Barthélemy - Recueil de l’ancienne Grèce - 1800

THE GRAND TOUR OF ANCIENT GREECE: MAPS, TEMPLES AND BATTLES IN BARTHÉLEMY’S MASTERPIECE
This extraordinary illustrated atlas constitutes the iconographic complement to the famous Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis en Grèce by Abbot Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, one of the most influential works of European Enlightenment. Conceived as a visual support to the imaginary journey of the young Scythian philosopher through Hellas in the 4th century B.C., the plates bring together geographical maps, urban plans, archaeological views, architectural reconstructions and ancient medals, offering a true pictorial encyclopedia of Greek civilization. The work represents one of the most ambitious seventeenth-century attempts at historical and archaeological reconstruction of classical antiquity and contributed decisively to the diffusion of the neoclassical taste in Europe.
MARKET VALUE
The volumes of plates related to Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis are today particularly sought after by both classical archaeology collectors and enthusiasts of historical cartography. Complete copies with the large folded maps and original architectural plates typically reach values between €300 and €800, with higher quotations for copies preserved in elegant contemporary bindings and complete with all engravings.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Octavo half-leather binding with marbled boards and spine bearing the title "Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis" and the English title "PLATES". Armorial bookplate of Benjamin Chapman affixed to the front pastedown. Frontispiece missing, small oval present. Contains numerous folded copperplate plates depicting geographical maps, topographical plans, monuments, temples, theatres, views and medals of ancient Greece. Maps with some physiological browning and signs of age. In old books, with a multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 40; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Recueil de cartes géographiques, plans, vues et médailles de l’ancienne Grèce.
S.L., [1788-1830].
Jean-Jacques Barthélemy.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Published to accompany the Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis, this atlas represents one of the peak achievements of eighteenth-century erudite archaeology. The plates illustrate with extraordinary precision the places described in the text: the crossing of Thermopylae, the Battle of Plataea, the Bosporus of Thrace, Athens and Attica, Delphi, Mount Parnassus, the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Greek theatres and numerous monuments of antiquity. Particularly fascinating are the large folded geographic maps and the plates dedicated to ancient coins, used by Barthélemy as historical sources for reconstructing classical Greece. The work enjoyed enormous success across Europe and helped form the archaeological and artistic imagination of Neoclassicism.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Jean-Jacques Barthélemy (1716–1795) was one of the leading French archaeologists and numismatists of the eighteenth century. A member of the Académie Française and custodian of the Cabinet des Médailles in Paris, he devoted much of his life to the study of Greek and Roman antiquities. Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis, published in 1788, immediately became a European bestseller and for decades remained one of the essential texts for knowledge of ancient Greece.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
From the first publication, Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis was accompanied by separate volumes of plates and geographic maps. The illustrated editions were reprinted several times between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, meeting the growing demand for works on classical antiquity. The iconographic volumes were often purchased and kept separately from the text, as autonomous atlases intended for private libraries and scholars. The copy presented here was subsequently rebound for the British market, as suggested by the title on the back "PLATES" and the Chapman provenance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Barthélemy, Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis en Grèce, Paris, 1788 and subsequent editions.
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, I, pp. 707–709.
Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares, I, p. 307.
Quérard, La France Littéraire, I, pp. 210–212.
Cohen-Ricci, Guide de l’amateur de livres à gravures du XVIIIe siècle.
Catalogue général de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, notices relative alle edizioni del Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis.
WorldCat, bibliographic records of the various editions of Recueil de cartes géographiques.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, copies held in the main Italian libraries.