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For
your consideration:
Chatty, Sophisticated, & Charmingly Illustrated
High-Society Guide to SPA
Pöllnitz, Karl Ludwig, Freiherr von. Amusemens des eaux de Spa, ouvrage utile à ceux qui vont boire ces eaux minérales sur les lieux. Enrichi des tailles-douces, qui représentent les vues & les perspectives du bourg de Spa, des fontaines, des promenades, & des environs. Amsterdam: Chez Pierre Mortier, 1740. 8vo (15.1 cm, 5.94"). 2 vols. I: ix, [3], 424 pp.; 9 fold. plts. II: [2], 414 pp.; 7 fold. plts.
Click the images for enlargements.
first work of its kind, focusing primarily on society and fashion rather than on practical descriptions of the waters and their medicinal qualities. Baron von Pöllnitz was a favorite of Frederick the Great, and published an assortment of memoirs of himself and others. His Amusemens enjoyed great success, was quickly translated into English, and went through a number of editions in both languages, launching a genre of similar works on Spa and other fashionable destinations.
only one U.S. institution (New York Academy of Medicine) reporting holding this printing, and only a small handful more of the scarce first.
This attractively accomplished production features title-pages printed in red and black and
16 delightful engraved plates counting the double-spread added engraved title-page serving as the frontispiece of vol. I. Offering views of the countryside and the fountains, many of the images incorporate figures such as a hunter and his hounds, riders on horseback, and well-dressed ladies and gentlemen strolling or dancing — as well as one of
a life-sized “insect” allegedly “brought away from the Kidneys of a Woman by the Drinking of the Pouhon Waters.” The unsigned plates, sometimes attributed to the author himself and sometimes to Hecquet, bear
captions given in French, German, and English.
Provenance: Title-pages each with early inked inscription of Frances Osborn. Later in the residue of the stock of the F. Thomas Heller bookselling firm (est. ca. 1928).
• Graesse, I, 109; Wellcome, IV, 407. Not in Blake, NLM 18th Century (which only lists an English-language edition). Contemporary quarter mottled calf and marbled paper–covered sides, spines with gilt-stamped leather title-labels; bindings rubbed, scuffed, and with leather refurbished. Added engraved title-page for vol. I here tipped in as a double-page spread. Vol. I with waterstaining to outer margins of first few leaves, including added title-page and title-page; vol. II with waterstaining to upper outer portions of first few leaves; some plates with waterstaining to margins, not affecting images. Pages otherwise crisp and clean. 
A pleasurable production, showcasing a pleasurable place! (40619)
For 18TH-CENTURY BOOKS, For BOOKS IN FRENCH, For VOYAGES, TRAVELS, & books on For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, 
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