Exotic Impressions, Views of Foreign Lands

This collection is comprised of a diverse array of books from the William R. Jenkins Architecture & Art Library’s Rare Books Room. Each one depicts a foreign land in etchings, photography, or sketches. Unlike typical travel literature, these books primarily evoke an exotic, picturesque locale in imagery. Some, like Fontainebleau, le Château: Album Artistique or Besley’s Eighteen Views of Devonshire (stamped Price One Shilling on the cover) are clearly travel souvenirs. Others, like Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, Illustrated, are scholarly works for an audience unlikely to visit the city of their own. The collection also includes an anonymous album of Victorian photographs taken in Edinburgh and inscribed by hand. The collection spans most of the 19th century, beginning with H.W. Williams’ Select Views in Greece, published in 1829.