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Item #41372 Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A. William BECKFORD, Edmund Francis Jr. ENGLISH, Willes, MADDOX, Charles James RICHARDSON, Author fl. 19th century, Lithographer.
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Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.
Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.
Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.
Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.
Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.
Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.
Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.

Views of Lansdown Tower, Bath. The Favourite Edifice of the Late William Beckford Esqr. From Drawings by Willes Maddox on Stone by C. J. Richardson, F. S. A.

Milsom Street, Bath, and 26 Haymarket, London: Edmund Francis English Jr. and Thomas McLean. Lithographed and printed at 79 St. Martin's Lane, and by Moyes and Barclay, Castle Street, Leicester Square, London, October 1, 1844. Folio. (24 1/4 x 16 1/2 inches). First Edition. [8] [1]-10. 18 pp. 12 leaves of plates. Title with hand-colored vignette mounted on card, lithographed dedication to Princess Emilia of Baden and the Marchionesses Douglas and Clydesdale, List of Subjects and List of Vignettes on Letterpress, List of Subscribers, "To the Reader" by English, Lithograph letter from Beckford to English that is not mentioned in Abbey, 6 tinted lithograph "Illustrations of Lansdown Tower, Bath" with text on each room of the tower and Beckford's obituary and woodcut epitaph, errata note, 13 tinted and hand-colored lithograph plates mounted on 12 card leaves with pencilled titles underneath plates.

Dark red straight-grained half morocco over publisher's brown moiré cloth, title stamped and lettered in gilt on front and on spine, with bookplate on pastedown

Grand first edition folio volume of a fantastical folly, with 13 hand-colored lithographs of Beckford's unimpeachable decor.

Shortly after the eccentric novelist, collector, bibliophile, and plantation-owner William Beckford died in May of 1844, the book Views of Lansdown Tower was published, revealing Beckford's extraordinary retreat, its luxurious interiors, and the exquisite art collection he had assembled inside this fantastical architectural folly just outside Bath, in Somerset, England. Views was initiated by Willes Maddox under the patronage of Beckford, who is found in the book's subscribers list. Beckford had moved to Bath from his estate, Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire, in 1822, and remained there until his death. In 1826, Beckford employed a young architect named Henry Goodridge (1797-1864) to build the tower and its adjoining library about a mile away from Beckford's residence in Crescent. Beckford's Tower, known initially as Lansdown Tower, was built in Italianate neo-classical style on Lansdown Hill. The Tower and its attached railings are now designated as a Grade I listed historic building by the UK. It is the only standing example of Beckford's architecture. Though he did not live there, Beckford used the tower as a showcase for his collection of art and fine books, and its crowning cupola as a belvedere for taking in picturesque vistas of the surrounding landscape. The book reproduces drawings by Maddox in lithographs by C. J. Richardson. Maddox later gained a reputation for painting the portraits of eminent Turks, and took up an invitation from the Sultan to work in Istanbul. Four of the book's 13 plates illustrate some of Beckford's objets d'art, including ceramics, ivories, and metalware, alongside his immaculate parlor furniture. The colored plates in order: I. Ornamental Title with View of Tower. II. Exterior of LansdownTower. III. The Vestibule. IV. The Scarlet Drawing Room. V. The Staircase. VI. View of the Belvedere. VII. Objects of Vertu No.1, in Mr. Beckford's Collection. VIII. The Sanctuary. IX. The Crimson Drawing Room. X. Black Cabinet in Crimson Drawing Room. XI. Objects of Vertu No.2, in Mr. Beckford's Collection. XII. The Library. XIII. Objects of Vertu No.3, in Mr. Beckford's Collection. XIV. Ornamental Furniture in Mr. Beckford's Collection. And the Vignettes in Letterpress: XV. Embattled Gateway in Garden. XVI. Italian Cottage. XVII. The Grotto. XVIII. View in Garden where the Sarcophagus stood before removed. XIX. The Tomb of Mr. Beckford. XX. The Tomb of Mr. Beckford's favourite Dog.

Abbey, Scenery 420. Bobins II 682. SP Lohia 626.

Item #41372

Price: $5,800.00