Sir Brinsley Ford Collection of Books Acquired and Fully Catalogued

In May 2024, Paul Mellon Centre’s (PMC’s) library received a donation of books relating to the Grand Tour from Sir Brinsley Ford’s library. The cataloguing of this material is now complete and the books are available for readers to consult in the Archives & Library’s public study room.

The group of eleven titles, comprising many multivolume sets, date from 1719 to 1853. This is the second collection of books generously donated by Sir Brinsley’s son, Augustine. A large library of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century guidebooks, as well as modern books on the Grand Tour, was given to PMC in 2017. Unlike the earlier acquisition, these are large-format volumes, full of plates, containing illustrations of places visited by Grand Tourists.

Sir Richard Brinsley Ford (1908–1999) was a gentleman-scholar, connoisseur, collector and author with a research interest in the history of travel to Italy in the eighteenth century. These books reflect his lifelong interest in the subject.

The collection includes various books published in Rome depicting the antiquities and contemporary views of the city. These were probably purchased as souvenirs by Grand Tourists. They include: Giuseppe Vasi and Giuseppe Bianchini’s Delle magnificenze di Roma, antica e moderna (1747–1761); Domenico Pronti’s Nuova raccolta di 100 vedutine antiche della cittá di Roma e sue vicinanze (1795); Agapito Franzetti’s Raccolta di no. 60 vedute antiche e moderne della città di Roma e sue vicinanze (between 1812 and 1820); and Domenico Amici and Giovanni Raffaelli's Raccolta delle principali vedute di Roma (1835–1847).

The books on Rome include a beautiful copy of the second edition of Andrew Lumisden’s Remarks on the Antiquities of Rome and Its Environs (1812) published in London. This copy is extra-illustrated with sixty-two sepia-coloured aquatint plates from J. Merigot's A Select Collection of Views and Ruins in Rome published ca. 1819. PMC also has a copy of the 1797 edition of Lumisden’s popular guide.

There are titles depicting local costumes and manners: Nuova raccolta di cinquanta costumi pittoreschi illustrated by Bartolomeo Pinelli and published in Rome in 1816 and Nuova collezione di costumi napolitani disegnati dal vero illustrated by Gaetano Dura and published in Naples ca. 1853. There is also a fascinating book on fencing: Domenico Angelo’s 1765 book L'École des armes avec l'explication générale des principales attitudes et positions concernant l'escrime.

Two of the books, both published in Amsterdam, relate to views of the Netherlands, a country through which the tourists often travelled on their journey to Italy. These are: Andries de Leth’s De zegepraalende Vecht: vertoonende verscheidene gesichten van lustplaatsen, heeren huysen en dorpen, beginnende van Uitrecht en met Muyden besluytende (1719) and Henricus Spilman et al.’s Het Verheerlykt Nederland of Kabinet van hedendaagsche gezigten published in nine volumes by Isaak Tirion from 1745–1774.

Finally, perhaps the most interesting item because of its provenance, is the engraver Carlo Labruzzi’s large folio Via Appia illustrata ab urbe Roma ad Capuam published in Rome ca. 1794. Purchased by Ford at Lord Bruce’s sale held at Christie's in London in March 1965, this copy was formerly in the library of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (1766–1841), collector of the Parthenon Marbles.

PMC is extremely grateful for the generosity of this gift. The books have greatly increased the resources available for the study of the Grand Tour in the Archives & Library. These include many other books and exhibition catalogues, the Brinsley Ford Archive and free in-person access to The Grand Tour online database.

For more information on this collection, see the library and photographic archive catalogue.