Antiquarian Christmas

We have developed a bit of a tradition of buying each other beautiful, antiquarian books for Christmas. This year’s selection all relate to the Picturesque.

First, we have Essays on the Picturesque as compared with the Sublime and the Beautiful, by Uvedale Price, which marks the beginning of the Picturesque movement which promoted natural, rugged beauty in landscape design - as distinct from the previous fashion for very orderly landscapes by Capability Brown and his followers. Following Gilpin’s tour of the Lake District, where he described the picturesque, Price’s essays set out a more theoretical framework for the picturesque and why, in his opinion, it is preferable to both the Sublime and the Beautiful.

Our edition was published in 1810 and is presented in three leather-bound volumes, all in great condition.

Our second antiquarian book discussing the picturesque is Samuel Ireland’s Picturesque views on the River Thames, published in two volumes in 1792. Our copy has the added beauty of a Morrell binding which includes very detailed gold tooling on the covers.

Morrell binding

The volumes are generously illustrated with aquatints, then a fairly new technique.

Tower of London

The final book, marking a backlash against the Picturesque, is William Combe’s The Tours of Dr Syntax, bound in three volumes, subtitled ‘In search of the Picturesque’, ‘In search of Consolation’, and ‘In search of a Wife’. The book is a satire of the Picturesque, written as a poem, illustrated with colourfully satirical cartoons by Thomas Rowlandson.

Dr Syntax and the bees

Dr Syntax sketches the lake

All three antiquarian books mark a different point in the fashion for the Picturesque, from its early years through to its later years and ridicule. However, it left a positive mark on the Lake District and helped it to become a sought after destination for tourists seeking some excitement in the early 19th century - and subsequently.