{"product_id":"ricordo-di-pompei-32-vedute-anonymous-souvenir-edition","title":"Ricordo di Pompei: 32 Vedute, Anonymous — Souvenir Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication\u003c\/strong\u003e: Naples, Publisher Unstated, c. 1930\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormatting\u003c\/strong\u003e: 16mo, leporello (concertina) format containing 32 folded continuous panels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/strong\u003e: Very Good. The pictorial cloth-and-board binding remains remarkably well-preserved for a fragile tourist souvenir of its era; the front panel's chromolithographed design, featuring classical columns, amphorae, and Mount Vesuvius, is exceptionally bright, with the striking colours and intricate gilt detailing unoxidised and sharply defined. There is minor rubbing to the outer board extremities and very slight scuffing to the blind-stamped rear blue panel, alongside tiny touches of wear to the spine folds, but nothing that structurally compromises the casing. Internally, the accordion-folded leporello hinges remain tight and fully intact without the tearing or separation frequently seen in similar concertina albums. The photographic panels exhibit light, even age-toning typical of 1930s paper stock, yet remain clean, crisp, and completely free from any significant foxing, moisture damage, or prominent blemishes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/strong\u003e: This charming early twentieth-century souvenir leporello captures the archaeological splendour of Pompeii through 32 continuous fold-out photographic views. Produced primarily for the booming European tourist trade, such concertina albums were designed as keepsake panoramas for the enthusiastic Grand Tour traveller. Each distinct halftone image is captioned locally on the recto, with an expanded multilingual key, printed in Italian, English, French, and German, provided on the verso, ensuring broad appeal to an international audience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe survival rate of complete, intact examples remains relatively low. They were frequently handled to destruction by armchair travellers or actively broken up by tourists who detached the panels to post individually as view-cards. Encountering a complete, securely attached specimen that retains such a bright, unfaded, and highly decorative binding is genuinely uncommon on the modern open market.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStep back in time to the golden age of twentieth-century European travel with this exquisite Italian souvenir album. Unfurling in a traditional concertina style, the book reveals thirty-two historic photographic views of Pompeii's legendary ruins, preserved exactly as a mid-century traveller would have experienced them. Bound in a beautifully ornate, gilt-stamped cover depicting the ancient city in vibrant colour, this piece captures the endless awe of archaeological discovery and remains a highly evocative, tangible slice of travel history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54899720716627,"sku":"5443","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260907_121556.jpg?v=1788959715","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/ricordo-di-pompei-32-vedute-anonymous-souvenir-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}