"Forty Etchings, from Sketches Made with the Camera Lucida" by Basil Hall — 1829

Updated on July 24: This book has been sold.

Full Title: Forty etchings, from sketches made with the camera lucida, in North America, in 1827 and 1828 by Captain Basil Hall, RN. Published by Cadell & Co., Edinburgh: Simpkin & Marshall, and Moon, Boys & Graves, London. 1829.

On a journey through the eastern part of the United States, Captain Basel Hall, R.N., did 40 etchings using the camera lucida. The book was printed in London 1829, and in 1830 he was in Paris and a gave a copy of the book to Charles Chevalier, which he inscribed.  It’s something of an odd book. It gives you a good idea, though, through simple sketches of what parts of the United States looked like at that time, and it includes a beautifully hand-colored map in the front.  

— Lee Wright | Founder

Illustrated with 40 numbered etchings — two etchings on each plate, accompanied by leaf with descriptive text. Plus a hand-colored folded map of the United States and Canada showing Captain Hall's route as frontispiece. 

Size: 12.75" x 10"

Shipping: $10. Please allow two weeks for shipping.

Camera Lucida

According to Wikipedia:

"A camera lucida is an optical device used as a drawing aid by artists and microscopists. It projects an optical superimposition of the subject being viewed onto the surface upon which the artist is drawing. The artist sees both scene and drawing surface simultaneously, as in a photographic double exposure. This allows the artist to duplicate key points of the scene on the drawing surface, thus aiding in the accurate rendering of perspective."

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