He collected specimens, led tours, and devoted himself to the scientific study of the volcano. He obsessively documented the 1765-67 eruption of Vesuvius, recording his observations in several letters to the Royal Society which were later printed as a book, cementing him as the “outstanding scientific authority” of the region (Rudwick). The present work is the result of his desire to give the public a taste of his experience of the volcano. The Campi Phlegraei “provided a clearer, more precise and useful explanation of volcanic activity than ever published before” (Jenkin and Sloan).

The work’s remarkable hand-colored plates, after the work of artist Peter Fabris and executed under the watchful eye of Hamilton himself, depict the changing rim of the erupting Vesuvius, as well as other volcanoes in the region, lava samples, and dramatic views of the region. Hamilton chose Fabris after the artist had accompanied him on a trip Sicily in 1768, believing him to be uniquely capable of capturing the campi phlegraei with the perfect balance of accuracy and beauty. Campi Phlegraei did a great deal to cement the romance of the volcano in popular culture, and to promote Vesuvius as a major destination during the grand tour (ODNB). Brunet III, 31 (“Interesting and well-executed work”); ESTC T71231 (parts I-II); I. Jenkins & K. Sloan, Vases and Volcanoes, cat. 43; Lowndes II, p. 989; M.J.S. Rudwick, Bursting the Limits of Time (2005), p. 30.

Folio (456 x 333mm). Title-page, 53 (of 54) hand-colored etched plates and their corresponding explanatory text (lacking plate I and its corresponding explanatory text, as well as the double-page hand-colored engraved map and 90 pp. introduction; dampstain at margin of several text plates; title page with repairs at gutter and dampstain at outer margin). Later morocco over marbled boards (slightly rubbed, repaired nick to spine). Provenance: deleted inscription to title page – Carl Friedlaender, the son of Immanuel Friedlaender, 1871-1948, the founder and director of the Volcanological Institute in Naples, Italy (ownership inscription dated 1923 to endpaper).
Artist:William Henry Hamilton Trood (1859 - 1899)
Place of origin:Italy
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.06.2024 – 27.06.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
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