100 - JAMES RENNEL: The Geographical system of HERODOTUS examined and explained by a comparison with those of ancient authors and with modern Geography. London, 1800

JAMES RENNEL: The Geographical system of HERODOTUS examined and explained by a comparison with those of ancient authors and with modern Geography. London, 1800 First and only edition. Small Folio, contemporary full leather slightly rubbed, joints restored, upper joint weak. A heavy book. Text with some very light uniform browning, isolated spotting, and a few instances of offsetting. Complete: [20], 765 p., and ten large folded maps, as called for. Overall a very good copy of a scarce work. James Rennell (1730-1815), the leading British geographer of his time and a devoted Philhellene, examined the geographical information provided by Herodotus, contrasting it with other ancient geographers and with the knowledge of his own time in order to test its accuracy. Even after two more centuries, experts remain surprised by the remarkable accuracy of many of Herodotus’s geographical observations in his History. Although primarily a historian, he clearly possessed significant geographical knowledge. This massive work boosted Philhellenism in England. The work includes ten large folded maps of various parts of the ancient world, representing Herodotus’s geographical coverage, all compiled by Rennell. This effectively makes the work an atlas of the ancient world according to Herodotus. A significant work of historical geography, especially for Greece.