Home Book of the Picturesque

Putnam, New York, 1852. Early Edition. Hardcover (Full Leather). Very Good Condition/No Dust Jacket. Illustrator: Hudson River artists. VARIOUS AUTHORS. Home Book of the Picturesque, or Home Authors and Home Artists, New York: Putnam/Leavitt & Allen, 1852.Quarto, priority uncertain, 2 title pages (one pictorial with partially erased date), pp. 12, 1-188, 13 engravings on steel, heavy brown morocco boards with gilt lettering and 5 raised bands to spine, both covers with gilt title inside elaborate blind-stamped framing, all edges gilt, gift inscription on a flyleaf.With essays by great 19th-century American writers including Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper and William Cullen Bryant, to accompany Hudson River School landscapes including the work of Durand, Cropsey, Kensett, Cole and others. The depiction of West Rock in New Haven, Conn., by F.E. Church will be especially interesting to collectors in Connecticut for its quality and scarcity. The publisher says the engravings were created exclusively for this book. It probably was an inspiration to Bryant for his Picturesque America, the massive and popular work that imitated the style used here.Sabin 32707 says original title was just Home Book of the Picturesque, with the title changed to Home Authors and Home Artists for a reprint. As this copy has both titles, I am uncertain which edition this might be.Condition of this book:Rubbing and wear to the covers but overall sound. Most plates protected under tissue guards. Size: Quarto. Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. All edges clean, neat and free of foxing. Illustrator: Hudson River artists. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 2-3 kilos. Category: Art & Design; United States; 19th century; Travel & Places. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 55424. .