BROWNE (James D. Howe). Ten Scenes in the last Ascent of Mont Blanc including five Views from the Summit. London, Thomas MacLean, February 1853. Large folio, leaves. First edition of one of the most sought-after and rare books on Mont Blanc. The work consists of a title-frontispiece, a dedication plate, 9 leaves of text and 10 lithographed figures in black and white. It is complete with text and engravings, including the dedication to the guides which is missing from the copy reprinted by Slatkine, and also includes the two cover sheets, the first of which reproduces the title frontispiece. It recounts the spectacular ascent of Mont Blanc by James Browne's team in December 1852. The story is accompanied by 10 remarkable stone-engraved plates based on sketches drawn by the author. These dramatic plates give a perfect idea of the terrifying scenes of summits and glacier crossings. The author's words in the preface speak for themselves: "The terrible passages and grotesque forms of the glacier, and the supernatural vastness of the panorama from the summit, all seen with drowsy eyes and oppressed respiration, equals the most fantastic style of nightmare". A fine, complete copy in good condition, ready for binding. According to Abbey, the author is James D. Howe Browne. Annie Bertholet in Les Alpes dans la gravure ancienne (1985) cites T. D. H. Browne, a painter of sacred art who exhibited in England in the 1860s, no doubt on the basis of the entry devoted to him by Bénézit in the Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs; but the author does sign J. D. H. Browne on the dedication plate present in the work, and not T. D. H. Browne. He was probably James Denis Howe Browne, from a family originally from County Mayo, Sussex, who lived in London in the second half of the nineteenth century. After his ascent of Mont Blanc, he wrote in The Times, "When I arrived at Lucerne ... I had no design of ascending to the summit of Mont Blanc; but here I heard such brilliant accounts of the scenery from the summit, that I determined to undertake an expedition to the summit ...if I could reach it in good enough condition, I could - as a draughtsman - make enough sketches to give an idea of the nature of the view, which, from such an elevation, could have no equal in Europe." Perret 0735 - Regards sur les Alpes 65 - Meckly 036 - Abbey 65 - Rean pp. 119-120 - Nava H/1