James Douglas (1753-1819) English, "Travelling Anecdotes Through Various Parts of Europe" 1787 Edition. This specific volume is a rare Dublin edition, with an intricate central engraving on the title page that serves as a commercial trade token or label for P. Hoey, an 18th Century bookseller and stationer operating at No. 36 Capel Street in Dublin. The work was first printed anonymously in Rochester in 1782, but because of its popularity later editions in London and this 1787 Dublin edition officially credited Douglas by name. The book is a humorous, satirical travelogue recounting his journeys through Vienna and the Low Countries, heavily influenced by the witty, conversational style of Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy." A handwritten inscription in pencil on the first blank page reads "This book my Grandfather brought from Ireland, Nellie Donovan Bourne Oct. 6 1931." 

Condition: Spotting throughout and heavily weathered covers, though the coloring and gilt of the title on the spine are in relatively good shape. 

Size: 4 1/2 x 1 x 6 1/2 in. 

James Douglas (1753-1819) was an English clergyman, military engineer, and antiquary whose early years were spent as a mercenary for various armies after the death of most of his family during a plague. His “Travelling Anecdotes Through Various Parts of Europe” was first published anonymously in 1782, and is now considered a foundational text in early archaeology, writing the travelogue with a mix of satire. In his notable 1785 publication “A Dissertation on the Antiquity of the Earth” he examined geological formations alongside fossil specimens he personally collected from the Isle of Sheppey, setting the stage for future paleontologists. As an author and illustrator he meticulously documented his findings with self-etched plates, bridging natural history with empirical observation. His multi-faceted scholarship laid important early groundwork for understanding stratification and the deep history of the British landscape, and he was buried in Sussex where he had served in the rectory of Middleton as one of the Prince of Wales’s chaplains.

Spotting throughout and heavily weathered covers, though the coloring and gilt of the title on the spine are in relatively good shape. 

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