English writer, art historian, man of letters, and antiquarian (1717-1797) whose literary reputation rests on the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, and his collected letters, which are of significant social and political interest. Fascinating unsigned handwritten manuscript by Horace Walpole, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 6 x 8.5, no date. Walpole writes out instructions for seeing various sights in Italy and the south of France. In part: "At Narni, go to see the Bridge (1/4 of a mile out of the town) & meet the Chaise at the farther gate. The Cascades is between Tenni & Shettura…At Spoleto, a Triumphant Arch; but nothing extraordinary in it: not by the way we go. One sees ye Bridge, as well as it deserves, at a distance. Allevene: a little beyond ye Post House, in ye way, ye old Temple of Clitumnus (now a Church) & the pretty source of that River, as described by Pliny. At Foligno, a Pict: of Raphael. Ancona: the Fine Triumphal Arch, at the Port…Between Samoggia & Modena you pass by the Isle where Octavius, Antony, & Lepidus fix'd their Triumverate. At Venice; the Palazzo Grimani…Padua…a Madonna of Titian…Arles. Theater, Amphitheater, Tombs & Aqueduct, Townhouses & Constantine's Palace. Avignon: Take a view from the Castle." In very good condition, with partial fold separations, scattered foxing and soiling, and a rusty circular paperclip impression to the top.
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