Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Date
1779
Creator
Pietro Fabris (1738, Italian) , Painter
Object type
Library reference
42889
Material
Dimensions
height (plate): 385mm
width (plate): 210mm
height (paper): 452mm
width (paper): 320mm
width (plate): 210mm
height (paper): 452mm
width (paper): 320mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Six views of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, at different times of the day and night, depicting plumes of smoke and lava flows.
Text in central plaque reads: ‘Royal Society of London
William Hamilton
Hereford Knight
1779’
Plate one from the Supplement to Sir William Hamilton's Campi Phlegraei, 'Fields of Flame'.
William Hamilton (1730-1803) British diplomat, archaeologist and volcanologist was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1766 on the merit of his volcanic observations. He received the Copley Medal in 1770 for his 'Account of a Journey to Mount Etna'.
Pietro Fabris (1740-1792) was a British artist who accompanied Hamilton around Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius, and Lipari islands to document volcanic activities.
Text in central plaque reads: ‘Royal Society of London
William Hamilton
Hereford Knight
1779’
Plate one from the Supplement to Sir William Hamilton's Campi Phlegraei, 'Fields of Flame'.
William Hamilton (1730-1803) British diplomat, archaeologist and volcanologist was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1766 on the merit of his volcanic observations. He received the Copley Medal in 1770 for his 'Account of a Journey to Mount Etna'.
Pietro Fabris (1740-1792) was a British artist who accompanied Hamilton around Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius, and Lipari islands to document volcanic activities.
Object history
The original edition of ‘Campi Phlegraei; observations on the volcanos of the two Sicilies’ was published in 1776. This Supplement was published in 1779. It is composed of observations of the 1779 eruption sent to the then President of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820). Hamilton's observations are recorded via letters and these hand-coloured plates.
Related fellows
William Hamilton (1730 - 1803, British) , Diplomat
Associated place