Title: Plate XII: View of an eruption of mount Vesuvius which began on the 23rd of December 1760, and ended the 5th of January 1761; after a drawing taken on the spot by M. Fabris, when that eruption was in its full force.
Creator: Pietro Fabris (fl 1740-1792)
Description: Published in Hamilton, W, ‘Campi Phlegraei, ou, observations sur les volcans des Deux Siciles’. Nouvelle éd. edn. Paris: Chez Lamy, (1799)
The source of this plate, ‘Campi Phlegraei…’, is a first hand account of the eruptions witnessed by Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803), British envoy to Naples between 1764-1767. Originally published in three volumes (1776-1779), the title took its name from the area around Naples popularly referred to as ‘Campi Phlegraei’ or ‘flaming fields’, owing to the frequent and violent eruptions of Mount Vesuvius.
Date: 1799
Format: Hand coloured etching
Image reference: 02-36
Recommended print size: Up to 20 x 16 inches (50 x 40cm)