A Handbook for Travellers in Spain (2 Volumes)

Richard Ford's "A Handbook for Travellers in Spain" (1845) marked a defining moment in English travel literature British tourists were traveling through Europe in increasing numbers and the need for guidebooks was beginning to be supplied by publishers like In 1845 Ford, who had gained tremendous knowledge of Spain by extensive travel on horseback, wrote this charming account enlivened by humor and anecdotesIn Ford's obituary, commonly attributed to Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, "so great a literary achievement had never before been performed under so humble a title" Ford marked, with George Borrow the eccentric English traveler, an interest in Spain that would continue through the twentieth century on the part of British writers: Gerald Brenan, Norman Lewis and George Orwell were among the most eminent of these successors, with Jason Webster (the author of "Duende," "Andalus" and "Guerra") and Chris Stewart (the author of "Driving Over Lemons") being contemporary As of 1966 the book was still being reprinted In 1855 Richard Ford also wrote "Andalucia, Ronda and Granada, Murcia, Valencia, and Catalonia; the portions best suited for the invalid"

This set is bound in red cloth with gilt decoration to the spines and front boards The exteriors show significant age/wear, including the spine being detached from Part I The rear board of Part I is also nearly detached The front hinge of Part I is cracked and the balance of the text block is securely bound Part II is firmly bound excepting a beginning crack to the inside of the front hinge A signature in pencil appears at the top of the title page to Part II

This work contains textual illustrations, a double-page map of Spain at the front of the first volume, a number of fold-out maps and a large folding map in a pocket at the rear of the first volume The text appears in double columns