Customer Reviews

Holy Land And Egypt & Nubia

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3 star:		(1)
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I have been a collector of David Roberts prints for more than 30 years. If you also collect or have seen & been intrigued by these prints, you may perhaps have wondered about the scope of this artist's work. As pointed out in the previous reviews, this wonderful edition contains reproductions of all the original prints. Moreover, collectors such as myself often prefer to purchase original versions of the prints that have neither been colored nor tinted. These original versions often keep their value better than colored versions, although good colorist work often makes the images come alive in an attractive way.

All of the reproductions in this addition are colored, and I feel that most purchasers will welcome the majority of the colorings. In addition, the editors have judiciously chosen commentary to attach to each print that will further increase the great enjoyment afforded by the images themselves.

For those of you who have never looked through an original edition of Roberts prints, particularly the folio size (very rare and nowadays worth many thousands of dollars), this edition will be a revelation.

As with all Rizzoli editions, this publication is a joy to behold; beautiful reproductions, printing and binding. Now if only someone had actually done some quality control work on the text before the book was printed: there are numerous typographical errors throughout both volumes and the print on page 140 of the Egypt and Nubia volume is printed backwards (check Roberts' writing on the bottom edge). Fortunately, these errors are not the kind that will make the information presented unintelligible or confusing, (unlike the errors in Rizzoli's The Last Judgement) but does show some inexcusable sloppiness at Rizzoli. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions concerning the problems I have found in these books.

Mr. Roberts' work captured the spirit of this part of the world ! His illustrations are full of rich Architectural details, his attention to landscape and people combined with incredible texture and lighting make his art technique a unique romantic vision of his travels and explorations. He had a masterfull eye for exacting proportion and color sense. All 247 color illustrations included in the 3 volumes are breathtaking ! the paper and printing quality is superb ! this book is a must for artists and illustrators as well as students of Egypt and the Holly Land. This is now one of the most beautifull books I own. David Roberts is a master illustrator.

Everything the other reviewers say about the beauty and impact of the illustrations in each of the three volumes in this title are accurate. Some might say understated. Other information on Amazon about this title needs updating, particularly the number of pages and shipping weight.

There are three volumes in a slipcase which measures 14-5/8" high and 10-1/2" deep. The slip case is an attractive dark tan fabric with title in gold letters on the spine and full-size color illustrations on the front and back.

Volume 1: "The Holy Land," From drawings made on the spot by David Roberts R.A. with historical descriptions by the Revd. George Croly LLD. 320 pages.

Volume 2: "Egypt & Nubia," From drawings made on the spot by David Roberts R.A. with historical descriptions by the Revd. George Croly LLD. 290 pages.

Volume 3: "The Life, Works, and Travels of David Roberts R.A.," text by Fabio Bourbon. 32 pages.

The use of title pages is non standard with the bibliographic data appearing on the last page of each volume. Each volume has the same ISBN 0847823121. The copyright is 1999, held by White Star S.r.l., Vercelli, Italy. The volumes were published in the United States in 2000 by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., New York, NY.

The weight if the three volumes in the slip case is 14.8 pounds.

I would include scans of some of the spectacular images but they are too big for my scanner platform. Also, I would not want to bend the spine enough to place a page flat on a scanner. It is difficult to look through the books quickly. The images are so beguiling that you stop at each new one to enjoy the details and artistry of Mr. Roberts. Most have a subdued palette of primarily tans and grays matching the desert landscapes and cityscapes. Some use a much bolder palette with deep, saturated colors. The artist is in perfect control of his medium, whatever palette in use.