[SAINT-NON (Jean-Claude Richard de)]. [Voyage pittoresque ou - Lot 115

[SAINT-NON (Jean-Claude Richard de)]. [Voyage pittoresque ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile. A Paris, de l'Imprimerie de Clousier, 1781-1786]. In-folio, contemporary half-velin, ribbed spine (spine and part of lower cover uncovered, cuts and corners worn, scattered russets not serious). A collection of disparate engravings and maps of the Kingdom of Naples, southern Italy and Sicily to illustrate Abbé de Saint-Non's famous travel account, this volume comprises over 200 figures on 145 plates, including 7 maps, 18 plates of medals and the often-missing phallus plate, all finely engraved in intaglio after drawings by Choffard, Cochin, Duplessis-Bertaux, Fragonard, Houel... Initiated by Abbé Jean-Claude Richard de Saint-Non after a trip to Italy, with contributions from renowned artists and writers, including Dominique Vivant-Denon, the work contains previously unpublished descriptions of sites such as Herculaneum, Pompeii and Paestum. One of the most ambitious projects of its time, it brought Saint-Non to ruin. Engraved armorial bookplate, 19th c.