Views in Greece from drawings by Edward Dodwell ESQ, F.S.A &c
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Date: 1821
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A cornerstone of any collection of Greek topography. Standard format on thick paper. The work was issued in six parts from 1819 to 1821; most copies were issued in this format although a few copies were mounted on card in portfolios (Abbey and Gennadius Library copies). The plates in this work had been intended to illustrate Dodwell's Tour of Greece, 1819, but the cost of production proved too much and a selection of 30 plates were separately published under this title.
Edward Dodwell, (1776/7-1832, traveler and archaeologist, was born in West Molesey, Surrey. In April 1801 he arrived at Trieste to embark on his first tour of Greece; his 'intention was to visit Greece, to explore its antiquities, to compare its past with its present state, and to leave nothing unnoticed, which, to the classical reader, can be an object of interest, or a source of delight'.
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On this journey, he was accompanied by his friend Sir William Gell (1777-1836), who also travelled with Dodwell through Greece in 1805 and 1806. By the end of May 1801 they had reached Corfu. In June 1801 Dodwell travelled on to Ithaca, the island of Cephalonia, Patras, and through the provinces of Phocis and Boeotia, to Athens, and then on to the islands of the Greek archipelago, the coast of Troy, and Constantinople.
Dodwell's second tour of Greece began on 1 February 1805 when he departed from Messina with his artist, Signor Simone Pomardi. They landed at Zakinthos, and after about a week proceeded on their journey to Mesolongion, Patras, Galaxidhion, and Amfissai. Dodwell also visited the ruins at Delphi, Mount Parnassos, Levadhia, Thebes, and by about 26 March 1805 he had proceeded to Athens.
At Athens Dodwell was required to make a payment to the disdar, or Turkish governor, for the privilege of making drawings and observations of the Acropolis. Dodwell offered only part payment of the fee, with the promise of full payment on completion of his drawings. The disdar, however, demanded the whole sum, which Dodwell refused: in turn, he was banned from entering the Acropolis. However, on reaching the Acropolis, Dodwell procured his entrance by bribing the guards 'by throwing a few paras amongst them'. Repeatedly visiting the Acropolis by this means, he 'acquired the name of the Frank of many Paras, and for a small expense purchased the civility of the soldiers'.
From Athens, Dodwell journeyed out to the Attic Mountains, visiting Aegina, Piraeus, Thessalia, Chaeroneia and Orchomenos, Eleusis, and (about 30 November 1805) Corinth. After leaving Corinth, Dodwell also travelled across the Peloponnese, visiting Mycenae, Tiryns, Epidavros, Messene, Megalopolis, and Sparta. On 2 April 1806 he left Patras for Mesolongion, and a week later set out for Ithaca. Dodwell made a prolonged stay at Corfu until 16 May 1806. Whilst in Greece, Dodwell also made some four hundred drawings, while his artist, Pomardi, made about six hundred.
First edition. Large folio (20 7/8 x 14 1/2 inches; 530 x 368 mm.). [vi], [60] pp. Thirty hand colored aquatint plates.
References:
Abbey, Travel 130; Blackmer 493; Bobins I, 13;. Colas, 875.
David Brass Rare Books
Publisher: London: Rodwell and Martin, 1821
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ISBN-10: N/A
Date Added: 2019-02-25
Dodwell, Edward. Views in Greece. London: Rodwell and Martin, 1821. 1821.
Dodwell, Edward (1821) Views in Greece. London: Rodwell and Martin, 1821.
Dodwell, Edward, Views in Greece. London: Rodwell and Martin, 1821. 1821.