Yosy, Ann; B. Howlett, printer — Switzerland, As Now Divided Into Nineteen Cantons; Interspersed with Historical Anecdotes, Local Customs, and a Description of the Present State of the Country. The Cantons Are Severally Described, and Also the County of Neuchatel, the Republic of Geneva, the Boundaries, & New Road over the Simplon, with Picturesque Representations of the Dress and Manners of the Swiss to Which Is Added a Short Guide to Travellers. First Edition

London: J. Booth & J. Murray, 1815. 8vo. 15 x 24cm. [8], 228, [12], 212pp. and 50 hors text color plates..Contemporary half Russian leather with corners, richly decorated ribbed spine, tan title label, gilt place and date at the bottom, gilt edges...)Rare first edition, dedicated to the future George IV, then Prince Regent of the United Kingdom. The illustration consists of 50 plates of Swiss costumes engraved with dots and finely colored, and 1 plate of engraved music. Some compositions are copies after König. ""This collection of Swiss costumes executed with great delicacy and taste, is a true Keepsake in the English manner, where the typography and the paper compete in finesse and purity with the engravings"" (Bulletin du bibliophile). Handwritten bookplate on the half-title. Joints restored and browned, some retinted scratches, scattered foxing not affecting or barely affecting the plates, half-title of the 2nd t. not preserved, otherwise a good copy...............................Ann Cope Yosy's date of birth, parentage, and upbringing are obscure, although she later claimed to have been partly educated at a 'celebrated Institution'where she learned Latin, German, and French, as well as Mathematics, History, and Natural History... On 30 July 1802, at Hanover Square, London, Ann Cope married John Yosy, of Berne, possibly a Swiss agriculturalist. They appear to have removed to Switzerland soon after and remained there until 1813, Ann Yosy publishing her account of her experiences in Switzerland, as Now Divided into Nineteen Cantons (1815) not long after her return to England. Her only other known publication, a novel entitled Constancy and Leopold, appeared in 1818, although in future years Yosy would write to would-be benefactors that she was in possession of many volumes worth of manuscript material, some of which might have found its way into print on the continent.. References; (Brunet, V, col. 1509 ; Colas, n° 3102 ; Techener, Bulletin du bibliophile, 1840, n° 843.); OCLC Number / Unique Identifier 6269689. .