A Treasure of Gothenburg University:
William Bromley’s travelogueon Europe published in 1702 including his sojourn in Sweden
TRAVELS THROUGH Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Prussia, Sweden, Denmark and the United Provinces – Performed by a Gentleman is the title of a book written by William Bromley. The book was published in London printed for A. Roper at the Black Boy, R. Baffet at the Mitre in Fleet Street, and W. Turner at Lincolns, Inn Back Gate, 1702.
The book is at a library of the University of Gothenburg (GöteborgsUniversitetet) kept in a glassed cupboard. The librarian will deign to lend the book only after checking your credentials and securing an ID card.
The book is valuable source for general readers and researchers of art history, political science, international relations, diplomacy and history as it gives an insight into 18th century’s mainland Europe narrated by an Englishman (gentleman!).
Names of countries that are no longer in usage or have died are mentioned in the book: Prussia (of current Poland or Germany or Russia), and United Provinces (Netherlands or Holland or the Dutch Republic).
Leafing through the book gives you an idea how today’s Latin or Roman alphabets were written or printed thenespecaily ‘s’ and ‘f’; and how the punctuation marks have remained almost same to this day such as the apostrophe, semicolon and comma.
The author describes: “The 18th I travelled fortymiles to Stocken, all in Pruffia, the country fandy, and not much of it well cultivated, but the peafants are much more at their eafe than in Poland, and this country being fubject to the King of Pruffia, not Ruffians, no Polifh confederacies nor any difturbances happen in it, which is a very great advantage to agriculture ;tho’ I yet have feen nothing that gives me any great idea of their knowledge in that fscience.”
Because of the book’s content, year of publication, importance, condition of the book and the year of its publication makes it an antique and a treasure.
