The Eruption of Vesuvius in 1872.with Notes, and an Introductory Sketch on the Present State of Knowledge of Terrestrial Vulcanicity, the Cosmical Nature and Relations of Volcanoes and Earthquakes]

Palmieri, Luigi [Introductory Sketch By Robert Mallet]

Published by Asher & Co., London, 1873

About this Item

London: Asher & Co., 1873. First Edition in English. Introductory sketch by Robert Mallet. Illustrated with 8 wood-engraved plates, one of them folding. 9 1/4" x 5 3/4", [4], 148. Three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine decorated in gilt, raised bands, red morocco labels, marbled endpapers, marbled page edges. Blindstamp of the Massachusetts State Library at title page, spine number inked in white. Rear cover loosened. Rubbing to covers with some extremity wear, still very good. Contents near fine, with no sign of foxing. More than half of the text - 78 pages - is taken by Mallet's intriguing introductory skecth, in which he recounts the state of science as it was at the time with regard to vulcanism and seismlogy. Palmieri's ensuing account is of the events of the 1872 Mount Vesuvius eruption, and is itself presented in a very scholarly fashion; the two were leading scientists of the era in the subject. The folding engraving is of Palmieri's ""sismografo elettro-magnetico", a Rube-Godlberg looking contraption which was of more than a little interest at the time; not correctly a seismograph in the modern sense [it did not inscribe inked graphs], it was rather a series of instruments intended to give the direction, intensity, and duration of an earthquake, and respond to both horizontal and vertical motions. The plates, as are all of the contents, are near fine. Extraordinarily rare. l-29n. Seller Inventory # 000650

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Eruption of Vesuvius in 1872.with Notes,...

Publisher: Asher & Co., London

Publication Date: 1873

Binding: Leather Bound

Book Condition: Very Good

Edition: First English Edition