Grecian Remains in Italy

MIDDLETON, John (1785-1849). Grecian remains in Italy, a description of Cyclopean walls and of Roman antiquities, with topographical views of Ancient Latium. London: W.Bulmer & Co. [and J.F. Dove] for Edward Orme, 1812-[1819].
First edition of the first major plate-book by an American archaeologist. John Middleton, born in South Carolina but educated at Cambridge University, is known as the first American classical archaeologist. This, his first work, documents the archaeological remains of what is known as Magna Graecia—the ruins of Greek civilization in Italy. It is notable for the accuracy of its illustrations, with Middleton himself writing that "in a tour of this kind, the artist is perhaps of more real use than the scholar; and after toiling through the obscure pages of an historian, I found that my sketch told me more than my notes." The text, however, is also erudite, drawing from both ancient and modern sources. The publication history is complicated, originally issued in parts over a period of nine years. The title page is dated 1812, but the plates seem to have been printed in 1818 or even later; in this copy, the text is printed on paper watermarked 1805 and 1818, and the plates are printed on paper watermarked 1809, 1817, and 1818. Abbey Travel 165.
Folio (461 x 327mm). 23 hand-colored aquatint plates, 3 of which double-page, 2 black-and-white plates (a few spots and stains). Modern quarter calf (extremities a little worn).