[Rarebooks] FA: 1832 Boston, American traveler's Italian phrase guide
Joslin Hall Rare Books, ABAA
office at joslinhall.com
Mon Jun 19 10:23:24 EDT 2006
Recently listed on Ebay-
<http://tinyurl.com/nlnlx>
An uncommon early American traveler's phrase book for a
popular 1830s destination of American writers and artists-
"De Porquet's Italian Phrases; or, Il Fraseggiatore Toscano. A Copious
Choice of Italian Sentences to facilitate a complete knowledge of the
formation of the verbs and syntax of that elegant tongue"
By Carlo Alfieri, "Professor of the Italian language, London". Published in
Boston by S. Burdett & Co., in 1832. Third Edition, revised and corrected.
"Revised and Improved by the American Editor".
"With familiar and easy dialogues in Italian and English, and rules on the
different forms of addressing persons, used by the Italians".
An interesting and early American edition of a traveler's guidebook to that
favorite destination of American artists, writers and art lovers of the
day- Italy. Entire books have been written on the exodus of Americans to
the Continent in general, and Italy in particular, in the 1830s and 40s.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and sculptors Hiram Powers and
Horatio Greenough all sojourned there. American artist Rembrandt Peale
wrote his own guide to traveling in Italy, and sculptor Thomas Crawford
settled down in Rome and became a leading figure in the American expatriate
community there for several years.
Charleston, South Carolina artist James DeVeaux loved Italy so much that he
lived there for several years before his tragic early death in 1844. In
fact, although he loved Rome and Venice and Florence, DeVeaux did not enjoy
the excess of visiting Americans very much. While staying in Florence he
wrote- "There are American painters and sculptors here of all sorts. I find
nothing in their society to please me, and so keep to myself. Strange that
so much venom should exist among professors of a liberal art -but the truth
is, that envy and jealousy are our (painters) besetting sins, and the first
thing I heard of here was a flare up at Rome 'mongst the American artists,
and now they are all in Florence for the summer, so I keep housed."
And yet, the warm Italian sun and pretty signoras and centuries of art and
monuments would draw the visitor out again. DeVeaux continued a few months
later-
"Whilst looking down from the steeple of the Campodoglio upon Rome, my
companion warmed into a classic fit, and bringing up from the bottom of his
pockets notes and memoranda of history gathered from Goldsmith and others,
he would glance from one scene to another, till I was deluged in
declamation, -flinging his arms into the air and stretching himself so far
over the railing, as to induce me to wrap the skirt of his coat around my
hands to ensure his safety, -he pointed to the spot where "Ceasar's body
lay", -passed to Lucrezia the chaste, and Virginia the innocent, -Camillus
pausing to look back upon the city, from whence he was issuing a banished
man; and had got as far into his story as to be busily engaged with the
Goths and Vandals in sacking Rome over again, when the old attendant cut
short the oration by declaring that the "Signore" had detained him too
long, as his wife waited his presence for dinner."
But we have strayed far from our charming little phrase book. Or perhaps
not, because this is just the sort of book any of these American travelers
would have picked up when preparing to take the "The Tour", or join the
expatriate community there. An interesting little piece of Americana and
not all that common- a search of internet sources failed to turn up another
copy, and the OCLC database of institutional library holdings (which is an
imperfect tool, but still gives some indication of scarcity) locates only 3
copies.
Low opening bid. No reserve.
<http://tinyurl.com/nlnlx>
Ebay user id: joslinhall
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