RITCHIE, Leitch. Ireland Picturesque and Romantic. With twenty engraved plates and engraved half-titles after drawings by Daniel Maclise and Thomas Creswick.

IN FINE BINDING HEATH’S PICTURESQUE ANNUALS

Two volumes in one. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, et al., 1837/1838. First edition. Large octavo. pp. vi, [2], 264, vi, [2], 264. Contemporary full red morocco, covers framed by triple gilt fillets. Spine divided into six panels by five gilt raised bands, title in gilt on green morocco label in the second, the remainder elaborately tooled in gilt; board edges and turn-ins gilt; splash marbled endpapers; blue, gold and white endbands. All edges gilt. Mild foxing to a few plates. A very good attractive copy in a splendid binding.

Leitch Ritchie (1800-1865), Scottish novelist, journalist, and travel writer, was commissioned by the publisher Charles Heath to provide the text for the celebrated Heath’s Picturesque Annual series, among the finest illustrated gift books of the nineteenth century. The present work, issued as the annuals for 1837 and 1838, combines Ritchie’s engaging descriptions of Ireland with a series of superb engravings after drawings by Daniel Maclise and Thomas Creswick. Rich in anecdote and observation, the text ranges widely across Irish scenery, antiquities, customs, and social conditions, with discussions of the Bog of Allen, Bianconi’s transport system, comments on Inglis, Barrow and Weld’s tours, and the condition of the Irish peasantry.
The illustrations rank among the most attractive visual representations of Ireland produced during the period and are enhanced by the elegant format in which the work was issued. Copies in fine contemporary morocco bindings are increasingly difficult to obtain, particularly when the plates remain fresh and the binding retains its original brilliance. A handsome example of one of the most desirable nineteenth-century illustrated books on Ireland, combining literary, artistic, and topographical interest in equal measure.

[L2 6C]