HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803). Campi Phlegraei. Observations on the Volcanos of the Two Sicilies as they have been communicated to the Royal Society of London . Naples: 1776-1779. 2 parts and supplement, bound in 3 volumes, 2° (462 x 333mm). Letterpress titles and text in English and French. Hand-coloured engraved double-page map by Giuseppe Guerra and 59 hand-coloured engraved plates after Pietro Fabris the plates edged in black with grey wash margins. (Plate numbered III in vol. 2 with small tear in lower margin, occasional light smudging or discolouration to wash borders of plates, some light spotting to text.) Modern half vellum. FIRST EDITION of Hamilton's lavishly illustrated work. The plates are so opaquely coloured that the engraved base beneath is hardly visible: indeed, Hamilton himself describes them as 'executed with such delicacy and perfection, as scarcely to be distinguished from the original drawings themselves' (Part I, p. 6). Pietro Fabris an artist living in Naples, was commissioned and trained by Hamilton to sketch the volcanoes of southern Italy. Hamilton then asked Fabris to undertake the publication of his letters to the Royal Society, to be illustrated by engravings after the orginal drawings. Fabris was the sole distributor of the work, which was originally published at 60 Neapolitan ducats for Part I and Part II; the price of the Supplement is not recorded. Hamilton's observations support his theories on the formation of landmass as a result of volcanic activity, an interest to which he devoted much of his leisure time. In four years he climbed Vesuvius twenty-two times, sometimes at great risk, since both he and Fabris wished to make sketches at every stage of the eruptions. The figures of Hamilton, often wearing a red coat, and Fabris appear in the plates. The Campi Phlegraei is the best known of Hamilton's four works on volcanic activity, although his Observations on Mount Vesuvius , published by the Royal Society in 1772 was well-received at the time, and ran to three editions. Hamilton presented his collection of volcanic rocks and minerals to the British Museum in 1767. (3)
HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803). Campi Phlegraei. Observations on the Volcanos of the Two Sicilies as they have been communicated to the Royal Society of London . Naples: 1776-1779. 2 parts and supplement, bound in 3 volumes, 2° (462 x 333mm). Letterpress titles and text in English and French. Hand-coloured engraved double-page map by Giuseppe Guerra and 59 hand-coloured engraved plates after Pietro Fabris the plates edged in black with grey wash margins. (Plate numbered III in vol. 2 with small tear in lower margin, occasional light smudging or discolouration to wash borders of plates, some light spotting to text.) Modern half vellum. FIRST EDITION of Hamilton's lavishly illustrated work. The plates are so opaquely coloured that the engraved base beneath is hardly visible: indeed, Hamilton himself describes them as 'executed with such delicacy and perfection, as scarcely to be distinguished from the original drawings themselves' (Part I, p. 6). Pietro Fabris an artist living in Naples, was commissioned and trained by Hamilton to sketch the volcanoes of southern Italy. Hamilton then asked Fabris to undertake the publication of his letters to the Royal Society, to be illustrated by engravings after the orginal drawings. Fabris was the sole distributor of the work, which was originally published at 60 Neapolitan ducats for Part I and Part II; the price of the Supplement is not recorded. Hamilton's observations support his theories on the formation of landmass as a result of volcanic activity, an interest to which he devoted much of his leisure time. In four years he climbed Vesuvius twenty-two times, sometimes at great risk, since both he and Fabris wished to make sketches at every stage of the eruptions. The figures of Hamilton, often wearing a red coat, and Fabris appear in the plates. The Campi Phlegraei is the best known of Hamilton's four works on volcanic activity, although his Observations on Mount Vesuvius , published by the Royal Society in 1772 was well-received at the time, and ran to three editions. Hamilton presented his collection of volcanic rocks and minerals to the British Museum in 1767. (3)
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
