HANCARVILLE (Hugues d'). Collection of Etruscan,... Lot 294

HANCARVILLE (Hugues d'). Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon.ble W.m Hamilton His Britannick Maiestys Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Naples / Antiquités etrusques, grecques et romaines tirées du cabinet de M. Hamilton, envoyé extraordinaire de S. M. Britanique en cour de Naples. In Naples, [François Morelli], 1766-1767 (or 1767 & 1769 ? XXXX). 2 volumes in broadsheet, red morocco, gilt fillet and serrated boards, spine gilt, edges gilt (English binding of the period).ORIGINAL EDITION.- XXV + 177 + [III] pp. & 130 engraved plates, numbered from 1 to 130, including two titles and a dedication, some simple ornamented lettering, others large on double pages.-- 168 pp. & 129 engraved plates, numbered 1 to 130 (no 21), including two titles and two dedications, some simple ornate lettering, others large on double pages.one frontispiece repeated in both volumes bearing text in two languages.259 plates out of 520. The copied record did not indicate any numbering errors in the plates of volume II. XXXXFigures engraved by GRADO, NOLLI, PIROLLI, CARDON, LAMBERTI, PIGNATARI... after BEAULIEU, TIERCE, BRACCI..., some tinted in bistre at the time. XXXExceedingly fine copy of the first two volumes of this monumental work in contemporary leather bindings.Brunet, I, 321 ("Precious work, executed with great luxury"); Cohen, 474 ("Splendid and very luxurious edition"); Blackmer, II, 657.- Vol. 1: Frontispiece - 177-[3] pp. & 130 plates [86 in intaglio, 30 coloured at the time in bistre on single pp, 13 in bistre in double p. and 1 in bistre in triptic]. - Volume 2: 2 fronts. - 168 pp. (page error, but complete): 130 plates [81 in intaglio, 30 coloured at the time in bistre on single p., 18 in bistre on double p. and 1 in bistre on triptic]. Text in English and French. ORIGINAL EDITION of the rarest, complete with its 520 PLATES, a neoclassical masterpiece of the highest level, probably never sold at public auction. A copy with all margins. William HAMILTON, an antiquarian with a passion for Greek and Roman antiquities, spent more than 35 years of his life in Italy [1764 to 1800], combining his patronage of the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii with his appointment as British ambassador to the court of Naples. He was thus able to assemble one of the most priceless collections of Greek and Roman antiquities in the world. Before selling a large part of it to the British Museum for £8400 [1772], he allowed Hugues d'HANCARVILLE, art historian, to establish a written and iconographic documentation of the ancient vases. Never before had ancient vases been published with such detail and luxury.under the direction of d'Hancarville, draughtsmen such as Beaulieu, Tierce and Bracci, and engravers such as de Grado, Nolli, Pirolli, Cardon, Lamberti and Pignatari, magnified the work.the first volume was published at the end of 1767, the