59. Hunfalvy, (János) Johann – Rohbock, Ludwig: Ungarn und Siebenbürgen...

... in malerischen Original-Ansichten... I/1-2 - II. Abtheilungen [in three volumes].
Darmstadt, 1856-1864. G. G. Lange. 1pl. (engraved title page)+(4)+367p.+37pls.; 1pl. (engraved title page)+(4)+522p.+110pls.; 1pl. (engraved title page)+(4)+174p.+54pls.
Luxury edition of the chief achievement of nineteenth-century illustrated Hungarian topographical literature, issued in a wide-margined format for wealthy subscribers. This monumental and representative edition was approximately twice the size – and more than five times the price – of the standard issue.
János Hunfalvy, a scholar equally versed in law, philosophy, theology, and geography and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, produced this work together with Ludwig Rohbock in instalments published in Darmstadt between 1856 and 1864. It offers a faithful geographical, ethnographical, and historical portrait of the Kingdom of Hungary. Through more than two hundred steel engravings, it vividly records the appearance of the country in the mid-nineteenth century. The text resembles a Baedeker-style guidebook and may also be regarded as the first comprehensive travel guide to Hungary, combining historical and topographical information. Hunfalvy’s central thesis was that geography should reveal the interrelations between history and the natural sciences. The first subdivision of the work is devoted to Budapest and its surroundings; the second to Hungary in general; and the final part to the monuments and sights of Transylvania.
Richly gilt, original cloth. Spine of the first volume restored. The engraving depicting the Chain Bridge was presumably taken from a standard edition, closely trimmed to the image border, mounted on a modern sheet, and inserted into the volume.
 
Starting price: 1 000 000 Ft