1834 Handwritten Journal of a Grand Tour to Italy, with 5 Hand-drawn Color Maps

Item Details

1837

This beautiful handwritten book details the travels of William Thornthwaite, a young man of England between 1834 to 1837. He was undertaking a “Grand Tour”, where well-off young men would travel throughout Europe for months to enhance their education and cultural self-improvement. The extensive book opens with two hand-drawn pencil portraits of William and his brother (signed C H Teplies? 1897), then contains 15 ~4” x 5.5” engravings of various sites along the tour route, a 10-page introductory letter to his aunt (Part 1), then four more Parts in 269 pages describing his tour in great detail. As if that weren’t enough, there are 5 hand-drawn, hand-colored maps of his travels, including a fold-out one of France and northern Italy, with a side drawing captioned “the author with his father mother and another traveling with oxen”, depicting an oxen being whipped in front, followed by a horse, following by the carriage. The other maps include a quite detailed one of Rome, one of much of Italy, a small one Swiss lakes, and one of Switzerland. William’s cartography skills are quite good for one so young, and he has painstakingly detailed his route along the way.                                  

The text portion reveals that William is less than impressed by France and the French (well, he is English after all), but very impressed by Venice, the Colosseum in Rome and paintings and sculptures in various museums. It also includes such tidbits as eating leftovers after the Queen of Sardinia, Italian horse collars in comparison with those of the French (which are barbarous!), blind children reading with the recently invented Braille, bird watching in Italy, great detail on the ruins of Pompeii, lodging with swallows, glass blowing in Switzerland, and with the occasional bad roads and dirty inns thrown in for spice. William has interest in gardens and shell-collecting as well, and describes the historic sites and scenery of France, Italy and Switzerland in great detail. An extraordinary journey.

Wikipedia explains: “The typical 18th-century [Grand Tour] stance was that of the studious observer travelling through foreign lands reporting his findings on human nature for those unfortunates who stayed at home. Recounting one's observations to society at large to increase its welfare was considered an obligation”, and apparently this is the purpose of this journal, as the beginning of the book is an introductory 10-page letter to his aunt, which summarizes the trip and ends “…and now dear Aunt hoping that this Book may afford you all as much pleasure in reading, as it has done me in writing it believe the author ever to remain your Affectionate Nephew, William Thornthwaite”. This was written in March, 1887 while the travels run from 1834-1836, so he has compiled the book upon his return home, from his notes or diary taken while on the road. Hence he begins the journey with “A Facsimile of W.T.s Journal—Part II (Part I being the (Part I being the Introduction)---Tour in Italy 1834”. A star at the bottom says “Facsimile is not the appropriate term for these are a few corrections, additions and omissions”. All is definitely is hand-written, most in William’s own hand, though a few sections in the back may be by his (initials TST, in text "Tom", so Thomas S Thornthwaite). Works inspired by a grand tour include Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Mark Twain’s The Innocence Abroad, Goethe’s Italian Journey, and the 1985 film “Room with a View”.

The handwriting is small, but for the most part quite legible, at least until the end of the book when it gets a little messier. The book itself is bound in half leather with marbled boards, worn and with the spine leather in pieces as shown (titled “Journal of a Tour in Italy”). The binding is loose but holding. Measures 7 ½” x 9 ¼” x 1 ¼”.

(PS: I did a little genealogy on the family and believe William’s full name is William Henry Thornthwaite, his brother Thomas Swanwick Thornthwaite, being sons of Thomas Thornthwaite Sr and Mary Nicholls. William was born in 1819 which would make him about 15-17 years during this journey, and 18 when he created the book.)