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ROWLANDSON, Thomas.
Tours of Dr. Syntax in search of the Picturesque, of Consolation, and of a Wife.
The word “picturesque” has long been a rather vague way of describing a certain ramshackle beauty — particularly the beauty of a rural landscape, a country house, or some other old structure gone to attractive ruin. But the word has its origins in late eighteenth-century Britain, where the artist, Anglican cleric, and schoolmaster William Gilpin (1724–1804) was its foremost promoter. By 1809, when the artist Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) and the writer William Combe (1742–1823) co-created the character of Doctor Syntax, the concept of the picturesque was ripe for satire. Syntax, like Gilpin, is an artist, cleric, and schoolmaster who decides to make his fortune by traveling to quaint locales and then drawing and describing them for publication — a sort of aesthete Quixote who rides around on an old mare called Grizzle. The first of the books, The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque (1809–1812), follows the good doctor’s adventures about the countryside in search of the perfect scenery. Like many a traveler before and after him, he suffers his fair share of mishaps — falls in a lake, is pursued by a bull, loses all his money at the racetrack in York. Two more books follow — The Second Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of Consolation (1820) and The Third Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of a Wife (1821). They were all hugely popular, above all in Britain (where figurines, prints, and fabric patterns of Dr. Syntax can still be found in museums and antique shops) but also in France, Germany, and Denmark, where translations of the books appeared.
- Published
- London: R. Ackermann, The Strand 1820-21.
- References
- Tooley 427-28-29; Abbey 'Life in England' 266-67;
- Plates
- 80
- Binding/Size
- S=8vo
- Value
- 0-5000
- Published
- London: R. Ackermann, The Strand 1820-21.
- Ref
- 72
80 coloured plates. 3 Volumes. Large 8vo. Original half red leather over marbled boards. Spine in six separate gilt compartments with raised bands - gilt-lettered in the second and third compartments. All edges gilt, marbled endpapers, vol 2 has been re-hinged. Corners rubbed a worn, contents with slight spotting throughout, but generally clean and bright. Vol 1 is the eighth edition Vol 2 the second edition, and Vol 3 is a first edition. Bookplate "Ex Libris Herbert S. Squance" on the front pastedown of each volume. Text is by William Combe. Coloured plates in order: Volume 1. 1. Frontis. The Rev. Doctor Syntax. 2. Engraved vignette to title page. 3. Doctor Syntax setting out on his Tour to the Lakes. 4. Doctor Syntax losing his way. 5. Doctor Syntax stopped by a highwayman. 6. Doctor Syntax bound to a tree by a highwayman. 7. Doctor Syntax disputing his bill with the landlady. 8. Doctor Syntax copying the wit of the window. 9. Doctor Syntax entertained at college. 10. Doctor Syntax pursued by a bull. 11. Doctor Syntax mistakes a gentleman's house for an inn. 12. Doctor Syntax meditating on the Tomb-stones. 13. Doctor Syntax tumbling into the water. 14. Doctor Syntax loses his money at the race-ground at York. 15. Doctor Syntax at a review. 16. Doctor Syntax with My Lord. 17. Doctor Syntax made free of the cellar. 18. Doctor Syntax sketching the Lake. 19. Doctor Syntax sketching nature. 20. Doctor Syntax Robbed of his Property. 21. Doctor Syntax sells Grizzle. 22. Doctor Syntax - Rural Sports. 23. Doctor Syntax with the Dairy Maid. 24. Doctor Syntax at Liverpool. 25. Doctor Syntax reading his Tour. 26. Doctor Syntax preaching. 27. Doctor Syntax & Bookseller. 28. Doctor Syntax at Covent Garden Theatre. 29. The Doctor's Dream. 30. Doctor Syntax returned from his Tour. 31. Doctor Syntax taking possession of his living. Volume 2. 32. Frontis. Doctor Syntax and his Counterpart. 33. Doctor Syntax lamenting the loss of his wife. 34. Doctor Syntax at the funeral of his wife. 35. Doctor Syntax setting out on his second Tour. 36. Doctor Syntax and the Gypsies. 37. Doctor Syntax loses his wig. 38. The visit of Doctor Syntax to the Widow Hopefull at York. 39. Doctor Syntax amused with the Pat in the Pond. 40. Doctor Syntax in the Glass-House. 41. Doctor Syntax visits Eaton Hall, Cheshire. 42. Doctor Syntax making his Will. 43. Doctor Syntax in a Court of Justice. 44. Doctor Syntax present at a Coffee House quarrel at Bath. 45. Doctor Syntax and the superannuated Foxhunter. 46. Doctor Syntax with the Skimmington Riders. 47. Doctor Syntax & the Bees. 48. Doctor Syntax visits a boarding school for young ladies. 49. Doctor Syntax making a discovery. 50. Doctor Syntax painting a portrait. 51. Marriage of Doctor Dicky Bend. 52. Doctor Syntax at an Auction. 53. Doctor Syntax & Bookseller. 54. Doctor Syntax at Free Mason's Hall. 55. Miss Worthy's marriage , Doctor Syntax in the chair. Volume 3. 56. Frontis. Doctor Syntax setting out in search of a wife. 57. Engraved title page. 58. Doctor Syntax Soliloquising. 59. Doctor Syntax turned Nurse. 60. The Banns Forbidden. 61. Doctor Syntax with a Blue Stocking Beauty. 62. The Cellar Quartetto [caption partially damaged] 63. Doctor Syntax presenting a Floral Offering. 64. The Billiard Table. 65. Misfortune at Tulip Hall. 66. The Harvest Home. [caption faint] 67. The Garden Trio. 68. Doctor Syntax at a Card Party. 69. Syntax Star-Gazing. 70. Doctor Syntax in the wrong Lodging House. 71. Doctor Syntax received by the Maid instead of the Mistress. 72. The Artist's Room. 73. Death of Punch. 74. The Advertisement for a Wife. 75. Doctor Syntax & the Foundling. 76. The Result of Purchasing a Blind Horse. 77. A Noble Hunting Party. 78. Introduction to Courtship. 79. Doctor Syntax in Danger. 80. The Funeral of Syntax. 81. Alas Poor Syntax (coloured vignette as tailpiece).
