Pellerano - Guide ... Naples - 1861

NAPOLI NEL 1861: THE RARE TRAVELER'S GUIDE WITH VIEWS AND TWO LARGE FOLDED MAPS
First edition of 1861 of this fascinating French pocket guide dedicated to Naples and its surroundings, published by Benedetto Pellerano. An authentic vademecum for the nineteenth-century traveler, with descriptions of monuments, museums, squares, archaeological sites, and excursions in the vicinity. The work also includes a true practical almanac with addresses of bankers, merchants, hotels, restaurants, and professionals of Naples of the era. Enriched with numerous views outside the text and, above all, with two large folded topographical maps of Naples and its surroundings. An edition of particular interest because published in 1861, a crucial year in Italian history and in the political transformation of the former Bourbon capital.

WHY TO BUY
FIRST EDITION OF 1861 – Specialized bibliography identifies this as the first edition; the work went on to other expanded editions, including that of 1865.
NAPLES IN THE YEAR OF UNIFICATION – An extraordinarily concrete testimony of the city in 1861: monuments, places, infrastructures, services and commercial activity told for the foreign traveler.
RICH ILLUSTRATED APPARATUS – The edition is cataloged with 10 views and two large folded plans: a map of Naples and a map of the surrounding area.
GUIDE AND ALMANAC TOGETHER – Not only artistic and tourist description, but a snapshot of Neapolitan economic life through addresses of bankers, shopkeepers, hotels, restaurants, booksellers, doctors, photographers and numerous other professional categories.

MARKET VALUE
The market shows considerable variability mainly tied to the completeness of the maps, views, and the condition of the binding. For this exemplar, apparently complete with the two important folded maps and with the rare illustrated binding preserved, the commercial value is about €350–450, considering the condition of the cover.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Illustrated paperboard binding, with title and vignette on the front board and title on the spine. Cover with some dirt marks, discolorations and wear. Two large folded maps with small marginal tears. Some maps still joined at the upper edge. Numerous views of Naples and the surrounding area. Text in French. In old books with a long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. Refer to the original photographs to verify the book's actual condition. Images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (2); 332; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Guide-Almanach de l'étranger pour Naples et ses environs.
Naples, B. Pellerano Éditeur, 1861.
Benedetto Pellerano.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This guide belongs to the great nineteenth-century season of Italian travel literature, when Naples was one of the fundamental destinations of the European Grand Tour. The peculiarity of Pellerano's work lies in uniting the traditional historical-artistic description with a practical instrument expressly intended for the foreigner. The year of publication increases its historical interest. 1861 marks the definitive transition from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with Naples as its capital to the new reality of the Kingdom of Italy. The volume thus documents the city in a phase of exceptional transformation. The pages dedicated to the surroundings include archaeological and scenic localities that were key stops on southern travels. The Pompeian bibliographic repertoire specifically notes, for this edition, the sections dedicated to Herculaneum and especially Pompeii. Particularly evocative is the final part, conceived as an “Almanach de renseignements et adresses,” which turns the book into a kind of commercial directory of Naples in 1861: bankers, merchants, hotels, restaurants, doctors, booksellers, photographers, merchants and other services useful to the traveler.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Benedetto Pellerano was a Naples-based author and publisher in the 19th century, specializing especially in guides for foreign travelers. The Nova Bibliotheca Pompeiana repertory records Pellerano as Benedetto and notes his death in Naples in 1900. The editorial success of his guides endured: the Guide-Almanach was reprinted and progressively updated, accompanying international tourism to Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and the principal towns of the gulf for decades.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
This Neapolitan edition of 1861 is the first edition of the work. The Nova Bibliotheca Pompeiana repertory describes it as quarto (in-16°), 331 pages, with 10 plates outside the text and 2 large folded maps. The work enjoyed editorial success. A reprint is documented as early as 1862 and a second expanded edition in 1865, the latter also enriched with photographs and bringing the total to over 360 pages. The presence of the two folded maps is particularly important for the exemplar's completeness: the “Plan de Naples” offers a detailed urban representation, while the “Plan des environs de Naples” extends the cartography to the gulf and inland, turning the small volume into a true practical tool for the traveler.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Nova Bibliotheca Pompeiana, Repertorium bibliographicum pompeianum, no. 10.443.
Reiss & Sohn, auction catalog, exemplar of the first edition 1861 with 10 views, plan of Naples and map of the surroundings.
Bibliothèque de Victor Hugo, Hauteville-House, exemplar of the second edition of 1865 and reference to the first edition of 1861.
ICCU/SBN, bibliographic catalogs related to subsequent editions of the work.
WorldCat, census of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century editions of the Guide-Almanach.
Auctions and antiquarian catalogs for bibliographic and commercial comparisons.