BROCKEDON (William). Illustrations of the Passes of the Alps by which Italy communicates with France, Switzerland and Germany. London and Philadelphia, Charles Tilt and Thomas Warde, 1828-1829. 2 large volumes in-4°, bound in full green morocco, framed with 9 gilt fillets on the boards with the arms of John Fitzgibbon, spines with 5 raised bands decorated with gilt boxes, with gilt title, triple gilt fillets on the fields and on the inside covers, gilt edges (English binding of the period). A wide-margined copy of the original edition, illustrated with 12 engraved titles with vignette, 13 maps and 84 steel-engraved hors-texte views. Description of the Petit and Grand Saint-Bernard, Montgenèvre, Mont-Cenis, Saint-Gothard, Stelvio, Corniche, Grimsel, San Bernardino and Splugen, Brenner, Tende and Simplon passes. This work is a veritable illustrated encyclopaedia of the passes of the Alps; Walter Scott, thanking the author for sending the book, said: "By clearly painting such an interesting picture ... with such peculiar customs, you have added a valuable chapter to the history of Europe, of which the Alpine regions form such a distinguished and attractive figure". Armorial bookplate Francis Gray Smart pasted on the flyleaf. Ex-libris Peter Obergfell pasted on the flyleaf. Errata page pasted in the margin of the map of the route from Genoa to Nice via the Corniche. A fine copy, superbly bound in the period (before 1840), complete with all the plates and maps. Minor foxing in the margins of the plates. William Brockedon (Totnes 1787 - London 1854), the son of a clockmaker from Devonshire in southern England, simultaneously cultivated his two passions: travel and drawing on the one hand, and inventions on the other, following the example of the great geniuses of the Renaissance. As an inventor, he is credited with the vulcanised rubber process and various industrial machines. He painted Walter Scott's portrait, travelled in Italy with the great Turner, was a member of the Royal Academy and helped found the Royal Geographical Society. In addition to his work on the passes of the Alps, he wrote a travelogue of the Alps (Journal of excursions in the Alps, 1833) and provided some of the drawings for Beattie's fine work on the Waldensian Valleys, published in English and French in 1838. John Fitzgibbon (1792-1851), Viscount Limerick, Baron Sidbury and second Earl of Clare, was Governor of Bombay from 1830 to 1834. Perret 0723 - Regards sur les Alpes 49 - Neate B170