Late 18th Century Volume Set, Arthur William Costagan's Sketches of Society and Manners in Portugal - 1 Book

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Costigan, Arthur William. Sketches of Society and Manners in Portugal.

London: Printed for T. Vernor, 1787, first edition. 8vo; vi, … Read more Costigan, Arthur William. Sketches of Society and Manners in Portugal.

London: Printed for T. Vernor, 1787, first edition. 8vo; vi, 424, [2]; iv, 424, [2] pp. Rebound in 20th c. tan calf, title label gilt stamped, marbled endpapers with armorial bookplate of Sir Thomas Tyndall KCB (1722-1794) adhered to front paste-downs, flyleaf with contemporary ink signature of Jeremiah Quin, sporadic foxing to end leaves, occasional handling soil to margins, light shelf wear to lower board edges and covers. Penned "Fort" follows name on bookplate, a reference to Royal "Fort" House, Bristol, the family seat. Very good.

Regarding travel to Portugal in 18th-century literature, accounts of journeys emerged as a literary genre for the circulation of ideas, a reflection of economic social cultural and technological changes.
Arthur William Costigan, also known as Colonel Diogo Ferrier, served in the Portuguese army, but was dismissed, wrote in letter form of adventures on the Peninsula with the specific aim of
spying in order to gauge the level of military capability of the country. By the time some of these works were first published, in the late 18th-early 19th centuries, Portugal was an established destination for British travellers for a variety of reasons (political, military and commercial) but this group also included those who came for the pleasure of travel. (Conde)

References: Conde, A. , (2007), On continuity of choice: the places and spaces visited by tourists and
travellers in Portugal in the 18th and 19th centuries. Department of History, University of Évora, Portugal. See less