Henry Wansey — A Visit to Paris, in June 1814

Bath , Richard Cruttwell, 1814. Hardback. A very scarce copy of this early 19th century account of an English antiquary's visit to Paris. First edition. Very scarce. No previous records found in auction, with only copies found being institutional.In contemporary paper covered boards, with rubbed calf spine and corners. British Circulating Library bookplate to the front board. Bound with the original endpapers and blanks. Illustrated with two plates to the front of the work, ('Pantheon of Paris' and 'The Famous Horses from Venice'). Collated, complete. A charming account of a visit to Paris taken by Henry Wansey, an English antiquary, who was by trade a clothier, but retired from business in middle life and devoted his leisure to travel, literature and antiquarian research. Through the form of letters to his siter, Wansey describes his arrival, restaurants and wines, the Louvre, the Palace of the Luxembourg, and Parisian society - one letter he comments that "houses are very deficient in elegant furniture; even mahogany is not common" and that "A liberal education is now common amongst the middling classes of society". With an appendix containing the general order of the police, concerning the observance of Sunday, and Holidays. In contemporary paper covered boards, with rubbed calf spine and corners. British Circulating Library bookplate to the front board. Externally, toning and marks to the boards, with fading and loss to the spine. Chip to the corner of the bookplate. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are marginally toned, with the occasional spot or handling mark. Good Only . Ill.: None. Good Only .