Account of my voyage from Paris into Italy : and of what I observed remarkable in that countrey, anno 1689 & 1690, circa 1690.

1 v. (313 p.) ; 19 cm. x 14 cm.

English

Purchased from Maggs Brothers, Ltd. on the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Fund, 2008.

Sir Cecil Bisshopp married Elizabeth Dunch in 1698; the couple had two children who survived to adulthood. He succeeded his father as baronet in 1705 and died at the family seat of Parham in Sussex in October 1725.

Manuscript fair copy, on paper, in a single cursive hand, containing Sir Cecil Bisshopp's description of his travels in France and Italy from February 1689 through January 1690. Bisshopp's account focuses primarily on art objects, architecture, antiquities, and collections of curiosities. Bisshopp fills over 250 pages of his work with detailed descriptions of the cultural landmarks of Florence and Rome. He devotes over 23 pages to the galleries and "cabinets" of Cosimo de'Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany; describes the Venus de' Medici, then newly arrived in Florence; and carefully lists treasures of the Vatican Library, including the love letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Bisshopp's narrative concludes with briefer sections on Naples and Venice. Although his interest is almost entirely in cultural objects, he does give an account of an exorcism in Milan and describes Campania as "one of the most beautiful and fruitful countreys in the world."

September 29, 2009

Sir Cecil Bisshopp, Account of My Voyage from Paris into Italy. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Sir Cecil Bisshopp, Account of My Voyage from Paris into Italy. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.