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(VOLTAIRE) STANDISH, Frank Hall.
The Life of Voltaire,
with Interesting Particulars respecting his Death, and Anecdotes and Characters of his Contemporaries.
First Edition. An extremely attractive copy of this far from common and well thought of in its day life of Voltaire, here extra-illustrated with 280 portraits and views drawn from a variety of 18th- and 19th-century sources. In his 20s Standish travelled widely in Europe, living initially in France but eventually settling in Seville, "where he acted as host to British and French travellers and artists, including Richard Ford and Benjamin Disraeli." (ODNB). He also began to accumulate the collection of Spanish art which was to be the cause of his leaving debts of £60,000 at his death. He bequeathed the whole of his collection "for the use of King Louis Philippe, ostensibly out of respect to the French nation, but supposedly also to spite the British government for refusing to revive the Standish baronetcy." Following the Revolution of 1848 the King reclaimed the collections as his personal property and they were sold in Paris and London doing much to further stimulate the then current interest in Spanish art. Standish's other publications include some rather poor poetry and a number of guide books including his "informative... though rambling" Seville and its Vicinity.
One volume bound as two, octavo (230 ×145 mm). Plate bound as frontispiece to each and 278 other views and portraits in all, a few of them folding, a few hand-coloured. Letterpress facsimile title pages, light browning, otherwise very good in late 19th-century black half morocco on marbled boards by J. Larkins, simple gilt double fillet panels with small fleur-de-lis devices at the corners to the compartments, scarlet silk page-markers present but near detached, top edge gilt, others uncut. A handsomely restrained binding.
