Wanderings and Excursions in North Wales, Thomas Roscoe — 1st Edition

Publication: London, C. Tilt, and Simpkin and Co.; Birmingham, Wrightson and Webb, 1836

Formatting: 8vo, pp. [xii], 261, [3].

Condition Report: Good. The book is bound in nineteenth-century half leather over cloth boards, which exhibits notable signs of historical wear and shelf-use. The spine leather is chipped at the head and tail, with the joints showing distinct rubbing and superficial cracking, though the boards remain securely attached. The green leather corners are bumped and heavily rubbed, exposing the underlying board in places, and the cloth sides are faded with some discolouration. Internally, the text block is relatively firm, though there is the expected age-toning and scattered foxing throughout, particularly heavy around the steel-engraved plates and their adjacent leaves, resulting in some noticeable offsetting. The edges of the text block are darkened and dusty, consistent with a volume of this age.

Catalogue Note: This is a first edition of Thomas Roscoe's celebrated travelogue, published simultaneously in London and Birmingham. The work is renowned for its extensive suite of steel engravings executed by William Radclyffe, based on original drawings by prominent landscape artists of the era, including George Cattermole, David Cox, and Thomas Creswick.

The front blank flyleaf bears a neat nineteenth-century ink ownership inscription belonging to "Fr. Dearden, Springfield, Castleford", adding a touch of provincial provenance to the volume.

Single volumes of this first edition appear with some frequency on the antiquarian market. Copies retaining their original or early nineteenth-century bindings, even in worn states, remain desirable for collectors of British topography and romantic-era landscape illustration.

A quintessential example of the nineteenth-century Romantic travelogue, Thomas Roscoe's Wanderings and Excursions in North Wales invites readers on a picturesque journey through the rugged and sublime landscapes of the Welsh countryside. Blending poetic observation, historical anecdote, and local folklore, Roscoe captures the spirit of a region that was rapidly becoming a favoured destination for Victorian tourists and artists alike. Enhanced by a magnificent series of steel engravings that bring the dramatic mountains, tranquil lakes, and historic ruins to life, this work remains a fascinating window into the early days of British scenic tourism and the literary appreciation of the natural world.