1157 - Rome, 32 Original Etchings by Carl Sprosse, Georg Wigand Publishers Leipzig, 19th c.

Rome, 32 Original Etchings by Carl Sprosse, Georg Wigand Publishers Leipzig, 19th c. Carl Sprosse (1819 to 1874). Large format volume with plain, unpatterned grey-beige paper boards and an applied title label. The title on the label and on the title page „ROM. 32 Originalradirungen von Carl Sprosse. Leipzig, Verlag von Georg Wigand", beneath it the list of plates, among them Il Foro Romano, Tempio di Vespasiano in Roma, L'Arco di Tito, Castello S. Angelo in Roma, Altare in Sta Maria in Trastevere, Sepolcro di Cecilia Metella, Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, Tempio della Vesta in Tivoli and Abbadia Fossa Nova. The etchings on firm paper with wide margins, each signed and dated in the plate, the dates 1852 and 1853, below the image the Italian place title in roman type. Good condition commensurate with age, the edges of the binding rubbed and scuffed, the spine torn, the leaves partly foxed and partly slightly loose. Images approx. 22x16.5 cm, overall 36x28 cm (HxW) Carl Sprosse is one of the Leipzig etchers of the 19th c. and travelled to Italy several times; the Rome series appeared with Georg Wigand in Leipzig, one of the most important art publishers of the day. The plates show the classic stations of the Roman tour together with excursion destinations in the Campagna such as Tivoli, Frascati, Albano, Cora and Terracina. Unlike the widely circulated steel engraving series, these are original etchings by the artist, that is plates etched by his own hand and not the reproduction of another's design. Complete series with all 32 plates are rare in the trade.