RECENT ACQUISITIONS
TWENTIETH CENTURY ITALIAN IMPRINTS
Denis Reidy
with movable type was introduced into Italy in 1465 by two Germans,
Conrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz, who printed the first Italian book,
Lactantius's De Divinis Institutionibus^ at the Monastery of Subiaco near Rome. By the
beginning of the sixteenth century, Italian printers had earned an unrivalled reputation
for the printing of works in clear and elegant types, the most celebrated being * Roman'
and 'Italic'. They were also renowned for the beautiful layout and design of their books.
By this time, virtually every major city in the Italian peninsula could boast at least one
printing press, while in Venice alone there were more presses to be found than in any
other city in the world. Indeed, it has been calculated that just under fifty per cent of
all sixteenth-century books were printed there. Italian printers 'par excellence' such as
Antonio Blado, Aldus Manutius and his heirs, Gabriel Giolito de' Ferrari, the Giunta
family, and Francesco Marcolini, to name the most famous, had earned a justifiable
reputation for printing books in comparatively long print runs and, equally important,
for publishing textually accurate and carefully edited works, a prerequisite for the
literary and scientific researches of the Humanist scholar, especially in subjects such as
biblical and classical exegesis. Italian printers were also famed for illustrating their books
with woodcuts and engravings of the finest quality. These were not only of great beauty
but were essential for scientific works, especially books on anatomy.
The tradition of producing finely printed and lavishly illustrated books was continued
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by such celebrated printers as Giambattista
Albrizzi and Giambattista Bodoni, to name but two, and is still very much alive in our
own century. Contemporary Italian printers are renowned for the attractive presentation
of their books, the clarity and elegance of their texts, the beauty of their 'livres d'artiste'
and, above all, the very high quality of their colour printing. Indeed, a high proportion
of books requiring fine colour reproduction are printed in Italy, regardless of language
or place of publication.
The British Library's collections of Italian fine printing are exceptional. Books printed
in Italy formed a high proportion of the Library's foundation collections, and the Italian
collections were greatly enhanced in the nineteenth century by the acquisition of George
Ill's Library and Thomas Grenville's magnificent bequest, together with the judicious
purchases of Sir Anthony Panizzi. Today, purchased additions to the Library's Italian
PRINTING
94
collections are made as funds permit. All the twentieth-century imprints described below
have been added to the Library's holdings between 1975 and 1990. With the exception
of some of the Officina Bodoni books all were printed in Italy. All are first editions unless
otherwise indicated and all have been purchased except for the editions of The Sayings
of the Seven Sages of Greece and Coatlicue which were donated to the Library.
Italian Futurist Works
Three years after the publication of his famous Manifesto of Futurism in Le Figaro on 20
February 1909, Marinetti published his influential Technical Manifesto of Futurist
Literature in which he made his celebrated statement: 'After free verse - now at last,
WORDS IN FREEDOM!' Marinetti and the Futurist writers believed that words
should be freed from the 'prison' of traditional syntax and that adjectives, conjunctions,
adverbs and even punctuation itself should be abandoned. Marinetti also advocated the
use of onomatopoeia and the visual impact of print, imaginative typography and word
distortion and where appropriate '3 or 4 different inks and 20 different typefaces'.
Auro [Umberto Bottone]. Baionette:
versi liberi e parole in liberta. Milano: Edizioni
futuriste di 'Poesia\ 1915. 140 pp.; 23 cm.
D'ALBA,
This work entitled 'Bayonets' by the lesserknown Italian Futurist Umberto Bottone
clearly shows the literal 'freedom' of words
both in prose and poetry, hence their ' free' and
at times apparently random distribution on the
page.
Cup. 408. ww. 37.
Luigi. La cucina futurista. Milano: Sonzogno,
[1932]. 267 pp.; 19 cm.
This rare and curious work by Marinetti and
Fillia on futuristic cuisine contains some
outlandish and 'revolutionary' culinary recipes
including 'Edible Skier', 'Immortal Trout',
'Excited Pig', 'Bombe a la Marinetti', 'Futuristic Pheasant', 'Divorced Eggs', 'Alpine
Love' and a 'Stomach Awakener'. The work
also contains a fascinating dictionary of futuristic cuisme.
C A N G I U L L O , Francesco. Poesia pentagrammata. Napoli: Gaspare Casella., 1923. 44 pp.;
22 cm.
Filippo Tommaso. Enquete
internationale sur le Vers libre et Manifeste du
Futurisme [par F. T. Marinetti]. {Poesia, annee
5). Milano: Editions de 'Poesia\ 1909. 153 pp.;
19 cm.
MARINETTI,
Cangiullo believed that since music was the
only truly ' international' language, poetry
would be appreciated by a wider audience if it
were literally written on the preprinted music
manuscript paper used by composers of music.
He also believed that with this added visual
advantage, the reader would better appreciate
the musicality and lyricism of his poetry.
Cup. 408. ww. 38.
MARINETTI,
Cup. 408. ww. 45.
Filippo Tommaso, and F I L L I A ,
X.958/18063.
M A R I N E T T I , Filippo Tommaso. F. T. Marinetti presenta i nuovi poeti futuristi. Roma:
Edizioni futuriste di 'Poesia\ 1925. 361 pp.;
21 cm.
This fascinating anthology contains work of the
95
AURODALBA
FUTURISTA
V E R S I LIBERI E
PAROLE .N LIBERTA
Cup.408.ww.47.
EDIZIONI FUTUHISTE
Di "POESIA,.
MILANO - CORSO VENEZIH, 61
191&
Cup.408.WW.37.
futurist poets including Catrizzi, Cremonesi,
Dolfi, Escodame, Farfa, Filha, Folicaldi, Gerbino, Guatteri, Mainardi, Maino, Marchesi,
Marinetti, Sanzin, Simonetti and Vianello.
Marinetti's interesting introduction to the
poets sheds much light on the aims of the
futurist poets and futurism in general. This
copy is inscribed to Romana [De La SoUe (?)]
as an 'omaggio futurista' by Marinetti.
Cup.408. WW.41.
Filippo Tommaso. Gabriele
D'Annunzio intime. Milano: Verde e azzurro,
1903. 29 pp.; 18 cm.
MARINETTI,
Many of the Italian Futurist writers, particularly the majority of the younger poets,
held the older generation of Italian poets in
contempt. Giovanni Pascoli, for example, was
deemed to be too sentimental and Gabriele
D'Annunzio too decadent and tainted with
Nietzscheism. Marinetti's hterary relationship
with D'Annunzio has always been difficult to
establish. Although the two writers had much
in common, Marinetti appears to have had a
love-hate relationship with D'Annunzio and
his oeuvre. In this early work, which he
dedicated to D'Annunzio, Marinetti's text
betrays a hint of mockery, which is captured by
the illustration on the dust cover showing the
warrior bard and future hero of Fiume dusting
his laurels.
Cup.408 .WW.47.
Filippo Tommaso. Mafarka il
Futurista: romanzo. Milano: Edizioni futuriste
di 'Po€sia\ 1910. 329 pp.; 19 cm.
MARINETTI,
The original French edition of Marinetti's
'Mafarka' was published by E. Sansot in 1909
at Paris, the cultural capital of Europe. The
first Italian translation of his scandalous new
'African novel' whicb best exemplified Marinetti's theories at the time appeared one year
later. Mafarka^ the story of a black Futurist
Superman who is a warrior and at the same
time the founder of a new ' religion' of ' daily
Heroism and the Will made extrinsic', brought
Marinetti further notoriety since he was
prosecuted for obscenity at a trial which caused
a sensation.
Cup. 408. ww. 42.
Filippo Tommaso. L'Aeroplano
del Papa: romanzo profetico in versi liberi.
Milano: Edizioni futuriste di 'Poesia\ 1914.
259 pp.; 19 cm.
MARINETTI,
The Futurists were anticlerical in the main and
seized every opportunity to mock the clergy 'we are as distant from internationalist unpatriotic Socialism (ignoble celebration of the
rights of the stomach) as from timid priestridden Conservatism, symbolized by carpetslippers and the warming pan.' Indeed, at the
first performance of Marinetti's ' Le Roi
Bombance', at the Theatre de TOeuvre in Paris
on 3 April 1909, a full-scale riot was sparked off
by the thunderous sound effects of a priest's
digestive system in Act II. 'The Pope's
Aeroplane', a 'prophetic novel in free verse' is
no exception. The original French edition Le
Monoplan du Pape was published in Paris by E.
Sansot in 1912. This edition is the first Italian
translation from the French. This particular
copy is inscribed by Marinetti to his friend
[Barres (.>)].
Cup. 408. ww. 43.
Filippo Tommaso. II poema dei
Sansepolcristi. [Milano?]: Tipografia del'Popolo (ritalia\ 1939. 13 pp.; 24cm.
MARINETTI,
Marinetti wrote this poem in 1939 to celebrate
the thirtieth anniversary of the foundation of
the Futurist movement. He dedicated the work
to 'Italian Futurist poets and artists', and also
to the newspapers Le Figaro and Le Temps in
whose columns the Futurist movement was
discussed at length.
i:-;
VITTfWA
AUTORTTRATTO
Cup.4io.f.i63.
Filippo Tommaso. Scatole
d'amore in conserva. IUustrazioni di Pannaggi
coperta e fregi di Carlo A. Petrucci. Roma:
MARINETTI,
Edizioni d'arte Fauna, IQ27. 92 pp.; 17 cm.
This uncommon autobiographical work whose
title translates literally as ' Tins of love in
preserve' shows Marinetti in a humorous
vein. The illustrations and decorations by
Pannaggi and particularly the ornaments and
tailpieces by Carlo Petrucci impart an unusual
charm to this edition.
Cup.410.f. 163.
Filippo Tommaso, and AZARI,
F. Primo dizionario aereo italiano. Milano:
Morreak, 1929. 153 pp.; 18 cm.
MARINETTI,
Some of the fundamental themes of Futurism
included the cult of war which was considered
to be 'the sole hygiene of the world', the cult
Cup. 408. ww. 40.
97
Armando. Firmamento. (Armando
Mazza futurista; con una spiegazione di F. T.
Marinetti sulle Parole in liberta). Milano:
Edizioni futuriste di ''Poesia\ 1920. 105 pp.;
MAZZA,
- Campagna
i ^l^ C3
un' j \ auf
Marinetti's introduction to the work contains
further useful information on the theory of
'parole in liberta'.
CORRRRRRRRERE
V
22 cm.
JTv. "^'"' J J
Cup. 408. ww. 39.
TLAN TRANVAI
a
dritto
Tin
CASE
MoRPURGO, Nelson. II fuoco delle Piramidi:
liriche e parole in liberta. (Nelson Morpurgo,
futurista; con prefazione di F. T. Marinetti).
Milano: Edizioni futuriste di ^Poesia\ 1923.
29 pp.; 25 cm.
m e n
Cup. 408. ww. 36.
RussOLO, Luigi. L'arte dei rumori. Milano:
Edizioni futuriste di 'Poesia\ 1916. 92 pp.;
plates; port. 22 cm.
This rare and curious work on 'the art of
noises' by the futurist musician Russolo
Cup.408.WW.36.
(1885-1947) contains his theories on futuristic
music. Russolo composed music which he
of technical progress, the beauty of speed and intended to be played on curious futuristic
the cult of the machine and, in particular, the musical instruments of his own invention, in
aeroplane - ' W e shall sing...of the flight of particular his ' Intonarumori' (noise-intoners).
aeroplanes, the sound of whose propellers is His bizarre instruments were even demonhke the flapping offlagsand the applause of an strated at the London Coliseum in 1914. This
enthusiastic crowd ...'. Marinetti's ' Aerial copy contains Russolo's inscription to Andre
Dictionary' was considered prescribed reading Coeuroy 'avec amitie' et reconnaissance' dated
Paris, 19 June 1932.
for disciples of the movement.
Cup. 408. w. 12.
X.629/13035.
Books printed by the Officina Bodoni
Giovanni Mardersteig, the great scholar-printer and founder of the famous hand press
of the Officina Bodoni who died in 1977, was granted special permission to print books
with types cast from the original matrices used by the great Italian printer and lettercutter Giambattista Bodoni of Parma (1740-1813). Mardersteig initially set up his hand
press at Montagnola di Lugano in Switzerland in 1922. Perhaps one of the most
celebrated Ofl'icina Bodoni editions was the national edition of the works of the Italian
poet Gabriele D'Annunzio which was printed in 1927. Shortly after the publication of
this edition the press was transferred to Verona where it has remained to this day. With
the addition of copper-plate and lithographic presses the Officina Bodoni expanded and
produced books of extremely high editorial and scholarly standards many of which were
illustrated by contemporary artists such as Pietro Annigoni, Giacomo Manzu and
Gunther Bohmer. All books printed by the Officina Bodoni are invariably elegant and
printed with painstaking precision, are often beautifully illustrated and are always
attractive. They are consequently much sought after by collectors wishing to own
examples of the work of a man who has been referred to as 'probably the finest pressman
the world has ever seen or is ever likely to see'. The British Library's collections of works
printed by the Officina Bodoni are particularly fine. Additions to the British Library's
collections since 1975 include;
BASK
IN, Leonard.
To Colour
Thought.
[Printed for the Beinecke Library], New Haven,
[Connecticut,] ig6y; Verona: Officina Bodoni,
[September] 1967. 27 pp.; 10 plates; 25 cm.
This is copy no. 175 of 300 copies printed on
Cernobbio paper in red and black set in
Mardersteig's 12-, 11-, and io-point Dante
type. The text of Leonard Baskin's lecture, 'To
Colour Thought', was first delivered on the
occasion of the opening of the Graphic Arts
collection in Yale University Library on 9 May
1966. The ten illustrations were printed (in
collotype and offset) at the Meriden Gravure
Company, Connecticut. The frontispiece is a
reproduction frotn William Blake's Small Book
of Designs and the calligraphic half-title was
designed by Crimilda Pontes.
F E L I C I A N O , Felice. Alphabetum romanum,
edited by Giovanni Mardersteig. Verona:
Editiones Officinae Bodoni^ i960. 137 pp.;
plates; 23 cm.
This work is an edition of Codex Vaticanus
lat. 6852 which contains the treatise by the
Veronese humanist Felice Feliciano in which
he described the geometrical construction of
Roman capital letters. This is copy no. 154 of
the English edition of 400 copies. German and
Italian versions were also published in i960.
Cup.510.cc. 58.
Nikolai Vasil'evich. Tbe Overcoat,
from the Tales of Petersburg; original Russian
text [by] Nikolay Gogol; with an English
translation by Constance Garnett and illustrated with 6 etchings by Pietro Annigoni.
GOGOL,
Cup. 510.ee. 56.
Verona:
Vita Nuova di Dante
(proemio di Benedetto Croce). Montagnola:
Officina Bodoni, 1925. [vii], loi pp.; 36 cm.
DANTE
Editiones
Officinae
Bodont,
1975.
122 pp.; ill.; 32 cm.
ALIGHIERI,
This is copy no. 93 of an edition of 160 copies
signed in the colophon by Pietro Annigoni.
The edition has been printed on handmade
Pescia paper and consists of 150 numbered
copies and 10 'ad personam'. The Cyrillic type
was designed by Wadim Lazursky and was
specially cut for the Officina Bodoni. Gogol
spent the years 1838-42 in Rome where he
wrote Dead Souls and it was during his stay
there he wrote his first draft of The Overcoat
This edition of Dante's Vita Nuova which
contains a preface by Benedetto Croce (18661952) was printed on a hand press using
Bodoni's original types. Only 225 copies of this
edition were printed on handmade Fabriano
paper, and five other copies were printed on
vellum.
Cup.510.ee.51.
99
Hugh [Christopher Murray
Grieve (1892-1978)]. Selected Lyrics [of]
Hugh MacDiarmid [selected by] Kulgin D.
Duval and Colin H. Hamilton. [Piilochry]:
[K. D. Duval], [1977]- 34> [i] P-; plate: i port.
27 cm.
MACDIARMID,
This is copy no. 18 of a limited edition of 135
numbered copies of which only 100 were for
sale. This selection of MacDiarmid's lyrics was
set in a slightly modified version of Mardersteig's Dante Italic and was printed on
handmade Pescia paper. The frontispiece portrait of the poet was engraved by Freddy Theys.
This was the last book printed at the Officina
Bodoni in Giovanni Mardersteig's lifetime and
is a variant of the Copyright receipt copy.
Cup. 510.ee. 59.
Giovanni. On G. B. Bodoni's
type faces. Reprinted Verona: Officina Bodom,
1968. 22 pp.; plates: ill.; 25 cm.
MARDERSTEIG,
Cup.510.ee.55.
Giovanni. Pastonchi. A specimen of a new letter for use on the ' Monotype'
[with an introduction by Hans Mardersteig].
London: The Lanston Monotype Corporation,
1928. 70 pp.; 29 cm.
MARDERSTEIG,
which bears the date 1841. This copy has been
bound by Sally Lou Smith in brown goatskin
with grey and dark brown crumpled onlays,
tooled in blind.
^
C
L I T U R G I E S . In die 'festo Natalis, et Circumcisionis Christi'. Ve'rone: G. Mardersteig, 1968.
[28] pp.; 10 X 13 cm.
Printed on the handpress of the Officina
Bodoni. One of a limited edition of 80 copies.
Cup. 408. w. 8.
In die 'festo Epiphaniae'.
Verona: G. Mardersteig, 1968. [27] pp.; 10 x
13 cm.
Printed on the handpress of the Officina
Bodoni. One of a limited edition of 60 copies.
Cup. 408. w. 9.
This copy is one of a limited edition of 200
and is printed on special Fabriano paper. It
is bound in a quarter vellum binding with
marbled paper overboards and contains a
variant of Mardersteig's printing device (of a
cross surmounting an orb and bull's horns) in
that it is printed in light blue instead of black
which is more usual for this edition.
Cup. 510.ee.63.
LITURGIES.
100
SAYINGS.
The Sayings of the Seven Sages of
Greece. Verona:
Editiones Officinae Bodoniy
April 1976. 90 pp.; 25 cm.
The Greek text which is largely based on the
version of Joannes Stobaeus and translated by
Betty Radice is set in Griffo type based on that
cut by the punch-cutter Francesco Griffo in
1494 for Aldus Manutius. The book is printed
'
1
1
1
British Library, is one of ten 'ad personam'
copies from a limited edition of i6o.
1
in black and terracotta on hand-made Magnani
paper. This copy, specially printed for The
Italian 'livres d'artiste'
Ugo. Pietro Annigoni. Bologna:
Edizioni Edison, 1976. 266 pp.; [i] leaf of
plates, ill. With a bibliography and index.
70 X 51 cm.
BELLOCCHI,
This is Copy no. 474 of a lavish edition of 990,
which faithfully reproduces in full colour the
'oeuvre' of the famous Italian artist Pietro
Annigoni. This edition, which also contains
'critiques' of Annigoni's work, will remain an
indispensable monograph for students and art
critics alike. This copy is no. 68, part of a more
exclusive run of 99, since it contains a specially
commissioned and signed lithograph by the
artist. Annigoni, who died in 1988, is principally known to the British public for his
portraits of Her Majesty The Queen and the
portrait of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of
Kent as Chancellor of Leeds University.
contemporary 'livre d'artiste' is the work of the
Mexican artist Raymundo Sesma. Sesma, who
was born in 1954 and has lived in Milan for
several years, has illustrated Cardoza y
Aragdn's prose poem Coatlicue (which describes the ancient Mexican goddess to whom
human sacrifice was offered) with a series of
seven collographs. Sesma's coUographs are
applied in several layers and are built up to
produce a richly textured three-dimensional
effect, which has become almost a hallmark of
his work. The box which accompanies it was
specially designed by Angelo Penna. This
edition was printed on handmade ' Arches'
paper in Dante type. Only twenty-six copies of
this very expensive book, which is a work of art
in its own right, were printed. This copy which
is no. 2 was presented to the British Library by
the artist in person in December 1989.
HS.74/6.
C.188.C.9.
BoNSANTi, Giorgio. Giotto (note storiche e
testi critici di Giorgio Bonsanti: ricerche
iconografiche e cura delle immagini di Aldo
Martello). Padova: Piccin, 1985. 60 pp.; plates.
55 X 39 cm.
A definitive critical study of the Tuscan artist
(1266—1337) which is accompanied by fullcolour reproductions of the highest quality to
illustrate his 'oeuvre'.
HS. 74/59.
Luis, and SESMA,
Raymundo. Coatlicue. Mildn: Ediciones Grdfica Uno, 1989. 42 pp.; ill. 30 cm.
CARDOZA
(Omero). Iliade [episodi scelti e
tradotti da Salvatore Quasimodo: illustrati con
26 tavole da Giorgio De Chirico]. Roma:
Edizioni D'Arte Delfino, ig-j-j. 147 pp.; ^6
leaves of coloured plates: ill.; Greek text and
Italian translation. 60 cm.
HOMER
Y ARAGON,
This unusual and striking example of a
lOI
The illustrations to accompany these selections
from Homer's Hind are by the distinguished
Italian artist Giorgio De Chirico for a lavish
contemporary edition of the Greek classic.
(That shown is the illustration for Book XIII.)
The translation by the Italian poet and Nobel
prizewinner Salvatore Qiiasimodo was printed
in a limited edition of which only 350 were
intended for export. This edition was printed
C.iio.k.6.
the Greek into Italian by Salvatore Quasimodo.
It was printed in a limited run of only 350
copies which were intended for export of which
this is copy no. 143. The edition was printed on
handmade paper specially produced by the
Miliani paperworks of Fabriano and is illustrated by 20 coloured plates by the Italian artist
Giacomo Manzu. The book is bound in a
contemporary Italian quarter binding of black
goatskin over wooden boards. The front cover
is decorated with a specially commissioned gilt
on bronze bas relief sculpture also by Giacomo
Manzii.
^
,
C. i i o . k . 7 .
on handmade paper, specially produced by the
Miliani paperworks of Fabriano, and is bound
in a contemporary Italian binding of black
goatskin. The front cover is decorated with a
specially commissioned gilt on bronze medallion by the sculptor Guido Veroi. De Chirico
illustrated this work with a total of 26 separate
plates.
C. i i o . k . 6 .
(Omero). Odissea [episodi scelti e
tradotti da Salvatore Quasimodo: illustrati con
20 tavole da Giacomo Manzii]. Roma: Edizioni
D'Arte Deljino, 1977. 140 pp.; 20 leaves of
coloured plates: ill.; Greek text and Italian
translation. 60 cm.
HOMER
(Virgilio). Eneide [episodi scelti e
curati da Ettore Paratore...]. Roma: Edizioni
D'Arte Delfino, 1982. 123 pp.; ^"^ leaves of
plates. 50 X 37 cm.
VIRGIL
This de luxe edition of episodes from Homer's
Odyssey was also selected and translated from
102
C. i i o . k . 12.
103
Ettore Paratore selected episodes from Virgil's
Aeneid for this striking contemporary edition
which was specially commissioned to commemorate the bimillennium of Virgil's death.
The episodes which contain the original Latin
text facing the Italian translation by Francesco
Vivona, are illustrated by 13 high-quality silkscreen prints by the contemporary Italian
artist, Pericle Fazzini. This book, printed in a
limited edition of 350 copies intended for
export (of which this is copy no. 341), is housed
in a striking holder formed by two cast bronze
panels which were also designed and cast by
Pericle Fazzini. The two bronze panels, which
are in bas relief, depict Aeneas's flight from
Troy and Dido and Aeneas. The spine of the
holder contains an attractive dolphin to illustrate the device of the printers, Edizioni
Delfino. The cast bronze holder is embedded
in a heavy base of Roman Travertine.
C. i8o.k. 12.
A MEMENTO OF NAPOLEON
Morna Daniels
O N 5 May 1821 Napoleon died in exile on his
island prison of St Helena. Amongst those
Englishmen particularly affected by the news
was John Cam Hobhouse, the eldest son of Sir
Benjamin Hobhouse. His mother was a dissenter, and Hobhouse himself had attended a
school run by a Unitarian before going on to
Westminster. It was not surprising, therefore,
that his anti-Establishment sympathies inclined
him to radicalism. While an undergraduate at
Cambridge he became a close friend of Byron,
with whom he travelled to Spain, Albania,
Greece and Constantinople. In 1819, supported
by Sir Francis Burdett and the radical tailor
Francis Place, he unsuccessfully contested
Westminster as a radical against George Lamb,
the official Whig candidate. In December that
year the House of Commons committed him to
prison until the end of the session for breach of
privilege by his assertion in a pamphlet that
only troops prevented Parliament being dissolved by popular protest. Despite this, in the
General Election of 1820 he defeated Lamb
and was returned for Westminster.
Hobhouse had first-hand experience of the
consequences of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1813
he toured Germany and saw the terrible
devastation wrought by the campaign which
104
had culminated in the 'Battle of the Nations'
near Leipzig. However, when in 1814 the
victorious allies entered Paris, Hobhouse's
patriotism - his brother was in the triumphant
British army - warred with his sorrow at the
fall of a great man and sympathy for Napoleon's
revolutionary ideals. Lord Sidmouth, the
Home Secretary, and a friend of Hobhouse's
father, had provided Hobhouse with a pass to
visit Paris and see the entry of the Bourbons.
On the news of Napoleon's escape from Elba in
1815, Hobhouse hurried back to the Continent.
On 16 April he saw the Emperor review his
army and admired his rapport with the troops,
and the way he left the saluting base to march
for a while beside each column. 'I cannot help
wishing that the French may meet with as
much success as will not compromise the
military character of my own countrymen,' he
wrote. 'As an Englishman, I will not be witness
to their triumphs; as a lover of liberty, I would
not be spectator of their reverses.'^ In the
subsequent fighting which led to Waterloo,
Hobhouse's brother was killed, shot in the neck
at Quatre Bras.
In 1816 Hobhouse published his own
account of'The Hundred Days', The Substance
of some letters written by an Englishman resident