William Douglas Hamilton, Campi Phlegræi, Ed. Banco di Napoli, 1985

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itolo completo: «Campi Phlegræi. Osservazioni sui Vulcani del Regno delle Due Sicilie comunicate alla Società Reale di Londra da William Hamilton, Cavaliere dell’Ordine del Bagno, inviato straordinario e plenipotenziario di Sua Maestà Britannica alla Corte di Napoli e Membro della Società Reale di Londra».

Very rare reprint of a monumental illustrated work by Sir William Hamilton (1731-1803), British ambassador to the court of Naples, amateur vulcanologist, and antiquarian. Hamilton’s splendid volume, representing the culmination of years of geological observation in Naples and Sicily, contains sumptuous hand-colored engravings of Neapolitan landscapes, coastal scenes, city-views, and views of volcanic activity from Vesuvius, Etna, and the Aeolian islands.

Though it nearly bankrupted the diplomat with the high production cost of its illustrations, including 59 plates and a double-page map of the region, the volume now stands as a monument to Neapolitan art and scientific culture during the Bourbon kingdom’s Golden Age.

This was, without question, one of the most lavish books of the eighteenth century (Thackray). The volume had its origins in Hamilton‘s arrival in Naples in 1764, shortly before nearby Vesuvius entered a spectacular eruptive phase that lasted for the next three years. Despite being engaged in “an active and often demanding diplomatic career” (Sloan) at the Neapolitan court, Hamilton continually recorded observations on volcanic activity not only from Vesuvius, but from Etna and the Aeolian archipelago as well.

These were published as letters in Philosophical Transactions, and again in Observations on Mount Vesuvius (1772), but the interest they sparked in the scientific community led Hamilton to envision a more ambitious testament, and in 1773 he asked the artist Pietro Fabris to begin the series of gouache drawings from which the present plates were cut.

Many of the plates bear Fabris‘ initials as well, identifying him as the engraver as well as the original illustrator.

Premessa (in italiano) di Giuliano Briganti; testi in inglese e francese.

Prestigiosa pubblicazione di grande formato (facsimile dell’originale del 1776-1779), patrocinata dal Banco di Napoli, a copertina rigida in mezza-pelle marrone scuro, titolata in oro al dorso, stampata a colori su carta opaca di tipo pergamena delle Cartiere Fedrigoni, corredata da numerosi disegni a colori.

Prodotto probabilmente fuori commercio.

Ottimo [non si notano danni, scritte, segni, strappi o usure particolari che vadano evidenziate; legatura un po’ ammorbidita ma robusta; bordi e spigoli con piccole abrasioni superficiali; una riparazione in un punto del dorso, non grave; superficiali sporcature di polvere ai piatti ed alle coste]