Journal of Sentimental Travels | William Combe

$450.00

Journal of Sentimental Travels in the Southern Provinces of France, Shortly Before the Revolution

First edition in English of this racy account of “a traveller’s conduct in very ticklish situations,” with 18 brightly hand-colored aquatint engravings by Thomas Rowlandson.

William Combe (1741 — June 19, 1823) English writer of prose and satirical verse.

Thomas Rowlandson (13 July 1756 – 21 April 1827) English artist and caricaturist.

Rudolph Ackermann (20 April 1764  – 30 March 1834 ) Anglo-German bookseller, inventor, lithographer, publisher and businessman.

Thomas Rowlandson was largely employed by Rudolph Ackermann, an art publisher, who in 1809 issued a series of plates with illustrative verses by William Combe. The collaboration of designer, author and publisher went on to produce several books, including this work in 1821.

Rowlandson’s designs were usually executed in outline with a reed pen and delicately washed with colour. They were then etched by the artist on copper and afterward aquatinted—usually by a professional engraver, the impressions being finally coloured by hand.

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This is the second state of the first edition of William Combe’s Journal of Sentimental Travels in the Southern Provinces of France, Shortly Before the Revolution (291 numbered pages, plus directions to the printer), published by Rudolph Ackermann in 1821, with 17 plates of Thomas Rowlandson art specified on the title page, but with 18 plates in the book, as noted in the printer’s directions.

The cover (app. 9.5″ x 6″), dark blue leather with gilt borders and decorations, is good overall, but with the title label missing, and some fade to the gilt on the spine, which is straight, and securely attached to the inside. There are a number of surface scuffs, but no significant stains or tears. The marbled inside cover spreads are unfaded and clean.

There is a bookplate “sur esperance” to the front inside cover. This is the only attachment. The only writing is a small R in a larger C (possibly a binder’s mark), to the upper outside corner of the first blank page.

All 18 color plates are in excellent condition, with no notable fade, though there is color offset to the adjacent text pages. I’ve found a few spot stains and smudges, but the page faces are exceptionally clean, with all text as new, and with the marbled edges clean and unfaded. There are a number of corner creases, but these aren’t sharply delineated. There are no page tears. The binding is tight, with no loose or missing pages.

The accompanying photos are accurate reflections of the book conditions.

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