Venice
London: A & C Black, 1916. Illustrated by Mortimer Menpes. First Edition, First Printing. A Very Good Hardcover.
A richly illustrated early-20th-century portrait of Venice, featuring seventy-five brilliant color plates by Mortimer Menpes and written by Lonsdale and Laura Ragg during their residence in the city, capturing its art, history, and lived atmosphere with rare intimacy.
Bound in an elegant half-morocco binding with marbled boards, four raised bands, gilt spine decorations, and gilt titles; top edge gilt. Illustrated with 75 captioned full-color plates by Mortimer Menpes, each protected by a tissue guard with descriptive letterpress. First Edition, First Printing.
8vo; xiii, 208 pages; 75 color plates including frontispiece; 23 cm. Bindings are tight and square; text is clean with light, even toning. Minimal handling wear; minor fraying at the top spine band; small bookseller label on rear pastedown.
A very attractive and uncommon presentation of one of A & C Black’s most appealing illustrated travel works.
Lonsdale and Laura Ragg—scholars, translators, and longtime residents of Venice—produced one of the more intimate early-20th-century narrative portraits of the city. Their text blends architectural history, local custom, ecclesiastical lore, and personal observation born of the years they lived among the calli and campielli from 1905 to 1908.
The real distinction of the volume lies in the seventy-five color plates by Mortimer Menpes, the Australian-born painter and etcher whose work for A & C Black helped define the publisher’s signature style in the Edwardian period. His views of Venetian canals, palaces, domes, and market scenes capture both the luminosity and atmospheric depth that made Venice a favorite subject of late Victorian and Edwardian artists.
This 1916 First Edition is notably less common in fine condition, particularly with clean plates and attractive contemporary binding. A collectible example of A & C Black color-plate travel books at their height.
SUBJECTS: Venice; Mortimer Menpes; A & C Black Illustrated Books; Italian Art & Architecture; Edwardian Travel Writing; Color Plate Illustration, Illustrated Travel Literature; Fine Color-Plate Books; Early 20th-Century Art & Architecture
Item #21320
Price: $145.00
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