c1864 VIEWS IN DEVONSHIRE AND CORNWALL With 60 ENGRAVED PLATES (all present).
SCARCE Antiquarian ILLUSTRATED Book . BOUND IN ITS ORIGINAL GREEN, GILT CLOTH, over boards, ALL-EDGE GILT PAGES, YELLOW PASTEDOWNS AND ENDPAPERS, in a good state for its age.
PUBLISHED BY HENRY BESLEY & SON, Directory Office, South Street, Exeter.
Illustrated with 60 wood engravings by William Willis, John. W. Tucker (1808-1869), George Townsend (1813-1894), J. Newman, C. King, Richard. T. Pentreath (born 1806) and John Thomas Blight (1835-1911). Each full-page engraving has a protective sheet and the plates are in a very good state for over 160 years old.
This is not dated, but I believe this book to date to 1864 (based on the dates of publication given on some of the engravings), and it is believed that “Views In Devonshire And Cornwall” was published by Henry Besley between 1853 and 1875. During the 1800s Henry Besley became the only significant Devon publisher of small steel-engraved vignette views.
This includes the following plates:
1: Torquay, Meadfoot; 2: Torquay from Livermead Sands; 3: Torquay from the Rock Walk East; 4: Torquay from the Rock Walk West; 5: Torquay from the sea (Nov. 3, 1856); 6: Torquay from the pier; 7: Daddy’s Hole, near Torquay; 8: Babbacombe; 9: Ansty’s Cove, near Torquay; 10: Watcombe, near Torquay; 11: Paignton; 12: Berry, Pomeroy Castle (April 4, 1853); 13: Paignton; 14: Dartmouth from the South; 15: Dartmouth from the North; 16: Dartmouth Castle; 17: The Start, South Devon; 18: Exeter (N.W); 19: Exeter (S.E); 20: Exeter Cathedral; 21: Exeter Cathedral, The Choir; 22: Royal Albert Museum and Post Office, Exeter; 23: Sidmouth from the Sea; 24: Dawlish; 25: Dawlish, The Strand; 26: Teignmouth, The Den (Publ. Apr. 4th 1853); 27: Teignmouth and Shaldon (Publ. Apr. 4th 1853); 28: Teignmouth; 29: Bowerman’s Nose, Dartmoor (Publ. Mar. 24, 1864); 30: Crockern Tor (Publ Mar. 24, 1864), Dartmoor; 31: Liskeard (Publ. Apr. 1, 1860); 32: Bodmin; 33: Remains of King Arthur’s Castle, Tintagel; 34: Launceston; 35: Lostwithiel (Publ. Apr., 1860); 36: Fowey (Publ. Apr. 1, 1860); 37: St. Austell (Publ. Apr. 1, 1860); 38: Truro from Kenwyn; 39: Truro from Trennick Lane; 40: Redruth; 41: A Tin Mine between Camborne and Redruth; 42: Hayle, St. Ives in the distance (Publ. Apr. 3, 1860); 43: Mount’s Bay from Gulval Carn; 44: Penzance from the Sea (Publ. Apr. 3, 1858); 45: Penzance from Newlyn Battery; 46: Penzance from Lescudjack; 47: Lamorna (Publ. Apr. 4, 1853); 48: The Logan Rock (Publ. Apr. 4, 1861); 49: Mill Bay, near Land’s End (Publ. Apr, 1854); 50: Cape Cornwall, near Land’s End; 51: Tol-Pedan-Penwith, near Land’s End; 52: St. Just fom Bosvargus Hill; 53: Botallack Mine(Publ. Apr. 1, 1860); 54: Gurnard’s Head, Cornwall; 55: St. Ives, from Park-an-Roper; 56: Helston; 57: Mullion, near the Lizard; 58: Kynance Cove, from the Rill (Publ. Apr. 3, 1854); 59: The Lizard (Publ. Dec 4, 1857); 60: Falmouth, from Flushing (Publ. Nov 6, 1861).
Please note that the dates of publication have been taken from the engravings themselves, and due to the small text they are in, there is a small margin for error.
The stunning green, textured cloth bound boards and spine are intact and in a good condition for their age. There is some bumping to the corners, some wear, small marks, and rips in the cloth on the spine and the corners. Both the front board and the spine have stylised gilt lettering and there are wonderful gilt illustrations on the front board. Please see the photographs provided for further reference.
Inside. the pages are lightly tanned, consistent for a book of this age, and there are foxing and marks on the endpapers, title page, and occasionally on the protective sheets for the plates. However, the plates are in a very good condition, with just the very occasional light foxing/small mark/light stain or small fold. The front pastedown and front free endpaper are ripped and creased, but besides this, there are only a few occasions where the protective sheets have small rips. The plates do not have any rips, but there is a small amount of rubbing on plate 29. This is only at the side and the picture is unaffected. There is no pen or pencil written inside this book. To the side of a couple of plates and between the front pastedown and free endpaper there is a minor crack in the gutter and the protective sheet facing plate 38 is partially loose. This is just to one side, and still attached. The pages are all secure and there are no missing pages. Please study the photos carefully, as they do form part of the description.
This measures approx. 17.6 by 25.7 by 2.7 cm wide. It weighs approx. 760 grams.