Visions of eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Illustrations by Peter Fabris for William Hamilton’s “Campi Phlegraei” which came out between 1776 and 1779.

Lava emerging from Mount Vesuvius at night and running towards Resina. 11 May 1771. 1776. Colored etching by Pietro Fabris after a drawing made by him in 1771. Collections of the Wellcome Library, London. Images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org. Cc0 License 4.0. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/campi-phlegraei

Mount Vesuvius emitting a column of smoke after its eruption on 8 August 1779. ca. 1779. Colored etching by Pietro Fabris after a drawing made by him. Collections of the Wellcome Library, Images@wellcome.ac.uk . London. Cc0 License 4.0. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/campi-phlegraei

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the night of 8 August 1779. ca. 1779. Colored etching by Pietro Fabris after a drawing made by him. Collections of the Wellcome Library, Images@wellcome.ac.uk . London. Cc0 License 4.0. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/campi-phlegraei

Envoy Extraordinary to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, William Hamilton (1730–1803) William Hamilton (1730-1803) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies whose capital was Naples. Present for the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius during the mid-to-late eighteenth century, Hamilton wrote Campi Phlegraei in two parts, with a tertiary supplement, based on his 1772 Observations on Mount Vesuvius for the Royal Society. Published in French and English, he hired local artist Pietro Fabris to illustrate it. These images are colored etchings after gouaches by Fabris. They are taken from a recent post from publicdomainreview.org with the etchings being part of the Wellcome Collection.

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