Como and Italian Lake-Land 1887 Lund First Edition Illustrated with Maps & Plates
 
Como and Italian Lake-Land – Illustrated Travel & Art History (1887 First Edition)
By T. W. M. Lund | Published 1887 by W. H. Allen & Co., London
 
Overview
A richly illustrated Victorian travel and cultural study of Northern Italy, focusing on Lake Como, Milan, and the Italian lake district, written by T. W. M. Lund, Chaplain to the School for the Blind, Liverpool. This is the first edition, first printing (1887), complete with 11 engraved plates and 3 folding maps, including a striking Bird’s Eye View of Milan and a large colour map of the Lake of Como & Route to Milan housed in its original rear pocket.
 
A substantial and highly attractive volume combining travel writing, art history, architecture, and social observation, beautifully produced for the late-Victorian reader.
 
Bibliographic Details
• Title: Como and Italian Lake-Land
• Author: T. W. M. Lund
• Publisher: W. H. Allen & Co., 13 Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, London
• Date: 1887 (First Edition)
• Printer: Woodfall & Kinder, Long Acre, London
• Format: Antiquarian hardback
• Illustrations: 11 engraved plates + 3 folding maps
• Pagination: xv + 515 pages + 1 page publisher’s adverts
• Dimensions: Approx. 19.8 × 13.5 × 4.5 cm
• Weight: Approx. 814 g
 
Illustrations & Maps
This volume is fully complete with all plates and maps present:
 
Plates include:
• Virgin and Child by Luini (frontispiece, with tissue guard)
• Torre di Giovio and Wayside Shrine
• Architectural details from S. Maria del Tiglio
• Princess Cristina Trivulzio
• Effigies of Medea Colleoni and Gaston de Foix
• Bas-reliefs & terracotta decorations from Certosa of Pavia
• Isola dei Pescatori, Lago Maggiore
• Pulpit & Tomb of Meinulphus, S. Giulio at Orta
• Marriage of St Catherine by G. Ferrari, at Novara
…and more.
 
Maps:
• Folding Bird’s Eye View of Milan after p.495
• Folding colour fold-out map of Italian Lakeland after p.495
• Large colour fold-out map of Lake Como & Route to Milan, housed in original rear pocket
All present and accounted for.
 
Provenance – The Heathcote Family Library
Pasted to the front pastedown is a circular armorial ex libris bookplate reading:
“Evelyn Dawsonne Heathcote”
This almost certainly refers to Rev. Evelyn Dawsonne Heathcote (1844–1908), an Anglican clergyman, genealogist, and author, best known for his scholarly work:
Account of Some of the Families Bearing the Name of Heathcote Which Have Descended Out of the County of Derby (c.1899).
 
Heathcote was born in London in 1844, served in the Church, and was deeply involved in historical and genealogical research. He died in 1908 and is buried at All Saints Churchyard, Hursley, Winchester, Hampshire.
 
This book therefore comes from a documented late-Victorian private library, adding a strong and meaningful layer of historical provenance.
 
Exterior Condition
Bound in blue cloth with gilt stylised lettering and decorative tooling to the boards and spine.
• Cover intact and structurally sound
• Bumping and small rips to corners
• Heavy staining and discolouration to spine
• Rubbing at edges
• Light surface marks
Overall: Good antique condition, with honest wear consistent with age.
 
Interior Condition
• Brown pastedowns and free endpapers
• Pages lightly tanned, slightly roughly cut at edges
• Armorial ex libris bookplate to front pastedown
• Pages generally neat, clean, and predominantly uncreased
• Very occasional light foxing
• Minimal small edge rips from rough cutting (not affecting text)
• Rip to back pastedown
• One folding map (Bird’s Eye View of Milan) has a small rip through text but remains legible
 
Binding:
• All pages secure
• Light gutter cracks at pastedowns
• Very light, partial cracks between pp. 192–193 and 288–289 (minimal, stable)
Complete with all plates and maps present
 
Collation Summary
✔ xv + 515 pages
✔ 11 engraved plates
✔ 3 folding maps
✔ 1 page publisher’s adverts
✔ Original rear map pocket present
 
Ideal For
• Collectors of Victorian travel literature
• Lake Como / Italian regional history enthusiasts
• Art & architecture reference libraries
• Provenance and ex-libris collectors
• Interior stylists & heritage book collectors