Journals of a Landscape Painter in Albania, &c.
London: Richard Bentley, 1851. First edition. Map and twenty tinted lithographic plates. Lightly chipped at spine ends, corners rubbed, back joint cracking, but cords sound, one and a half inch tear along back joint near top edge. Early ink donor’s inscription on title-page, small marginal dampstain on map. Still, a very good copy, with the plates fresh and clean. Original dark blue blindstamped cloth with gilt spine. Large octavo. [4], 428 pp. Item #12937
"His career as a 'topographical landscape painter' took him to Ireland, France, Italy, Albania, Greece, the Near East, and India. Lear's travel books, like his drawings, watercolors, lithographs, and paintings, are expertly executed, sharp observations of the minutest details from all the countries he visited, many of which were hardly accessible to the contemporary traveler. The adventurous and pioneering sense that drove Lear compulsively to such remote outposts is perhaps one reason for the thrilling, crisp intensity and freshness conveyed in his art" (John Lehmann, Edward Lear and His World).
Abbey, Travel, 45.
Price: $1,250.00