Album Pintoresco de la Isla de Cuba.

Descripción

Oblong 4to., (9 4/8 x 13 4/8 inches). Chromolithographic title-page heightened in gold, 27 numbered chromolithographic plates, with elaborate borders and captions in Spanish, all mounted on guards (some marginal soiling and creasing) and two folding maps. Original deluxe binding of green velvet and gold cloth brocade, all edges gilt. Provenance: Near contemporary gift inscription on the recto of the first blank. A reissue in a deluxe binding of Bernardo May's pirated edition of views from Frederic Mialhe's lithographs for the series "Viage pintoresco al rededor de la Isla de Cuba" printed by Louis Marquier Havana, ca 1848 and sold by them in competition with Mialhe's originals at less than half the price. These magnificent and lively views include images of the entrance to the port of Havana, several fine perspectives of the city itself, local landmarks such as the Plaza de Armas, Puertas de Monserrate, Teatro de Tacon y Parte del Paseo de Jsabel II, Fuente de la Jndia en el Paseo de Jsabel II, Almeda de Paula, the church of Mayor y de Ermita del Buen Viaje, the city of Matanzas, the entrance to the port of Santiago, Trinidad, and local trades and pastimes including a bull fight. In 1853 both Mialhe and Marquier had unsuccessfully sued May for breach of copyright and demanded "the sequestration of the May-plagiarized albums, notification to the press to stop advertisements of said views, and 20,000 pesos as damages". May denied plagiarism on the grounds that ". after all, ladies in carriages, street sellers, churches, monuments, and landscapes were all there in full view to any artist who cared to paint them". The maps of Cuba and Havana were also copied from an 1847 map by Jose M. de la Torre. Following the failed lawsuit May reissued this volume in 1855. Sabin 17748; Palau 5421; 167989 (note); Cueto, Mialhe's Colonial Cuba, pp.1-7, 73-77. N° de ref. del artículo 002230

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