Pompeii, Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy
undated
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Description
"We cast anchor off the town of Lahaina in West Maui. The island consists of two huge mountains joined together by a flat narrow isthmus of sand. At the north end of the isthmus is the little village of Wailuku. Here we went to the house of Mr. Baily, the American schoolmaster, to rest and get something to eat. The following day we started for the mountain".
This is a page from a unique leather-bound volume of Robert Elwes’ travelogue 'A Sketcher's Tour Round the World', first published 1854, (see page 212 for corresponding passage).
The book contains the printed text of the manuscript but remarkably, the monochrome wash illustrations are hand painted by Elwes. The book bears a handwritten inscription ‘Mary F Elwes from her affect. husband Robert Elwes Jan 25 1878’, dated after Robert Elwes became ill at Congham, his Norfolk home. On 28th January 1878 , their youngest daughter Violet noted in her diary: “Papa much worse”. Less than three months later, Robert Elwes died on 17th April aged 58.
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