Views of the Caves
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| Culture \ Publications \ Views of the Caves |
Author: William Westall
Publisher: John Murray, 1818
Views of the Caves is an annotated volume of twelve aquatint engravings devoted to the caves and scenery of Yorkshire, and was the equivalent of the modern day coffee table book. It contains the earliest known pictures of Yorkshire caves, and the earliest known reference to Dovecote Cave.
It was very highly regarded at its publication, and inspired William Wordsworth to write three of his sonnets: "Pure elements of water...", "Malham Cove", and "Goredale Scar".
It was republished privately in a stapled-bound format by Anne Oldham in 1983, with an introduction by Trevor Shaw. It consists of 8 pages of text, 12 pages of introduction, and 12 full page plates most of which are poorly reproduced.
The book contains the following engravings:
- Dovecote Gill Cave
- Entrance to Yordas Cave
- Yordas Cave
- Stalactites in Yordas Cave
- The Trees above Weathercote Cave
- Waterfall in Weathercote Cave
- Weathercote Cave (*2)
- Gatekirk Cave
- Malham Cove
- Approach to Gordale
- Gordale Scar
References
- Wordsworth W., 1819 "Three original Sonnets by W. Wordsworth, Esq.; suggested by Westall's Views of the Caves in Yorkshire", Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Vol. 4 No. 12, p 471, William Blackwood, Eldinburgh and John Murray, London
