89 BAUMAN RARE BOOKS The most important art publishers and dealers in our history are the two Boydells, John and his nephew Josiah, who, though their munificence was chiefly directed towards painters and engravers, also issued a few fine books with colored aquatint plates, notably the History of the River Thames” (Prideaux, 266). The scenery along the Thames was a popular subject for publication. Joseph Farrington was one of a group of Romantic artists and writers in search of the picturesque, whose portrayal of the wild and rugged landscape transformed public opinion toward the sublimity of nature. His landscape paintings were influential in attracting tourists to the English Lake District in the early 19th century. For the Boydells, the Thames project would contribute greatly to the reputation of their Shakespeare Gallery, the purpose of which was to “establish an English School of Historical Painting.” This copy is a complete first issue, with plates surrounded by aquatint borders and containing general title pages for An History of the Principal Rivers of Great Britain (the publishers planned on covering more rivers, but they abandoned this project after completing the Thames). A few text leaves in Volume I with mild foxing, a few plates with faint offsetting from text, but generally a very clean copy, hand-coloring fine and bright, with delicate shading, much nicer than often found. A most desirable, about-fine copy of this splendidly illustrated work. “
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