1879 Reclus print FINGAL'S CAVE, STAFFA, INNER HEBRIDES

Description: 1879 Reclus print FINGAL'S CAVE, STAFFA, INNER HEBRIDES, SCOTLAND Nice print titled Ile de Staffa. - Grotte de Fingal, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression, nice hand coloring, approx. image size is 13 x 18.5 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 vol., 1875-94 (In English: The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1878-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Click here or image for larger version Fingal's Cave, Fingal's Cave is a sea-cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, part of a National Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is formed entirely from hexagonally-jointed basalt, similar in structure to (and part of the same ancient lava flow as) the more famous Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Its size and naturally arched roof, and the eerie sounds produced by the echoes of waves, give it the atmosphere of a natural cathedral. The cave's Gaelic name, Uamh-Binn, means "cave of melody". The cave was "discovered" by 18th-century naturalist Sir Joseph Banks in 1772. It became known as Fingal's Cave after classical composer Felix Mendelssohn visited in 1829 and wrote Die Hebriden (in English, "Hebrides Overture|Fingal's Cave Opus 26"), inspired by the weird echoes in the cave. (Fingal, Fionn mac Cumhail, was the eponymous hero of a poem by 18th-century Scots poet-historian James Macpherson). Mendelssohn's overture popularized the cave as a tourist destination. Other famous 19th-century visitors included author Jules Verne, poets William Wordsworth, John Keats and Alfred, Lord Tennyson and impressionist artist Joseph Turner, who painted "Staffa, Fingal's Cave" in 1832 The playwright August Strindberg also sets scenes from his play A Dream Play in a place called "Fingal's Grotto." Queen Victoria also made the trip. Scots novelist Sir Walter Scott described Fingal's Cave as "…one of the most extraordinary places I ever beheld. It exceeded, in my mind, every description I had heard of it …composed entirely of basaltic pillars as high as the roof of a cathedral, and running deep into the rock, eternally swept by a deep and swelling sea, and paved, as it were, with ruddy marble, baffles all description." The cave has a large arched entrance and is filled by the sea; however, boats cannot enter. Several local companies include a pass by the cave in sightseeing cruises from April to September. However, it is also possible to land elsewhere on the island and walk to the cave overland, where a row of fractured columns form a walkway just above high-water level permitting exploration on foot. From the inside, the entrance seems to frame the sacred island of Iona across the water. Please e-mail me if you have any questions. Buyer pays shipping at cost. Buyer pays shipping at cost. I prefer payment by PayPal, but I'll also accept any other payment method and currency (except direct payment by credit card) that is convenient for buyer. I combine shipping of multiple items. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING: Price quoted with auction is for surface mail, which is the same regardless of destination. When auction ends I can give you option of airmail and insurance if you want. If shipping address is within Europe I recommend surface mail, you don't gain much time with airmail, it is just more expensive.

Price: 18.9 USD

Location: Zagreb, Croatia

End Time: 2024-12-01T14:08:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.5 USD