Hardback. New. In 1865, when just twenty-five years of age, Edward Whymper achieved the fame of which he had dreamt as a teenager by making the first ascent of the Matterhorn, the last great unclimbed summit in the Alps. With renown came notoriety and lasting sorrow, though, due to the catastrophic accident on the descent, which cost the lives of four of his party. Whymper's life was marked by the conquest of the Matterhorn, but his mountaineering achievements have overshadowed his distinction as a wood engraver and book illustrator. Before he had ever thought about the Alps, while a teenager fulfilling his apprenticeship in the family engraving studio, Whymper kept a diary for six years, detailing his daily life in Lambeth. Showing frequent glimpses of the dry and sardonic humour so characteristic of the older Whymper, the diary is written with a developing style which looks forward to his classic works on mountaineering, Scrambles amongst the Alps and Travels amongst the the great Andes of the Equator. Providing a rare picture of the workings of a wood engraving studio during the heyday of this reproductive medium, the diary also reveals the world of his father, Josiah, and those London-based artists seeking to make a living from their water-colour painting. An avid reader of The Times, the young Whymper's diary follows the events of the day - the Crimean War, trhe Indian Mutiny, the affairs of Parliament, notorious trials, business scandals - and also ...

ISBN10: 0900952431, ISBN13: 9780900952432, [publisher: London Record Society] Hardcover New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days.
[Southport, United Kingdom] [Publication Year: 2008]

ISBN10: 0900952431, ISBN13: 9780900952432, [publisher: London Record Society] Hardcover 2008. Illustrated. Hardcover. . . . . .
[Galway, GY, Ireland] [Publication Year: 2008]

London Record Society 2008 Hardcover New 268 pages. 9.60x6.20x1.00 inches.