THE GEOGRAPHICAL SYSTEM OF HERODOTUS, EXAMINED; AND EXPLAINED, By a Comparison With Those of Other Ancient Authors, and With Modern Geography.
by RENNELL, James:
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. 1800. First edition. First edition. 4to. Handsomely bound in full nineteenth-century blue calf with gilt decorative borders to the upper and lower boards. The spine with four raised bands, gilt titles, and compartments richly decorated in gilt. Marbling to page edges and endpapers. Illustrated with an engraved portrait frontispiece and 11 engraved maps (all but one folding). A near-fine copy, the binding square, firm and bright with a little rubbing and scuffing to the boards and bumping to the corners. The contents with the small gilt armorial ownership label of Granville Hastings Wheler to the front pastedown, contemporary neat ink stamp for the same to the head of the title page, scattered toning and faint spotting, a crease to the corner of three text pages (one with a small marginal tear), and with one map with a few creases, a small marginal tear and standing a little proud of the text block, are otherwise unusually clean and fresh. The other maps remain in excellent condition, with just a minor crease to one, and a little creasing to the margins of two others. A superb copy of Rennell's important work on ancient geography - "a monument of laborious research and acute and lucid criticism" - which attempted to reconcile ancient geographical knowledge with modern discoveries (ODNB). The work is perhaps most famous for its series of attractive and finely detailed maps of the Near East, the Mediterranean and Africa by John Walker, engraver to the Admiralty. These include two maps of the world according to Herodotus, maps of Western Scythia, Hellespont, Bosporus, Babylon, Egypt, Memphis, Libya, the circumnavigation of Africa by the Egyptians under Pharaoh Necho II (610-595 BC), and the voyage of Hanno the Navigator (500 BC), a major voyage of discovery in west Africa and one of the earliest voyages to traverse the Pillars of Hercules in an attempt to extend maritime discovery beyond the Mediterranean. James Rennell (1742-1830) was one of the foremost cartographers of his generation and a key pioneer of oceanography. After spending several years conducting an ambitious and extensive mapping project for the East India Company in Bengal and other parts of the Indian subcontinent, Rennell returned to England and dedicated himself to historical and cartographical scholarship. Elected to the Royal Society in 1781, he was awarded their prestigious Copley Medal ten years later (previously awarded to Captain Cook in 1776 for his study on the alleviation of scurvy), and in 1830 became one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Lucius Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 18573
- Title
- THE GEOGRAPHICAL SYSTEM OF HERODOTUS, EXAMINED; AND EXPLAINED, By a Comparison With Those of Other Ancient Authors, and With Modern Geography.
- Author
- RENNELL, James:
- Book Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. 1800
Terms of Sale
Lucius Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Lucius Books
Biblio member since 2015
York, North Yorkshire
About Lucius Books
Our shop is located in central York within a stones throw of the historic Micklegate Bar and walls. We are open seven days a week and carry a high quality stock specialising in but not limited to first editions, signed copies, bound sets and childrens / illustrated books and original art. Our opening times are 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sundays.Lucius Books is proud to be a full member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) trade associations. If you are unable to make it to the shop then our stock is available to view on our website at www.luciusbooks.com
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....