Choiseul-Gouffier | Voyage pittoresque de la Grece, 1782-1822, 3 vols, the Beckford Copy

Property from the Loverdos Collection

Marie Gabriel A.F. comte de Choiseul-Gouffier

Voyage pittoresque de la Grèce. Paris, 1782-1809-1822

FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes bound in 3, folio (515 x 335mm.), 3 half-titles, 3 engraved titles, portrait, 2 folding maps of Greece in vol.1 (the map of modern Greece in duplicate), 285 plates and maps on 168 sheets (9 of which are double-page or folding, including 3 of Constantinople towards end of last volume), double-page letterpress table, elaborate engraved head- and tail-pieces, contemporary red half morocco gilt [by Charles Lewis for William Beckford], some spotting and paper toning, bindings rubbed, later inventory label on cover

THE BECKFORD COPY. Choiseul-Gouffier travelled with the artist Jean-Baptiste Hilaire to the Levant in 1776. The author's unreserved admiration for Greece and its people, combined with the skill of Hilaire's recreation of its topography and costume, was received with great enthusiasm by the French public. On its appearance in 1782 the work was so successful that in 1784 Choiseul-Gouffier was appointed ambassador to Constantinople. A second volume appeared in 1809 and a third (i.e. volume 2, part 2) was published posthumously in 1822. The work is particularly notable for its plates, including as they do fine views, architectural details, accurate maps and head- and tailpieces. Despite the title there is considerable information and many illustrations of Turkey and Constantinople.

PROVENANCE:

William Beckford (1760–1844), sale in these rooms, 30 June–13 July 1882, lot 1913; Bernard Quaritch, bookplate giving Beckford provenance

LITERATURE:

Atabey 241; Blackmer 342