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THE DILETTANTI SOCIETY. Ionian Antiquities . London: Spilsbury and Haskell, 1769.
THE DILETTANTI SOCIETY. Ionian Antiquities . London: Spilsbury and Haskell, 1769. Volume 1 only, large 2º (560 x 410 mm). 28 full-page engraved plates after N. Revett and W. Pars, numerous etched and engraved head- and tailpieces. (Some plates browned or affected by damp.) Contemporary sprinkled calf, spine richly gilt with red morocco label, amphora in one compartment and geometrical design in others (ring mark on upper cover, extremities lightly rubbed). Provenance : Jasper More (bookplate). FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST SPONSORED PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY OF DILETTANTI. The Society's Antiquities of Ionia eventually reached 5 volumes published over 136 years (6 volumes if one includes the enlarged re-issue of vol. 1 in 1785). The materials for the first two volumes were gathered on the Ionian mission of Richard Chandler, Nicholas Revett and William Pars in 1764-1766. Blackmer 1566; Harris 849; RIBA 3123.