Description
A Picturesque Tour of The Isle of Wight
by
Mcinnes
Published; Cross print
Hard Backed
Limited signed First Edition 1993
N0 35 of 750
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries writers and artists visited the Isle of Wight to study and record its scenery and antiquities. This was a period of travel and exploration generally as wealthy families and antiquarians wished to see the classical landscapes, art and architecture of Europe.
The desire to explore the more remote parts of the British Isles, in particular Scotland, Wales, the Lake District and the Isle of Wight, coincided with the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1768 and the Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1804. As a result artists undertook tours ofthe Island, often producing albums of watercolour drawings, some of which were published and formed the first `guidebooks’ to the Isle of Wight.
Charles Tomkins visited the Island in the 1790s and subsequently published his two volume `Tour of the Isle of Wight’ in 1796. His book contained eighty delicate aquatints of Island scenes, and buildings of architectural interest. He returned in 1809 and undertook a commission of a further 58 watercolours possibly for Earl Yarborough of Appuldurcombe.
The drawings were donated to the Royal Yacht Squadron in the 1850s possibly by the second Earl Yarborough; many of Tomkins’ works are illustrated in this book with the kind permission of the Flag Officers and Members of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Together with the other illustrations they form a fascinating record of life on the Isle of Wight in the years prior to the Victorian influx.
Lavishly illustrated
Condition; Very Good / Fine with dust -jacket
Interior clean , Binding tight
