This early version of the coffee-table book provides interesting insights into assumptions about Italian life, with its lively images of landmarks, religious processions, and peasant life. Given the French title and lack of publishing information, it…
Typical of a whole class of spiritual guides to Rome, this little volume lists the holy sights and quantifies the redemptive value of visiting each in terms of indulgences and remission of sins. If one had only a limited time to spend in Rome, such a…
This somewhat battered little book attests to its apparent usefulness for some traveller, though it is difficult to imagine that the blend of scatalogical and salacious dialogue, 'Common Talke in an Inn', could ever have proved useful in any…
For some decades after colonization began, the settlers continued to use the English gardening manuals they had brought with them. These were still good sources on techniques, but poor guides to seasonal operations. George Chapman's Hand Book to the…
James Young (1862-1934) was Curator of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens from 1908-1933, having trained in England and worked in Victoria, Australia. As an expert on roses—the Christchurch Botanic Gardens rosery was probably the largest in…
Dedicated to the King, this volume displays a reasonably early interest in natural history. Indeed, because Dr. Spon had published his account in French a decade earlier, and because an English bookseller had brought out a translation, Wheler had to…
Famous buildings and plazas appear throughout this exhibit, but they usually became tourist attractions only upon completion. This 1965 pamphlet celebrated what the Sydney Opera House hoped to become. Would any reader be interested today if the…
These two maps show how little was known about Antarctica as late as 1825. Weddell managed to sail just over 200 miles farther south than Cook before fleeing the impending winter, and his record was not bettered until 1911. His book was revised and…
This book first appeared in 1825, though this edition, with its handsome binding, was printed much later, probably in 1894. Although Waterton's style is clearly dated and, to our ears, rather pompous, his work has been often reprinted even in the…
These two illustrations provide a concise summation of European associations with North and South America and of the range of Vancouver's explorations along the eastern shores of the Pacific. To the north is the vast unpeopled landscape of the…
These two illustrations provide a concise summation of European associations with North and South America and of the range of Vancouver's explorations along the eastern shores of the Pacific. To the north is the vast unpeopled landscape of the…
Surgeon James Johnson (1777-1845) was on board the 36 gun ship Caroline, commanded by B. W. Page. Dedicated to Henry Lord Viscount Melville, this work contains a topographical and picturesque sketch of all the places annually visited by the British…