272. [Horner (Thomas)] A Brief Account of the Colosseum, in the Regent's Park, London, comprising… the panoramic view from the top of St. Pauls Cathedral…, wood-engraved title vignette of the Colosseum, 360 degree panorama on 8 lithographed plates, a little soiled, modern half-calf over marbled boards, oblong folio, 1835; with the index plate to Swertner’s panorama of London, 1789; and Weller’s 2-sheet reduced facsimile of Agas’s London in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (3)
est. £200 – £300
Thomas Horner (1785-1844) sketched this panorama from a specially constructed hut on top of the dome of St Paul's while the ball and cross were being replaced. The rotunda required to house this monumental work, which was a major London landmark for around half a century, was designed by Decimus Burton, based on the Pantheon in Rome. Completion of the painting ran over schedule and the attraction was forced to open prematurely, in March 1829, in order to bring in revenue after first the financial backer, and then Horner himself, disappeared.
Unsold